Primer on writing an article on Indy minyanim
So, once again (there was an article in the Washington Post from April 2009, but you have to pay for it), the mainstream press has discovered the independent minyan phenomenon, and written the same boilerplate article about it. To make things easier in the future, I thought I would provide a simple outline for future intrepid reporters who discover this phenomenon.
1. Start with a paragraph about how lively or passionate the service is.
2. Get a quote from Jonathan Sarna. (This seems to apply to anything in the Jewish community.)
3. Get a quote from Elie Kaunfer.
4. Write that everybody in the Indy minyan movement is in their twenties or thirties, is not looking for a community and sees the minaynim as a stop-gap until they settle down.
5. Get a quote from the head of the Reform or Conservative minyan saying that while it is a positive phenomenon, the Indy movement is disturbing since those folks should be in our shuls.
6. Include a picture of an open Torah Scroll.
7. Don’t let any facts get in the way of the story you want to write.
