Catholic Media Journal » Pope John Paul II

We all arrive in Washington, DC

Jim Coyle — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:46:02 +0000

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Washington today, and so did our Franciscan University of Steubenville Media crew. There are 12 of us, and after a late departure from Steubenville – I had to switch to another rental van because of mechanical difficulties – we arrived at the site of our first video story: The John Paul II Cultural Center near the Basicilla Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. We jumped out of the vans, got our video equipment unpacked and recorded wonderful interviews with the leaders of the John Paul II Cultural Center, and were taken on a guided tour of the path and stops Pope Benedict will take Thursday evening when he leads an Interfaith Dialogue with many religious leaders. The Center is truly an amazing place.

As we videotaped our footage, a crew from Cox Communications, owners of the NBC affiliate TV station in Steubenville, videotaped us and recorded interviews with the students. Their story appeared on the 11:00 news in Steubenville tonight, although I couldn’t view it online.

Members of the team will be blogging about our project this week at Franciscan Papal Initiative, so check there for some of our experiences. We won’t have regular Internet access, but through the students’ gadgets I hope we can post from the midst of Pope Benedict’s visit to the USA.

Catholic Media Journal Podcast #2: Pope Benedict XVI and Authentic Church Renewal

Jim Coyle — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:00:06 +0000

In this edition of the Catholic Media Journal Podcast we look ahead to Pope Benedict XVI’s U.S. visit, hearing from Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Dr. Alan Schreck with some thoughts about Pope Benedict and authentic Church Renewal. (5:45)

The interview with Alan Schreck is an excerpt from an episode of Spirit and Life: The Franciscan Conferences Podcast, a bi-weekly podcast from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Information about the music in this edition of the Catholic Media Journal Podcast can be found here. And to be an early subscriber to our free podcasts, just Subscribe Here.

Catholic Media Journal’s New Design

Jim Coyle — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:03:00 +0000

Taking advantage of Spring Break here at Franciscan University of Steubenville, I’ve made several changes to Catholic Media Journal’s look and feel. The biggest change was switching to WordPress as the framework, using a theme by Chris Peterson. There’s still work to be done on the site, but since you’re reading this you know we’ve gone “live” with the new design.

Catholic Media Journal started in October 2005 as an online diary by Catholic journalists reporting on the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana. We’ve re-activated the Journal, planning to take a wider look at communications within and about the Catholic Church. A major event we’re planning to cover is the April visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, looking especially at New Media stories – and the communications technology being used in 2008. I’m anticipating many changes in technology since covering my last Papal Visit – World Youth Day in Denver with Pope John Paul II in 1993. All of it, though, should help tell stories of the Pope’s visit to the United States – more ”up close and personal” than ever before.

Jim Coyle