Quality journalism needs a resurrection I say. Because it is sure looking dead and buried in a quagmire of derivative sensationalism. See here what the Sydney Morning Herald had to say this morning:
JERUSALEM: Two nails used in Jesus's crucifixion have been discovered in a 2000-year-old tomb, a documentary maker has claimed, sparking intense debate among historians.
The rusted, bent iron nails were found more than 20 years ago in a tomb outside Jerusalem that contained a number of ossuaries, or boxes containing bones.
Two boxes were inscribed with the name Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest who presided over Christ's crucifixion, the New Testament says.
Excuse me? Just what did the New Testament say? That two boxes were inscribed with the name Caiaphas? Here we have some journalistic yoga wouldn't you say! Buried at the very end of the article, in the very last line, as a seemingling insignificant point:
The nails were discovered in 1990 before disappearing. Jacobovici claims to have tracked them down to a laboratory in Tel Aviv. The documentary, The Nails of the Cross, airs in the US next week. Jacobovici's claims have been dismissed as a publicity stunt.
A publicity stunt that jounralists are only too willing to cooperate with it would appear. Time Magazine was somewhat less disingeneous, reporting:
Just in time for Easter, an Israeli television journalist has produced a pair of nails he says may have been used to crucify Jesus Christ. "We're not saying these are the nails," says Simcha Jacobovici, holding aloft a pair of smallish iron spikes with the tips hammered to one side. "We're saying these could be the nails."
Just in time for easter indeed. I think I'll put this one on the shelf next to the rest of my Easter conspiracy collection: Gospel of Judas (Lent 2006), Jesus Family Tomb (Lent 2007), Bloodline (Lent 2008), and Crucifixion nail found at Knights Templar stronghold (Lent 2010).
