MINSKY, LOUIS

MINSKY, LOUIS (1909–1957), U.S. journalist. Born in England, Minsky went to the U.S. in his youth. He became a special writer on religious topics and in 1934 established the Religious News Service as an independent affiliate of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. It was dedicated to providing authoritative and bias-free news about religion and ethics to both the secular and religious press. Minsky remained head of this interfaith press agency, serving daily newspapers, religious periodicals, radio, and television. Now the oldest secular news agency covering religion and ethics, RNS is owned by Newhouse News Service and its parent, Advance Publications, Inc. Its daily and weekly news wires are syndicated in hundreds of newspapers, reaching more than 20 million readers worldwide. In the past, it covered such stories as the civil rights movement, the persecution of the Jews during World War II, the rise of the evangelical movement, the Vietnam antiwar movement, and the founding of the State of Israel, as well as Pope John Paul II's visit to the Holy Land in 2000. Ever widening its scope, its coverage includes such topics as Islam, Asian religions, New Age, tribal beliefs, gay rights, and sexual harassment. (Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)