EDITOR: Richard Bartholomew (Beat: Religion, Law, and Libel)

1. Who are you?

I am Richard Bartholomew, and for the past few years I have been blogging at Bartholomew's Notes on Religion.

2. What will you be writing about?

I have a particular interest in the relations between religion and politics, and between religion and the media; however, during my blogging career I have also become very aware of the need to monitor and critique developments in British libel law. Bizarrely, this last point may mean that from time I may find my myself on the same side as Murdoch.

3. Why are you doing this?

Right-wing distortion and disinformation has been a regular theme on my blog, and on occasion I have assisted American sites such as ConWebWatch (e.g. here) in exposing the likes of Joseph Farah and WorldNetDaily. I also monitor some of the activities of the Washington Times' notorious owner, Rev Sun Myung Moon, at a second blog, called Ambassadors for Moon, and I help to put the US Christian Right into global context as a contributor to Talk to Action.

Rupert Murdoch has appeared a few times on my blog in the past: I've had some fun with the fact that he's a Knight Commander of St Gregory, which is a Papal honour, and with his forays into religious publishing (e.g. here and here) via HarperCollins and Zondervan.

4. Why have you chosen your specific beat and/or what skills and expertise can you bring to it?

I have an academic background in the Study of Religion. My interest in UK libel law and other restrictions on free speech is in part grounded in principle, but as a blogger it is also a strategy for self-preservation.