Loading ...With readers revolting, Indianapolis Star (re)turns to prayer
flockwoodEarlier this month, the Indianapolis Star stirred up a hornet’s nest by eliminating the “daily prayer” from its pages. The Star had been running short invocations for more than four decades. It had paid a local minister $20 per week to create daily invocations such as:
Dropping the prayer wasn’t much of a money saver. But it sent a message that the Star prefers to keep religion out of the public square.
The decision to drop the daily prayer, predictably, caused an uproar. At first, Indianapolis Star editor Dennis Ryerson
defended the decision, basically arguing that he runs a newspaper, not a dial-a-prayer hotline. But eventually, Mr. Ryerson wisely backed down.
As of Friday, Jan. 16, the prayer is back on page A2 of the Indianapolis Star.
The controversy doesn’t surprise me. Newspaper reading is addictive. It’s habit-forming. And, for a lot of us, it’s a daily ritual. Drop any newspaper feature that’s been in place for 40 years, and chances are, somebody’s going to be pretty unhappy.
By targeting the daily prayer for elimination, Star officials wandered onto a culture wars minefield. Give the Star credit for listening to subscribers and responding.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
You’re right, Frank. I remember years ago when the Lexington Herald-Leader threatened to cancel the little bridge problem that they print each day, along with the chess problem. I can’t imagine that one person in a hundred actually plays bridge any more, but they were swamped by protests and decided to keep it.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I’m still bothered by the editor’s explanation. Newspapers carry so much more material than just hard news and opinion, and that’s a very good thing. If the publication can print comic strips, advice columns, horoscopes, weddings and engagements and anniversaries, and the betting line on the Super Bowl, then what is possibly wrong with a simple prayer?
There are many places where religion is improperly insinuated into our society. But this is a private enterprise with a tradition of serving a potpourri of information and entertainment to the masses. It is a grand buffet where readers can pick and choose whichever article they want to read and skip over the rest. A daily prayer adds a little something to someone’s life while taking away nothing from anyone else.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Makes you really wonder if the editors know what is print worthy.
January 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Sounds to me like the minister who writes the prayers ought to get more than twenty bucks a week, though.