"C" Work: Vermont Public Radio tried to do a story about Mormons at Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon, Vt. Instead of talking about the faith,however, the reporter turns the story into how the church is "mum" about politics and won't give access to missionaries. It was a missed opportunity for the reporter and for the church.

"D" Work: In news reporting classes that I teach I talk a lot about "relevance" and a "news peg." I couldn't find much of either in this very long piece about Mitt Romney's involvement in the building of the Boston Temple in Belmont, Mass. Based on the article's sheer verbosity, you would think Romney played some leading role in building the temple and selecting the site. Although it is framed with the sinister headline, "Mormon Temple Casts a Shadow," the article doesn't make that case. It was written by WaPo Style writer Sridhar Pappu, who appears to be assigned to provide some meaningful narratives on the candidates. This one is a dull story and not too meaningful at that. Maybe Pappu felt like he had more to write after his novella on Romney ran in the September 2005 Atlantic, in which he asked Romney "How Mormon are you?" and then quizzed him about his undergarments. It was certainly one of the low points of the coverage of the presidential campaign.

"F" Work: When do Mormons get to define themselves? There are dozens of examples of news reports where journalists turn to Evangelicals to define Mormons and their religion. It's unfair not to give Latter-day Saints opportunities to respond or even define the conversation. While mainstream Christian practice and theology may be more familiar to journalists, to use a measuring stick of traditional Christianity to rate Mormon beliefs is not good journalism. Unfortunately, journalists sometimes report less-familiar theology with suspicion, and as idiosyncratic. To me, that's bias.

Here's a perfect example from the New York Times. Under the menacing headline, "Fear and Faith: A Mormon's Ultimate Doorbell," writer Laurie Goodstein talks to three prominent evangelicals, but nary a Mormon — unless you count Mitt Romney, who is quoted in excerpts from his "faith and politics" speech.