Paul Glader
Executive Editor
Religion Unplugged
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ReligionUnplugged.com |
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ReligionUnplugged.com offers a fresh perspective on religion as a lived experience in all corners of the world. It aims to portray religion in public life and in peoples' lives. Its lean staff of editors utilizes a vast network of hundreds of contributors who are journalists on many continents and across dozens of countries. These journalist are able to spot and report stories in culture, politics and society that few US-based news outlets are able to find and report. Many of the writers at ReligionUnplugged.com are able to see stories of marginalized people and communities. For example, Zaffar Iqbal, is a correspondent for ReligionUnplugged.com based in Kashmir. He was in his early 20s when militants came to his newsroom and shot him through his legs and through the back of his head. The bullet went through his brain and out his nose. Somehow it missed the vital regions in his brain and he recovered and was able to speak again and work as a journalist again. Zaffar reported several pieces for ReligionUnplugged.com this past year about drug addiction issues in the Punjab region of India and about trends in dowry practices and some of the religiously-motivated activists who are trying to end the practice. Other correspondents in India watched and reported on a budding genocide in Manipur, India, where ethnic and religious conflict is leading to hundreds of places of worships being attacked, dozens of people brutally killed and innocent women paraded naked through the streets and gang-raped. Only viral footage of the latter seemed to make the news in the west. Our journalists at ReligionUnplugged.com put themselves in harms way to document the atrocities in Manipur with video and text reporting, serving as witnesses to the world about what is happening. ReligionUnplugged.com also prides itself on spotting religious themes in culture, including TV and film, art, music, books and sports. One example of a culture piece was by Princess Jones, who wrote about a southern recording artist named Jelly Roll, who has gained a following with his honest songs about recovering from drug addiction, struggling to find faith as a way to fend off his own demons and addiction issues. ReligionUnplugged.com continues as an extremely unique and elegant non-profit news outlet that is dedicated to honest and courageous reporting and analysis. Our aim is to cover stories that our friends in the mainstream press and the sectarian press might miss. We try to add to the conversation and the body of knowledge with a smart set of 10 to 15 pieces per week. The ongoing growth in traffic and impact from our reporting shows this strategy is effective and important. Our site design aims to feel like a magazine. It's designed to be engaging as well as relaxing and elegant. Our social channels and email newsletters all reinforce the quality journalism and elegant feel of the editorial product. We aim for deep context and are willing to go long on some stories that require depth. This thoughtful approach to digital journalism, we think, provides a refuge from the shorter, click-driven elements of digital news. |
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