IttHMIIIIIIMIIIIIMtlllMUIINMIHIMHHUIIIIIUUIIIIIIIIIIIIK Should we co Johnson. "But ministers are leaders and, in my judgment, public people -- especially in a city like Winston-Salem, where the church plays such a prominent role. Like elected officials, ministers have certain respon' sibilities - and when they don't uphold those responsiblities, they should be held accountable, just as we all should. "Sometimes the truth is painful, " Johnson said. "And sometimes the newspaper is put in the ages-old predicament of being the bearer of bad news who is blamed for the bad news." Drawing The Line Still, where do you draw the line? "I think you have to think about what's best for the community," said the Rev. Carlton Eversley, pastor of Dellabrook Presbyterian Church. "Is the public's right to know connected with gqssip? Is the story really newsworthy?" Dr. Kelly O.P. Goodwin, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church and a member of the Chronicle's advisory board, said almost any story can qualify as a matter of public interest if the media decide to play up the story. "I think people get interested in it when it gets whipped up as a story," Goodwin said. For Henry Robinson, a black religion reporter for The Asheville Citizen-Times, drawing the line between a private church matter and a topic for public discussion is more complex. Robinson said he considers whether or not the issue has become a matter of public record - involving a legal document such as an arrest warrant or court order -- whether the church is split and whether the issue will ... make "good copy." "It's not necessarily a matter 22 of public interest," Robinson Local Chrisi From Page A1 INIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIINHNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIlin and Christianity." "The emphasis for the prograi tionships within both commun Griggs, executive director of the Griggs said the idea for the dialogue held last spring titled, 4 rakhan."' "After that program, we reali; political interface of the Musi _?- ?Griggs saftf7-"Tftis~program wo gram." Because similar dialogues havi jor cities across the country, G gram is a historic step. "America is considered a Chr secular nation that has Christian have little knowledge of Muslim help us to have a clear understa Griggs promises that the prog of either religion, but will, instea hopes will become an organizati day problems. "Many of the ministers locall attitude when it comes to politi . - Griggs. "And, similarly^many \ probiems , i>ut Hwe aren't tiomg^ Griggs said the organization, simply deal with voter registrati of candidates, but will focus on "I hope, if something does e^ attending to more and more o clinics (and) emergency food d people turn to Crisis Control," 1 Christians are sensitive from a t ding to the needs of the unfortur translated." In addition, Griggs said, th monitor and raise moral questic "People are beginning to beli< a political arena is forbidden," s ed that with separation of churcl versus politics. "Now, the only groups rais racist and ultraconservative. dialogue is to raise those moral social and political life. 4 i T? ^ 1 /\m ^ riirl r 1 rur a iuiijj unit, saiu vjh those ultraconservative racists, wrong with me, because I agree< saying." While the program will be Griggs said, he expects that you morality, as well as social and p< forums and ultimately help s organization. IIIIIIIHIHIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIItllltlMHIIIIMIIIhMIIIIIIUIIHI ver church im iiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiutiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiii! said of a hypothetical story, "and it would behoove me to stay away from it, but it makes good copy." And sometimes reporters should just avoid the story altogether because of .the possibility of a libel suit, he said. A Matter Of Public Record To Eversley, however, those criteria only tend to sensationalize religion coverage. Jusj because a church or its pastor is accused in a legal document available for public inspection, that doesn't mean the media should cover it in depth, he said. Some incidents simply should be confined to the "crime blotter" unless convictions are handed down, he said. "I don't think if you wait until the outcome of trials that you can be accused of a whitewash," Eversley said. "At that point, it might become a story of valid interest." I Cecile Holmes-White, religion writer for The Greensboro News & Record, sees church matters in a broader context than whether or not they appear in legal documents and public records. Her job as a full-time religion reporter requires her to delve actively into churches' teachings and