Diane Winston, the Knight Chair in Media and Religion Diane Winston holds the Knight Chair in Media and Religion at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. A national authority on religion and the media, her expertise includes religion, politics and the news media as well as religion and the entertainment media. A journalist and a scholar, Winston's current research interests are media coverage of Islam, religion and new media, and the place of religion in American identity. Between 1983 and 1995, Winston covered religion at the Raleigh News and Observer, the Dallas Times Herald and the Baltimore Sun and contributed regularly to the Dallas Morning News. She has won numerous press association awards and was nominated for a Pulitzer for her work in Raleigh, Dallas and Baltimore. More recently Winston developed the Faith Front column at the Los Angeles Times and has written for the Huffington Post. Her articles also have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Chronicle of Higher Education. She currently writes about religion and media twice a week at http://uscmediareligion.org. In 1996, Winston received a Ph.D. from Princeton University. Her work in American religion explored evangelicalism, gender, consumer culture and urbanization. Her subsequent books have been Red Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of the Salvation Army (Harvard, 1999), Faith in the Market: Religion and Urban Commercial Culture (Rutgers, 2003) and Small Screen, Picture: Lived Religion and Television (Baylor, 2009). Her current project looks at religion, the news media and American identity.
Winston received post-doctoral grants from the Ford Foundation and the Lilly Endowment to work on religion, media and higher education projects and, subsequently, served as a program officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Her grant portfolio included both Religion and Higher Education and Religion and Media and she was responsible for the Pew Centers of Excellence as well as supporting Religionlink, Religionsource, The Revealer and "Speaking of Faith." She was appointed the first Knight Chair at USC in 2003 and has been in Los Angeles since. She teaches in the School of Journalism ("Covering Religion in the 21st Century," "Religion, Race and Culture"), the School of Communication ("Faith, Media and Hollywood") and the School of Religion ("American Religious History, "American Religion and Foreign Policy"). Overview/History In today's world, religion plays a crucial role in domestic and international affairs. That's why reporters benefit by understanding the importance of religion, spirituality, ethics and values to both individuals and society.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, aware that religion coverage requires more than "a few good religious beat reporters," conceived of the Knight Chair in Media and Religion as a rallying point for the re-visioning of religion in the news. In 2002, the foundation awarded the $1.5 million Chair to the USC Annenberg School for Communication in recognition of the school's commitment to enhancing media coverage of religion in the 21st century and raising public awareness of religion's socio-cultural significance. The school pledged to facilitate better coverage of religion, spirituality, ethics and values, and recruited Dr. Diane Winston to the Chair. USC Annenberg aims to establish the Knight Program as the West Coast intersection for the scholarship of religion and media. Thanks to the university's many resources — including the School of Religion, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, the School of Cinema-Television, and the Norman Lear Center, as well as local stakeholders such as Hebrew Union College, Fuller Theological Seminary, and the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Foundation, — the new Knight Program can integrate professional excellence with cutting-edge research. In addition, Southern California's diverse religious constituencies — ranging from long-established Catholic, Protestant and Jewish communities to evangelicals, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and members of new religious movements — provide the ideal laboratory for the study and documentation of Diaspora religions as well as the more homegrown varieties. The Knight Chair in Media and Religion participates in a wide range of activities, including the organization of conferences for working journalists and the sponsorship of events for the local community. Dr. Winston addresses a host of issues surrounding religion and media through her writing and public speaking, as well as her development of coursework and symposiums. Through these outreach activities, USC Annenberg has begun to emerge as a hub for re-visioning how the press—and society itself—thinks about and reports on religion. Mission Statement The Knight Chair seeks to establish the Annenberg School for Communication as a pre-eminent location for the enhancement of religion coverage—not simply confined to the traditional realms of religion reporting but one which proactively illuminates the intersection of religion and all beats, whether politics, environment, education, or entertainment. The Chair will develop courses for journalism students, sponsor public events, and initiate venture projects with local constituencies. The program aims to serve the news industry by working with media corporations and professional journalism associations to create an environment conducive to the critical understanding of religion, spirituality, and moral values as fundamental elements of coverage. In this capacity, the Chair will initiate continuing education programs that benefit journalists. More Information
