GROUND ZERO MOSQUE OR ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER?

So is it a mosque or not? Depends on which news outlet you’re watching or reading, reports Yahoo media writer Michael Calderone.




The New York Times, Calderone reports, has consistently avoided the construction “Ground Zero mosque.”



CNN, he writes, advises its people to call it ”an Islamic center that includes a mosque that is near Ground Zero, or is two blocks from Ground Zero.” But CNN notes that its pundits may use other language.



The Associated Press only started using “Ground Zero mosque” in unofficial headlines in May, but hasn’t called it that in the body of a story. However, those headlines are often adopted by the newspapers and other outlets that use AP copy.



At its own Web site, the Park51 project is to be “dedicated to pluralism, service, arts and culture, education and empowerment, appreciation for our city and a deep respect for our planet.”



It will include a culinary school, gym and basketball court, swimming pool, a Sept. 11 memorial and contemplation space, and “a mosque, intended to be run separately from Park51 but open to and accessible to all members, visitors and our New York community.”



Lee Siegel of The New York Observer takes issue with some of the more critical descriptions of the Islamic cultural center and discusses the founders’ motivations in this post.



The StarNews used “Ground Zero mosque” in a headline over a letter to the editor critical of religion blogger Amanda Greene’s post about Ilario Pantano and the cultural center, or mosque (I’m struggling with the lingo myself here). Amanda’s post is headlined “What do Ilario Pantano and a mosque at Ground Zero have in common?” But in the body of her post, she calls it “the mosque that got approval this week to be built two blocks away from Ground Zero in New York City.”



The language news outlets adopt can help shape debate on a controversial subject.



It is a mosque, but it’s not just a mosque. It’s two blocks from Ground Zero, not at Ground Zero.



Headline writers are often torn between the need to communicate in few words and the desire for precision and accuracy. Reporters, on air and in print, can spend an extra few words to be accurate in their descriptions.