How many people are currently employed in the field of religion reporting in the secular US media? What’s the outlook for the future?
We estimate there are between 400 and 500 people who spend a significant part of their time reporting on faith and values. Nearly all newspapers with circulations of 100,000 or more have at least one religion reporter who works mostly fulltime on the beat. Reporters working at newspapers smaller than 50,000 usually cover a variety of topics, including religion. About two-thirds of RNA’s members are at publications over 50,000 in size, It is rare for television stations to have a religion reporter, because its reporters are rarely organized by beat. ABC network news does have a reporter whose specialty is religion, but none of the networks has anyone who does it fulltime. The secular news media, particularly newspapers, are in a transition time. As they struggle to increase circulation they are striving to find new beats and new areas to cover that will attract readers, especially youth and readers from diverse ethnicities. At the same time they are under increasing pressure to raise co
