Catholic Media Journal » Papal Visit 2008

Some Reactions to Pope Benedict’s US Visit

Jim Coyle — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:27:09 +0000

In the days since Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States, the media have been reacting to and commenting on the trip, the Pope, what he said and what he did. And there will be much more commentary coming from many directions. One interesting report I heard was a 12-minute Vatican Radio story in which Americans living in Rome shared their reactions to the U.S. Papal Visit.

Jim Coyle

Journalist at Work

Jim Coyle — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:43:00 +0000

After Pope Benedict’s April 17, 2008 address to Catholic University leaders, National Catholic Register’s Tim Drake returned from the Catholic University of America campus to the Media Center where I saw him doing a phone interview with Fr. Terence Henry, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Later in the evening, Tim posted his first YouTube video on his Pope2008.com blog.

And of course Fr. Henry was also interviewed on the CUA campus by our Franciscan University student media crew following Pope Benedict’s talk. The crew is blogging when they can (which is not too often because we’re keeping them busy).

Jim Coyle

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.

Franciscan University Students to Produce Reality Mini-Series of Pope’s U.S. Visit

Jim Coyle — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:19:43 +0000

Communication Arts students from Franciscan University of Steubenville will be in Washington, D.C., April 15-18, to produce a reality-based television mini-series during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.

Their production will be one of the first professionally produced documentaries to tell the true story of how college students are positively influenced by their religion and how they are moved by the first visit of this pontiff to the United States.

Prior to Pope Benedict’s arrival, the Franciscan University film crew will be granted special access to the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., where the pope will conduct a peace dialogue with leaders of other faiths that will be one of the most significant interfaith discussions of his papacy. The crew will be allowed into the chapel where the pope will pray and receive an in-depth briefing about the preparations and protocol for the pope’s visit.

The production crew will also conduct interviews with college students and young people as they attend other papal events and mingle in Washington, D.C., streets, cafés, and restaurants.

In addition, they will conduct interviews with some of the world’s leading athletes who will be in Washington for the pope’s visit and a meeting of Catholic Athletes for Christ.

The three-part mini-series is a collaborative effort between Capistrano Films, an inspirational and faith-based production company, and the Communication Arts Department of Franciscan University of Steubenville. It will be co-directed by Antonio Soave of Capistrano Films and Dr. Jim Coyle of Franciscan University. The crew, comprised of television and journalism students, will be led by Maria Mitchell and Emma Smits.

Audio from the Field

Jim Coyle — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:12:57 +0000

Real-time Real-world on-location report. Well, this first audio report is from my office at Franciscan University of Steubenville. I’m looking forward to our trip to Washington for Pope Benedict’s visit, and having the chance to share the trip with you.

Jim Coyle

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.

First Draft: Catholic Media Journal Podcast #1 – Tim Drake

Jim Coyle — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:43:05 +0000

Through the magic of Internet communications, Tim Drake, Senior Writer for the National Catholic Register, was our Guest in the March 12 Church & Media class at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Tim talked with us about Catholic journalism, New Media, his experience blogging from 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, and his new blog, Pope2008.com – one of the RSS feeds featured on the right side of our website.

We recorded the 25-minute conversation as the first edition of the Catholic Media Journal Podcast and invite you to listen. Just use our player:

Update 3/21/2008: To be an early subscriber to our podcasts, follow this link.

Blogging the Papal Visit

Jim Coyle — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:11:01 +0000

As you scroll down this page, along the right side you’ll find feeds for 2 blogs devoted to Pope Benedict XVI’s April 15-20 visit to the United States. With the Pope’s visit several weeks away, bloggers are already sharing stories and information about the event. We’re reading about some of the behind-the-scenes preparations, seeing historic video footage of Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Catholic University of America, and finding links to some of the stories already being published in the regular media. Through these and other blogs, we’re already able to get a personal sense of involvement in Pope Benedict’s visit.

The first blog is Pope2008.com written by Tim Drake, an active Catholic author and journalist who blogged during World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, sharing stories through words and pictures. The next blog is from members of the Communications staff of the USCCB – the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – who are key planners for logistics and media relations for the U.S. Papal Visit. Right below that blog is a feed showing the most recent stories from the Papal Visit 2008 website.

These are RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds and will be showing the most recent posts and stories from their sources. Click on a post’s title or the name of the source to go directly to the website.

We’ll be adding more as time goes on, so be sure to check them out.

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

Pope Benedict XVI’s U.S. Visit

Jim Coyle — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:58:00 +0000

As announced in November, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI will make his first visit as the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church to the United States this April. Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Washington on April 15, travel to New York City April 18, and return to the Vatican on April 20.

The trip is historic, especially since the Holy Father will address the United Nations General Assembly, meet with President George Bush and visit Ground Zero. There will be several public events during the visit, including Masses at Nationals Park in Washington and Yankee Stadium in New York.

The schedule of events, along with other information about the Papal visit, is available online on the Papal Visit website from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.