their involvement in the surrounding community. And, because her newspaper has the resources to provide daily coverage of religious issues and activities, Holmes-White is expected to write a lot of copy ? more than she could write if she confined her work to the public record. She . says church business becomes a matter of oublic in terest when it involves the public record, when a congregation puts itself in the public limelight and when it concerns issues already a matter of public discussion ? such as abortion, school prayer i tians iiiiiiiiiiimiimiimiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimtiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiii m is to try to build or cement relaities," said Khalid Abdul-Fattah : Institute for Islamic Studies, forums resulted from a similar 'Malcolm, Martin, Jesse and Farzed a need to have more social and im and Christian communities," uld be an-outgrowth of that proe not taken place in any other mairiggs said, Winston-Salem's proistian nation, but I believe this is a s in it," said Griggs. "Most people s except the basic beliefs. This will nding of each other." rams will not be a critical analysis id, serve as a beginning for what he on to help local people with everyy and nationally have a hands-off cal and social involvement," said luslims are uninvolved, We see the mytkmg^bout '' if support for it is shown, will not on projects or make endorsements man's everyday needs. ^olve, that it would be focused on f the everyday needs, like health istribution, as opposed to having le said. "Oftentimes, Muslims and heological perspective about attenuate, but on a practical level it's not e group will serve as a body to >ns to politicians. eve that to raise moral questions in aid Griggs. "But they have confus i and state. The issue is not religion ing moral issues are reactionary, The purpose of the forum and issues and put morality back into ggs, "when I listened to some of I had to question if something was J with some of the things they were geared to all of Winston-Salem, ng, professional people looking for olitical involvement, will attend the hape a formal Muslim-Christian ltters? f IIHIIIItMlttlMIIHMIMMIMMHUIIUIMIIHtlltllilMMMIIIIUI and nuclear warfare. "It becomes public business when it becomes involved in the court system or anything involving legal charges or when there is police involvement," she said. "The only other time a church's business becomes public is when a church or its pastor enters public arena, such as organizing a voter registration drive or endorsing political candidates." Church business occasionally becomes highly publicized because church members themselves feel compelled to bring it to the public's attention. Such action often is either the result or cause of a split in the congregation's ranks. Although some church members might regard this as washing dirty linen in public, others might see it as justified "whistle-blowing" to end abuses or corruption in the church ? depending on the specific incident. "Anytime there's a split between the church, it's up for grabs," said Hobinson, adding that fair coverage with comment from both sides is essential. In those situations, Robinson said, he tries to ensure that persons making charges or bringing forth damaging information are responsible individuals. "It's a complex problem and you have to be very careful to quote a respectable church leader, not a hell-raiser," he said. Each Case Is Different Even then, Holmes-White said she would have to judge such potential stories on their individual merits. Individual circumstances play a large role in her determination of whether a church story is worthy of # 1 ) Stripe S Oxford I Shirts A 9.90 5 1 reg. $18 ^ 1 New Fall Stripes ir ) Polyester/Cotton ( Blends. Sizes 5 to 1 J Corduroj ( I *31 J Polyester/G ( Light Grey ar ( T urquoise ) Sizes 3 to 1! f Th< rom Page A1 M iMIIlllllllUltliiMllltlUMIMMIIIiMIMftlMMMMMMIMIMIM # TNI coverage ? such a great role, in fact, that she said she has no specific policy for drawing the I : line between private church mat- ^9 ters and public interests. C- 1 A If the police or courts were in- I ? , volved, her newspaper probably I ^ I would assign a court or police reporter to the story, she said, 1 ijBM although she added that she has I |{r"T" cooperated with other reporters I |L X. on the News A Record staff in I | I preparing such stories in the past. In the recent case where E!>j5B members of a divided congrega- I, tion alerted the Chronicle to their l: pastor's one conviction for driv' Please see page A11 Special Orders Available I CHOICE OF FAI I _ -?? DROPCOIL S CONS1 I Phone 764-3776 I KEN LU I? | FREE DEUVEBY | I ^^^^ 784-760^32fT