Articles about Diane Winston:
USC Annenberg School for Communication
The Daily Trojan: Class guides students on reporting religious topics, 9/29/05
The Daily Trojan: Religion in film deconstructed, 4/19/05
The Daily Trojan: Helping Journalists Keep the Faith, 10/13/08
Articles by Diane Winston:
To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise (review), Religion Dispatches, June 2009
Covering Religion in the New Year: The Atheist Bus and More, Religion Dispatches, January 2009
Back to the Future: Religion, Politics and the Media, American Quarterly, September 2007
Press Coverage of Religion Tilts Right, The Huffington Post, June 7, 2007
Falwell had a dream,The Huffington Post, May 22, 2007
Forgetting Falwell, The Revealer, May 17, 2007
iFaith in the Amen Corner: How Gen Y is Rethinking Religion on Campus
Social Science Research Council: The Religious Engagement of American Undergraduates, May 11, 2007
Feeding desires, judging sin, The Revealer, December 11, 2006
Redeeming Media Relations, Fuller Theology News & Notes, Fall 2006
The Not-so-secret path to "The Path to 9-11," The Revealer, September 11, 2006
A Different set of questions, The Revealer, June 28, 2006
So where are the Muslims on CSI, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2006
A blessing or a purse, it's your choice, Los Angeles Times, April 16, 2006
Isaiahs are in short supply, Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2006
Atheism with a smile, Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2006
Don't take Jewish centrality for granted, The Jewish Week, February 24, 2006
Religious progressives, the next generation, Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2006
The risk of playing religion straight, Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2006
When the conflict narrative doesn't fit, Nieman Reports, January 1, 2006
Malling Christmas, Los Angeles Times, December 25, 2005
The power that made Rosa Parks, Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2005
6 million Muslim stories waiting to be told, Los Angeles Times, November 20, 2005
Redemption, God, a Crip and the "rapture index," Los Angeles Times, October 23, 2005
The mystical all-star band boogied down the Katrina blues, Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2005
Goose bumps at an L.A. mosque, Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2005
Polygamy, white booties and fiberglass oxen, Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2005
From strip show to skid row, Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2005
Hollywood's spooky spirituality, Los Angeles Times, June 12, 2005
Crusading iPoders for Christ, Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2005
Shaken by the notion of a faith-based nation, The Baltimore Sun, November 10, 2004
Tocqueville on the Campaign Trail, The Revealer, October 26, 2004
What and why people believe, The Revealer, September 11, 2004
Framing power, Maybe religion reporters aren't so stupid, after all, The Revealer, February 4, 2004
Unsung heroes, Beliefnet, May 23, 2000
Recent Presentations:
Panelist: "Religion and Media," Ford Foundation Board of Trustees, April 21, 2009
"Religion, Media and Nonprofits," International Center for Media Studies' Symposium 'Emerging Technologies, Globalization and the Developing World,'April 6, 2009
"Religion, the News Media and the 2008 Election," UCLA Extension Series: Beyond the Headlines: Morning Edition, November 18, 2008
Panelist: Annenberg Open Forum on Politics, War and More, USC, November 6, 2008
Panelist: "Generation 'Next' Votes: Does Faith Matter?, USC Visions & Voices and the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, October 29, 2008
"Run for the White House: Religion, Race, Gender and the Media," ASU Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, October 16, 2008; podcast available here; video feed available here.
"The Role That Religion has Played in the 2008 Elections," NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change, September 27, 2008
"Religion and World Politics," Festival of Faiths 2008, USC, 26 February 2008
US Elections and Religion, February 19, 2008
"Going Public on Religion: Paradise or Pitfall," American Academy of Religion, 19 November 2007.
"Sleeper Cell: Viewing Religion, Race and Terrorism in a Post 9/11 World," American Academy of Religion, 17 November 2007.
