UNITED STATES
GetReligion
Terry Mattingly
It would be hard to imagine a subject more intriguing to some editors at The New York Times than suggestions that the Darth Vader of the Donald Trump administration – that would be Stephen K. Bannon – was somehow working with forces close to the Vatican to undercut Pope Francis.
Thus, there has been quite a bit of online buzz about the rather BuzzFeed like feature (in terms of its sourcing) that Times editors ran under the headline, “Steve Bannon Carries Battles to Another Influential Hub: The Vatican.”
Catholic insiders – on the left and right – will be able to see more in the thin tea leaves of this piece than I can. I am primarily interested in journalism issues linked to how the piece was reported and presented. The bottom line: It is very rare to see such sweeping, conspiratorial language used in a news feature that – on its key points of fact – appears to have one crucial named source, other than quotes from other journalists. Hold that thought.
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