This is Austin?

So, in this weekend's paper, I got my copy of the Statesman's 2007 edition of "This is Austin," billed as the guide to "everything worth knowing about our area" from "hot spots to highways and swimming pools to private schools." The online version has links to Ats and Entertainment, Transportation, Recreation and Community, Business, and Education.

Notice anything missing from a guide designed to tell you everything you need to know about Austin? Here's a hint: it starts with "ch" and ends in "urches."

This is a guide to introduce Austin to prospective residents, and if the stats are reliable, at least half of incoming residents to Austin will want to know about the role that faith plays in our town, not just where they can throw a frisbee or put away some nachos. At least it would have been good to see a hat-tip to Austin's Grammy-nominated Chris Tomlin or our nationally-recognized church leader and author, John Burke. Maybe a mention that Clear Channel chose the Austin market to try their hand at operating their first CCM (contemporary Christian music) radio station (The River, 102.3). Hey, I woulda settled for just a photo of the Dell Jewish Community center or the iconic Riverbend Center.

My little rant isn't meant to accuse the Statesman of deliberately denying coverage to faith communities. My hat's off to the Statesman for their expanded coverage of faith issues in their Saturday edition and through Eileen Flynn's stories. But while I doubt anyone at the paper deliberately decided to ignore coverage to faith communities in the 2007 annual guide to everything Austin, it appears that it just didn't cross the radar screen of those planning the guide. Maybe the planners for the 2008 guide could enlist Eileen Flynn to write a little about Austin's faith communities. Then the guide would come a lot closer to everything you need to know about Austin.