Reporting on Religion — London

BY MEGAN NELSON

I added finishing touches to my final project about reporting on religion. I took the advice from my classmates and put in better pictures that went with the script more. I also moved some clips around so they sounded better, and I cut one a little shorter. With my last few edits, this project came out better than I expected.

Blissful Union

BY KRISTYNA MURPHY

Who or What Is God?

BY KRISTYNA MURPHY

I asked numerous people at St. James Park in London the following question: Who or what do you think is God?

The Final Touches

BY KRISTYNA MURPHY

Right now I am putting the final touches on my two stories. I like the way the video has turned out for “Who or What Is God?,” but the audio could be much better. It’s difficult to hear one or two people’s responses. I wasn’t sure if I should quote them across the bottom or do something more creative. I’ve finally decided that for three of the people, there would be words that come in and then disappear. And the wording would also be in a consistent font and color. I can’t really explain it, but you will see it soon enough.

I am also still waiting to hear back from one of the women in an arranged marriage. I am hoping to get wedding pictures to include in the slideshow. I really don’t want to have to resort to using Google images. I’ll give that a few more days to see if I hear back from either of them.

Reporting Abroad Experience

BY MEGAN NELSON

Before this trip, I had not taken into consideration the difficulties of being a journalist in foreign countries. It was much harder than I would have thought. 

Every culture works so differently that it is hard to adapt so quickly. For example, in Ireland everything moves at a much slower pace, so it was hard to get timely interviews. In London Elle and I encountered the problem that people would not e-mail us back for project ideas we had.  It was a good learning experience running into these problems, for I now appreciate the types of things I can accomplish easily once I am back in Arizona. In the U.S. people are more receptive to talking to American students than they were in Dublin, Paris and London.

Volunteering at a Sikh Gurdwara

BY MEGAN NELSON

Click here to see Elle Walls’ accompanying print story.

Kirtan: The Music of Sikhism

BY LAUREN KAWAM

After traveling to a Gurdwara, or Sikh temple, I was inspired to capture the spirit of this ceremonial music with this photo essay.

Faith Through My Eyes

BY SARAH WHITMIRE

Follow me on my reporting travels across Europe as I find a wide array of religious sects and cultures.
Red — Catholicism
Pink — Sikhism
Yellow — Protestantism
Blue — Judaism
Green — Islam

View Larger Map
All images shot by Sarah Whitmire for Faith & Friction blog for the Walter Cronkite School for Journalism and Mass Communication.
® Sarah Whitmire 2009

Lost in Little Somalia

BY DEREK QUIZON

As soon as we stepped out of the Finsbury Park subway station, it was immediately apparent to Jim and me that we weren’t in the safe, touristy part of London any more. There wasn’t a McDonald’s or a Starbucks in sight, and people stared at the two of us—American journalism students with press passes and cameras, as if we were from an alternate universe.

For me, it was an unsettling introduction to an unfamiliar neighborhood. But for Jim, a native New Yorker, it must have felt as if the Victoria line train we had just stepped off had crossed the Atlantic.

Reporting on Religion in London

BY MEGAN NELSON

My final project was on how some of the journalists we met report on religion. Journalists from BBC and the Guardian told us how they report on religion and shared many of the obstacles they have to overcome every day. It was very interesting to hear their input.  I filmed while both speakers talked to us, and I also took pictures at both places to use as b-roll in my story.