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Religion author Jeff Sharlet argues that if mega-churches and televangelists receive too much attention by the media, the influence of an elite group of evangelicals receives too little. Sharlet says that a group known simply as "The Family" has powerful sway among some of Washington's top lawmakers, and that their media strategy is simple: avoid it.
Former Dallas Morning News religion reporter Christine Wicker set out to write a book about the growing influence and strength of evangelical churches. But she found a community more fractured and less numerous than typically reported by the media. She explains that numbers for evangelicals in the U.S. are grossly inflated.
On the eve of his 20th anniversary, Rush Limbaugh has re-upped his contract - 400 million dollars over the next eight years. With at least 14 million listeners a week, and a political muscle flexed as recently as this spring’s primary season, Rushbo is at the top of his game. New York Times Magazine contributor Zev Chafets explains Rush’s reach.
In his 84 years Tony Schwartz produced over 30,000 recordings, thousands of groundbreaking political ads, media theory books and Broadway sound design, invented the portable recorder, delivered hundreds of lectures and had full careers as an ad executive and a pioneering folklorist. And he did it all without leaving his zip code. Schwartz died in June and we offer a piece from the Kitchen Sisters, looking back at his life spent listening.