"Reporting on Religion: Religious Intolerance in Perspective," Harvard Divinity School LA Regional Event, 16 November 2007.
"Buddhism in the News: Religion, Media and Public Diplomacy," Religion, Identity and Global Governance Conference (USC), 18 October 2007.
"What Went Right: Religion, Politics and Journalism in the Twentieth Century," American Studies Association, 11 October 2007.
"Going Public on Religion: Paradise or Pitfall," American Academy of Religion, 19 November 2007.
"Interfaith Dialogue and Action," Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (UCSB), 27 August 2007.
Gralla Institute, 15 July 2007.
MIT Communications Forum: Evangelicals and the Media, April 5, 2007
The Future Is Now: Gralla Institute 2006 Keynote, Brandeis, July 16, 2006
If It Bleeds, It Leads: ASU Center for the Study of Religion & Conflict Marshall Series Lecture, April 20, 2006
The Way to the Land is Through the Wilderness: Pacific School of Religion Earl Lecture, January 24, 2006
Quoted:
Pamela Geller, "Queen of Muslim Bashers," at Center of N.Y. "Mosque" Debate, Religion News Service, August 20, 2010
Laws of Change, The Roanoke Times, August 19, 2006
Pride often trips up powerful figures, Rocky Mountain News, November 4, 2006
Fall TV Season Programs Are Out of This World, Baltimore Sun, July 22, 2007
A Pastor Finds a Way to Serve Two Disparate Flocks, New York Times, August 11, 2007
Superheroes to our rescue, Baltimore Sun, September 16, 2007
Jewish Flare of New TV Shows, Baltimore Jewish Times, September 21, 2007
Muslims on TV, No Terror in Sight, New York Times, November 11, 2007
With a Mormon candidate on the ballot, area church members open up about their beliefs, Ventura County Star, January 12, 2008
Westminster, Cypress show their faith in God, OC Register, February 24, 2008
USC religion site dissects the 'new Seven Deadly Sins', Dallas Morning News, March 11, 2008
Myers' latest spoof hits 'ohm', Yahoo, March 27, 2008
'Idol' Song Choice Courts Controversy and Finds It; Singer Is Voted Off, New York Times, April 25, 2008
Candidates and pastors: A holy war ahead?, Philly.com, May 23, 2008
Rick Warren hopes to redefine presidential politics, Orange County Register, August 8, 2008
Pastor to endorse candidate: West Bend minister part of initiative against tax code, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, September 26, 2008
Anti-religion Agenda Among Social Media Users, Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2008
Gay-Marriage Ban Protestors Target Mormon Church, National Public Radio, November 7, 2008
Faith-Based Views Veer Off a Straight Political Line, The New York Times, December 13, 2008
Spiritual Themes, Explored From Many Angles, The New York Times, April 10, 2009
Couple's Site Invites Others on Spiritual Quest, The Denver Post, May 10, 2009
Books by Diane Winston:
Red Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of the Salvation Army, 1999
Co-editor, Faith in the Market: Religion and the Rise of Urban Commercial Culture, 2002
Editor and Author, Small Screen, Big Picture: Television and Lived Religion, 2009
Complete CV available here. Media appearances by Diane Winston: "The Church of the Salvation Army" on NPR's "Tell Me More," December 4, 2009
"Religious 'Nones' and Religious Branding," Fox News Special Report, August 14, 2009
"TV and Parables of Our Time," on "Speaking of Faith" with Krista Tippett, July 16, 2009
"Gay-Marriage Ban Protesters Target Mormon Church," NPR, November 7, 2008
LA Roundtable: The Presidential Election, LA CityView Channel 35, October 27, 2008
"Sanctuary Movement," KCET Life & Times, May 9, 2007
"Mormon Mitt Romney's Potential as President," NPR: Day to Day, December 4, 2006
"Money 101: 'Christmas and Commerce,'" KNX 1070, November 27, 2006
"The Fall of Ted Haggard," CTV.ca, November 3, 2006
"Should Jesus Be on Television?" NPR: Talk of the Nation's Opinion Page, January 9, 2006
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