media

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Uh oh. Mormon Broadway alert:

[Avenue Q creator, Bobby] Lopez also is teaming with Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of “South Park,” to write a stage musical about Mormons.

“It’s pro-Mormon,” Lopez said. “I don’t know that we’re not going to make fun of them, but it is pro-Mormon.”

That would be a nice change, but we’ll see. I’m no follower of Broadway, but Avenue Q doesn’t sound particularly inspiring and Stone and Parker’s last take on Mormons doesn’t sound to be that great either.

From David Archuletta to Stephenie Meyer: the LDS Newsroom looks at reconciling fame with Mormon faith.

One notion some reporters bring to their interviews with Mormon celebrities is that all Latter-day Saints are the same: squeaky clean and somehow unsuited to fame. The reality is, however, that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are all different, and those rising to prominence in their respective fields will handle the spotlight in their own ways. Some choose to push their beliefs aside, to varying degrees, as they make their way in fast-paced, high-profile industries such as movies, music and professional sports. Many, though, find ways to stay grounded and true to their faith while seeking to excel in their chosen pursuits.

Newsweek looks at why Mormons dominate reality TV .

In reality TV terms, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in a sweet spot demographically: still small enough that members get excited to see one of their own in the spotlight, but large enough that when they watch together and vote they can affect results and ratings.

Strange, but it’s very interesting to read how well Mormons have done.

“Church leader appeals to media to make distinction”

Drawing contrasts between the Church and polygamists, Elder Cook said that Church members do not live in isolated compounds, arrange marriages, dress in old-fashioned clothing or wear unusual hairstyles.

Rather, they are participating members of the communities in which they live throughout the world, get married at the average age of 23 and are well educated. In fact, 60 percent of Church members in the United States have some college education, which is 10 percent above the national average.

“Advertisers: Men Are Not Idiots” A message that is sadly necessary.

While the advertising industry’s negative depiction of fathers certainly isn’t the cause of fatherlessness, it is part of the problem. In a TV culture like ours, the fact that the only fathers one can see on TV are buffoonish (at best) does influence young people’s perceptions of fathers.

For young men, it makes it less likely they’ll aspire to be fathers, see their own value as fathers or, as Mr. Pitts explains, want to do the “hard but crucial work of being Dad.” For young women, it means they’ll be more likely to be misled into thinking that their children’s fathers aren’t important, that divorce or separation from them is no big deal, or that they should, as is the increasing trend, simply dispense with dad altogether and have children on their own.

Travis catches the AP reporting that the Church “prohibits attendance by women” at the Priesthood session.

YouTube solves crime:

On March 24, a man walked into Wright’s Motorcycle Shop, 3474 S. State, and stole a jar filled with donations for an annual Shriner’s Hospital benefit, according to a statement from South Salt Lake police.

The theft was reported to police, but the store’s owner, Tim Gallagher, also posted the surveillance footage on www.youtube.com. This week, an anonymous person called police and identified the suspect. Before police made an arrest, the man turned himself in.

I’ve noticed this strange trend too. What’s up with all the new up and coming former-Mormon celebrities?

“Confessions of a News Junkie“  It is sobering to compare how much time I spend on email and RSS feeds compared to reading the scriptures.  Urgent news that “we need to know” really isn’t that important.   

Scripture is the most important tradition that man can have, and yet how few people make use of it. Instead they read the news. The news is what will be old tomorrow and without interest. Yet it becomes a narcotic that must be taken daily and that yields no lasting satisfaction but only another craving. ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14.)

The accomplishments of Hollywood feminism:

When you compare how today’s movie’s exploit women compared to pre-feminist days it becomes clear that feminism has essentially accomplished two things.

1. Fulfilled the fantasy of every man who thinks women are nothing more than sexual animals created for his own pleasure.

2. Removed the right for women to demand they be treated like “ladies.”

I don’t know if I missed the announcement, but MormonTimes.com is live after having been announced last month.  It looks nice.  

Congress scores another one for religious (tv-watching) freedom. Sen. Hatch gets the NFL to let churches show the Super Bowl.

The commissioner sent Hatch a response on Tuesday that said the league would have no problem with “live showings - regardless of screen size - of the Super Bowl” so long as the event was free and held in a building normally used by the religious organization.

“I am grateful that this accommodation was made to allow the NFL to protect its copyrighted material, while respecting the interests of churches,” Hatch said in a statement. “Although the practice is uncommon in Utah, Super Bowl parties can be very beneficial for all involved.”

How secretive is Mormonism?

Media Lessons From Slovenia: Interesting difference between media coverage of the Church in the U.S. and a nation still emerging from behind the Iron Curtain:

Sirtl believes that “in countries like the United States where there is a long and rich tradition of religious pluralism, many journalists skip the basics of a faith in their reporting and focus on contrasts with other churches. Solely concentrating on differences is often driven by a desire to situate a specific faith within the wider religious mosaic.”

But she says that journalists in Slovenia and other places where such a diversified religious milieu either does not exist or is emerging “have to start from scratch. They are building their knowledge and their stories from the basics.”

A new regular feature? The Deseret News highlights some links in the Bloggernacle from the past week. Another case of newspapers starting to notice the new media, but this time with actual links.

YouTube - Elder Ballard Invites Mormons to Join Internet Conversation

Not surprisingly, Mormons have mixed feelings about the media scrutiny the Romney campaign has brought upon the Church.

A good characterization of Romney’s campaign:

Despite Romney’s attempts to keep the campaign focused on issues, questions about Mormons and their religious practices such as wearing sacred undergarments and conducting secret ceremonies inside their temples have dogged the candidate and, by extension, the 178-year-old Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A fair question:

“At what point does a religion attain the status of just being accepted generally?” Parker asked. “I don’t know, but Mormonism isn’t there. It’s kind of opened my eyes, really about the rest of the country.”

The long view:

“I think over the long term this is going to be a very, very positive thing for us,” said Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ballard and others have been visiting the editorial boards at newspapers and magazines to discuss Mormonism.

“We’re wanting to be a part of the conversation because we do not want people defining us,” he said. “Whether we clear up all the misunderstandings is something else, but we certainly had the chance to talk to them about real issues.”

The MSM seems to be really pulling for McCain from the WP’s defending him in “Romney Took McCain’s Words for a Spin” to the AP’s “news analysis” on Romney’s victory in Michigan:

Mitt Romney’s victory in Michigan was a defeat for authenticity in politics.

The former Massachusetts governor pandered to voters, distorted his opponents’ record and continued to show why he’s the most malleable — and least credible — major presidential candidate.

Thanks, Newsbusters.

Deseret Morning News set to launch Mormon Times.  A new Thursday print section with a more robust version available online soon at MormonTimes.com (not yet working).  Includes a weekly column by Orson Scott Card.