Manya Brachear and Religious Chicago

In an age where newspaper companies are slashing budgets and cutting purportedly frivolous staff like religion reporters, Chicago is still somewhat luck in that the Chicago Tribune still employs a reporter devoted to the city's religious beat. Over at GetReligion.org, a blog devoted to interrogating the press' handling of religious issues, Sarah Pulliam Bailey interviews the Tribune's reporter on religion Manya Brachear. Here's a taste:

Photo from chicagotribune.com

Why is it important for journalists to understand the role of religion in our world today?
Religion motivates people whether they know it or not. Doctors, politicians, philanthropists and business leaders often rely on their faith to guide their actions, sometimes more often than they admit or realize. Furthermore, religion also answers the question “why?” for many people. “Why?” is one of our five Ws. If we journalists fail to understand what drives everyone around us, we fail to answer the “why?” and thus fail to do our jobs.

Bracher runs her own religious news blog where she features her work on the city called The Seeker. I'm a longtime reader of Bracher's and you can find her top-notch reporting there.