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When religion haunts a news story At Get Religion, a blog on religion and the news, Terry Mattingly explained his idea of “religion ghosts”. A “ghost” is a story that’s “haunted” – that is, “there is a religious fact or subject missing, creating a religion-shaped hole that makes it hard for readers to understand what is going on.”
For instance, the New York Times recently reported on an effort to build a new hospital in rural Florida. A larger hospital objected, saying the new hospital would siphon off patients and revenue, and a legal wrangle ensued. The “ghost” appears in a brief reference to the “Ave Maria community”, which would be near the new hospital. This is the college town built around “Catholic values”.
