Such positions are very important both in terms of Christian witness but also because the media values diversity. Indeed, unless The Fourth Estate includes those who understand religious values it risks seriously misreporting and distorting its news reporting, for public opinion polls consistently show society has an enduring belief in God and interest in religion.
An important and still largely unanswered question is: "How many Christian reporters are there?"
Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, one of the highest profile Christians in the media, told me a decade ago that he stumbled across many of them as he traveled to speaking appearances across the country. Many would come up to him after he spoke, identify themselves, and say that he was the only other Christian journalist they knew of.
My soul was stirred out of concern for each of these brothers and sisters in the faith who felt like The Lone Ranger.
I was a radio news reporter who had made the transition from Top 40 radio to Christian radio in 1982, after about a decade in the business. Climbing the career ladder into larger markets had been a questionable attraction. Suddenly a door opened and it looked like religious media was a more challenging and exciting forum.
I discovered news in Christian radio was still in its infancy. I felt God calling me to lend my expertise and experience to its development. Finally, after several years of prayer and reflection, I began publishing a newsletter called SCRIBE.
At the same time, a friend encouraged me to include Christian journalists working in the secular media in SCRIBE's focus. It didn't seem to fit but God was still at work.
David Bryant, the founder of the Concerts of Prayer Ministry, was living in Madison at the time. As he coordinated monthly concerts of prayer events in local churches I found myself frequently praying for colleagues in the media, one of the most certifiably non-religious demographic categories available.
God answered those prayers in an unusual manner.
When Donna Shalala became Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin, I was invited to a media reception with my colleagues. A chance conversation, or more accurately a providential meeting with a newspaper editor, lead to an offer to write a weekly column on the Religion Page of THE CAPITAL TIMES.
Suddenly I had two outlets for "ministry," one for fellow Christian radio news reporters and one for fellow Madison journalists, who began to talk with me about some of my columns.
The president of the Radio Television News Directors Association came to Madison in July, 1995. Local broadcast journalists were invited to a reception and dinner at The Madison Club. As we started to introduce ourselves around the table, I wondered if I would have the courage to talk about what was really on my heart.
I identified myself as the news director of the local Christian radio station and said I saw myself as an evangelist, in two different ways: "encouraging colleagues in Christian radio to develop better news and informational programming to better serve their listeners, and encouraging secular media colleagues to better understand and report on the widely under- recognized religious dimensions of society."
But by then anther initiative had begun, QV, perhaps the most important one.
There was one more attempt to mesh Christian radio and secular journalists, through SCRIBE, after a 1992 conference for Christian journalists in Washington. It still didn't take. It became obvious to me that, short of an actual organization for Christian journalists, a separate newsletter was necessary.
It was not a project that I readily embraced. In addition to my fulltime radio news job, the newspaper column, and SCRIBE, I was editing another quarterly newsletter on Biblical Archaeology.
But the newspaper column became a monthly effort when THE CAPITAL TIMES moved me into a rotation with a nun, a rabbi and a feminist. And God brought several other Christian journalists with similar concerns across my path.
John DeDakis, a former Madison TV reporter now with CNN, hooked me up with his friend Joe Murchison, editor of The Laurel Leader, in Maryland. And David Aikman referred me to Hiawatha Bray, a business reporter for The Detroit Free Press.
Both felt strongly that there should be an organization to network and support Christian journalists. It didn't seem as if the timing was exactly right to launch an organization so we decided to start with a newsletter to serve Christian journalists.
As we discussed a name or a theme I was grabbed one day by the phrase, "the pursuit of truth." Looking for some kind of angle I talked with a nun at a local Catholic college. She told me the Latin for that phrase would be "Quaesitus Veritatis." Jim Rutz, another early supporter, reminded me that the initials "q.v." were also familiar to writers as shorthand for "check the source" (quae vide, which see). We had our name.
The first edition was published in the winter of 1994. We've been publishing four issues a year ever since, and somehow we've found enough material to keep it going.
I lost contact with Hiawatha after he suffered the twin traumas of a divorce at home and the bitter Detroit newspaper strike. The last I heard he landed at a Boston newspaper. Joe continues to be supportive but the burden of other responsibilities has limited his involvement.
Along the way Julia Duin, of The Washington Times, offered support and assistance. Russ Pulliam, Wes Pippert and many others offered encouragement. Jennifer Ferranti helped layout several editions. A number of other writers have contributed an article or graciously approved a reprint.
I am humbly thankful to all of those who have paid for annual subscriptions to QV. Without them the newsletter could not continue. Most years the subscription income has come pretty close to meeting or exceeding printing and mailing costs.
The most exciting development in the history of QV was last year's announcement by David Aikman of the founding of Gegrapha, an international fellowship for Christian journalists. The resources of QV, as limited as they are, have been put at the disposal of Gegrapha.
Although Gegrapha is not at this time a membership organization, there are two ways for Christian journalists to "join" the movement and be a part of the network. One is through attendance at Gegrapha events, and the other is through a subscription to QV.