This headline from Fox News on last week’s arguments in Carson v. Makin—the Supreme Court case deciding whether parochial schools can be excluded from a state program that provides tuition for other private schools—illustrates a problem with the way the media covers rights cases. The headline reads: “Justices offer support for religious rights in Maine education case.” The case for religious rights in Carson v. Makin is reasonable, perhaps strong. But whether religious rights are being violated in the first place is the whole question. The headline’s assertion of ”religious rights” presumes what is actually in dispute. Fox News is … Continue reading The Press and the Rights Culture