Ask the Editor: An introduction

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, January 3rd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Up next: Ask the Editor. And taking that new responsibility is Les Sillars. He’s not new to WORLD, having been around since 1999 as a writer, editor, and producer. Lately he’s been host of our long-form narrative podcast Doubletake. And now, WORLD’s Editor-in-Chief, a position that came about when several months back I called him and put a question to him. Editor-in-Chief Les Sillars now will answer yours.

LES SILLARS: If I were listening to this program right now, I’d have a few questions myself. “Sillars? Name sounds kind of familiar, but who is he, exactly?”

Well, I grew up in Red Deer, Alberta. I went to Bible college in Saskatchewan in the late 80s where I met and married Jennifer. Then we headed off to seminary because I wanted to be a basketball coach. I wanted to teach at a Bible college and coach the team. Along the way, we had our two kids.

In 1993 I stumbled out of seminary and, providentially, into the newsroom of a conservative Canadian news magazine. It was called The Alberta Report.

I’d never wanted to be a reporter. Never read a newspaper, except the comics. I knew nothing about politics, culture, or history. I didn’t know what “pro-life” meant. But I needed a job.

I was soon covering “the news” in Calgary: murder trials, scandals, culture, and sometimes politics. At first I was neither conservative nor liberal. Just uninformed.

But I quickly began to see the effects of progressive politics and policies on Canadian society. I’d never heard of Richard Weaver’s famous book, Ideas Have Consequences. But I distinctly recall thinking, “You know, ideas have consequences. And these are some really bad ideas.”

In 1999 I left the Alberta Report to start my graduate journalism program at the University of Texas at Austin. I thought maybe I could teach journalism at a Christian college. Also, WORLD’s editor was teaching at Texas at the time and invited me to join the staff.

There I first encountered the idea of Biblical journalism. The phrase defines WORLD and what we do. This is how I understand it: The Bible is the only authoritative source of key truths about God, humanity, and reality. Therefore, a reporter can tell the whole truth about this world only insofar as Scripture shapes his or her reporting and writing.

I started teaching at Patrick Henry College in Virginia in 2002 and graduated from Texas soon after that. After 30 years doing and teaching journalism, this is what I tell my students:

Journalism is a profoundly noble and deeply Biblical calling. To do it faithfully requires the gifts of the storyteller, historian, philosopher, and theologian. And sometimes scientist or economist. To live rightly as believers, we must understand the times in which we live, the culture that shapes our imaginations, and the people God calls us to serve. Our neighbors.

We have a terrific group of reporters, editors and producers here at WORLD. There are lots of news outlets. But nobody else in the world offers what we do: Journalism that is Biblically faithful. Truthful. Stories that are important and touch you deeply. Stories that help us all see the world more clearly. Stories that help us live rightly.

I’m excited to help tell great stories. I’m honored to be here. And I’m looking forward to hearing from many of you! Send me your questions at Les@wng.org That’s Les@wng.org.

I’m Les Sillars.

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