John Dart
Religion-beat guru retires
By Lesley Martin
With a veteran's modesty, he still speaks of the joy of telling a story and seeing his name in print as among his most rewarding experiences as a journalist.
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John Dart
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"I probably did about 4,200 byline stories for the Times in 31 years," said John Dart ('58), the recently retired religion reporter for the Los Angeles Times. "More than appreciation for any individual stories, I was most pleased whenever readers told me they always liked to read my stuff and looked forward to it."
During his extensive career, Dart, 62, has become one of the School's high-profile graduates, publishing five books, contributing chapters and articles to media-organizations' publications and winning three prestigious fellowships. His "Deadlines & Deities: A Primer on Religion News Coverage," published by the First Amendment Center, is the primary religion-beat resource for newsrooms across the country.
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The religion desk, however, was not Dart's intended calling.
"While studying journalism at Colorado University, I would never have guessed I would wind up on the God beat, or even that I would like it. I was not active in any religious groups then," Dart said.
"When I applied at the L.A. Times, the only job open was as a second religion writer. I took it, mostly because I thought a reporter's life is more rewarding when you have a chance to become a quasi-expert in some field."
He remained with the Times for the rest of his career. In retrospect, Dart said, he sees that "the religion beat is one that many reporters stay on for years because it has such variety and scope of subject matter. Not only covering mainstream religion and offbeat groups but also trends in spirituality and when faith conflicts--or harmonizes--with science, medicine, law, schools, entertainment, sports, etc."
With an increase in the diverse subject matter covered as well as attention given to it by major news organizations, religion coverage is expanding rapidly, Dart said. The Times added three more reporters to the original two in the last six years, while broadcasting stations are dedicating more reporters and more stories to religion, he said.
The urge to be a journalist started early for Dart.
"I wanted to be a journalist ever since the third grade when the local paper in White Plains, N.Y., printed some of my short 'stories' on a weekly school-kids' page of articles. Seeing that byline in print and hearing friends mention seeing it got me."
The glory of seeing his byline did not override his true motivation, however.
"There are journalists who go into the business because they are naturally inquisitive with an outgoing personality. Then, there are others, like myself, who in spite of their relatively shy ways, nevertheless want to be the first one to tell others about something new, and tell it to them in an engaging manner," Dart said.
For those students just graduating from CU and entering the world beyond the classroom, Dart offers this advice. He recommends mastering the basics, including excellent reporting and writing skills, striving for objectivity and being thoroughly familiar with a topic and the beat in general.
Dart commended the School for nurturing the relationships students developed.
"The J-school was helpful to my career, not so much in skills learned in classes, but primarily in strengthening my desire to be a journalist. Esprit de corps is an intangible benefit to being a journalism major, and you certainly need it to get through those low-paying early jobs," Dart said.
Dart's life as a reporter ended in December when he retired from the Times. He is getting back into a game that held his attention while he was at CU: table tennis.
"I spent way too much time at CU in the games area at the student union when they had about six table tennis tables. I eventually won the CU singles title one year in table tennis--it was an active group of excellent players. A year ago, I went back to playing in tournaments after a lapse of some 25 years," Dart said.
And his interest in religion is not confined strictly to the newsroom. In fact, Dart plans to attend a religion-and-media conference in Jerusalem in 2000.
Dart has four children and said his wife of 42 years, Gloria, proved invaluable in helping him reconcile his life as a reporter and father.
"Raising four kids was possible because my Gloria was a full-time mother and homemaker--hey, this was the '50s! We never regretted what seemed very natural," Dart said.