MADISON, WI — Religious faith remains a key component of public and private life in the United States. Yet, America’s religious landscape is shifting, and as a result news coverage of religion has never been more important.

The Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions at UW-Madison, the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation invite you to a major national conference on journalism and religion.

“Reporting on Religion: Media, Belief and Public Life” will give journalists an opportunity to explore one of the most important, sensitive and controversial topics in contemporary America.

The one-day conference – held Monday, March 14, 2016, in Madison WI — will feature journalists and scholars who will help journalists and students gain a deeper understanding of the role religion plays in public life, how religion is represented – or not – in the news media today, and how to improve reporting of this important subject. The conference will culminate in a keynote address, open to the public, by television journalist David Gregory, the author of “How’s Your Faith? An Unlikely Spiritual Journey” and the former moderator of Meet the Press.

Registration is now open. Click here for the conference website, and to register.

Follow us on Twitter @reportreligion.

The conference lineup includes sessions on:

• “America’s Changing Religious Landscape.” Besheer Mohamed, senior researcher for the Pew Center on Religion and Public Life, will present Pew’s groundbreaking research on religion in America. Cathy Lynn Grossman, senior reporter, Religion News Service, will comment.
• “How the Press Covers Religion and Spirituality” with Grossman, James Davis, contributor to GetReligion.org and The Florida Catholic, Chuck Stokes, editorial/public affairs director, WXYZ-TV, Detroit, and Jaweed Kaleem, senior religion reporter, Huffington Post.
• Some of the hottest issues surrounding religion and public life in the U.S., including the conservative and liberal divide in Catholicism and other Christian faiths, fast-growing U.S. religions, and religious extremism. With Doug Erickson, religion and education reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, Bob Smietana, news editor, Christianity Today, and Dilshad Ali, managing editor, Patheos Muslim Portal.
• “A Journey Through New York City Religions” with Tony Carnes. Carnes has documented religion in the nation’s largest city for the last five years.
• “Religious Freedom and Freedom of Conscience,” a wide-ranging discussion featuring religious advocates, with a response from David Gregory, former moderator, Meet the Press.

More information about the conference lineup, the conference organizers and logistical details can be found here.

The conference is generously underwritten by the Lubar Institute and the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation, creators of Upper|House. It will be held at Upper|House, 365 East Campus Mall, adjacent to UW-Madison’s Vilas Hall.

Patron sponsors include the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, the Wisconsin State Journal and WKOW-TV. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is a supporting sponsor.

Registration includes lunch and is free for students, $15 for SPJ members, and $30 for non-SPJ members. The conference is aimed at journalists, but is open to the general public.
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The American wheat beer will debut March 16 at a celebration of Sunshine Week, the annual event honoring open government and the First Amendment. The celebration takes place from 6-9 p.m. at Next Door, 2439 Atwood Ave., Madison.

Sunshine Wheat features brewers malt, flaked wheat and crystal wheat from Wisconsin-based Briess Malt and Ingredients Company and Brewer’s Gold hops from Gorst Valley Hops of Mazomanie. It will feature an exotic dry hop. Sunshine Wheat will hold 4.8 percent alcohol-by-volume, 22 IBUs and a 5.6 SRM.

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association is the lead sponsor of the SPJ Madison-Next Door Brewing event. Other sponsors include WKOW, Wisconsin State Journal, With Gusto, Isthmus, and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

SPJ Madison, Next Door Brewing collaborate on American wheat beer to honor the First Amendment, open government and Wisconsin journalism

MADISON – The Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and Next Door Brewing invite journalists and advocates of open government to celebrate Sunshine Week with the tapping of Sunshine Wheat, an American wheat beer featuring local hops and malts, on Monday, March 16.

The celebration takes place from 6-9 p.m. at Next Door Brewing, 2439 Atwood Avenue, Madison. The first 50 attendees will receive a souvenir beer glass thanks to the generous lead sponsorship of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. WKOW-TV, the Wisconsin State Journal, Schott, Bublitz and Engel, and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism are supporting sponsors. Two tickets to upcoming Isthmus events – Isthmus Food Cart Fest, Paddle & Portage, Beer & Cheese Fest — will be awarded in a drawing, courtesy of Isthmus. With Gusto is making a poster for the event, prints of which will be available for $15 each.

Next Door head brewer Bryan Kreiter will speak about creating the beer and his use of local ingredients at 7 p.m. He will be followed with remarks by WNA executive director Beth Bennett about Sunshine Week.

Invited special guests include Wisconsin food and beer writers Chris “Beer Baron” Drosner, Robin Shepard, Laurel White, Linda Falkenstein, Barry Adams, Kathy Flanigan and George Zens.

March 16 is the 264^th anniversary of the birth of James Madison, father of the First Amendment and the man for whom the City of Madison is named. Sunshine Week, a national event in support of open government, runs March 15-21.

The event is free, and all area journalists are welcome to attend. There will be a cash bar; appetizers will be provided. RSVPs are appreciated to [email protected].

Based in Indianapolis, SPJ is a national membership organization that promotes high professional and ethical standards among journalists, First Amendment principles and the belief that a free and vigorous press is vital in a representative democracy. The Madison professional chapter was formed around 1990. Membership costs $75 annually, and it is open to journalists who spend at least half of their professional life writing or editing work for publication.

Contact: Mark Pitsch, [email protected]; 608-252-6145