Ashley Milne-Tyte

Economic impact of the Islamic center

September 10, 2010

Listen here. Aired on the Marketplace Morning Report.

I was wracking my brain for a new angle on the so-called 'ground zero mosque' story, when I started to think about the Marketplace angle. Anyone who's worked for Marketplace knows there's often a business angle lurking within a well-covered story. Then it hit me: how was the controversy surrounding the mosque affecting local store owners? Were they doing any more or less business given the extra people demonstrating nearby,and the tourists gawping at the site?

What was most striking to me was how few people wanted to touch this subject, even when all I was asking about was the economic impact.

(Photo: old Burlington Coat Factory, site of future Islamic cultural center. Taken at 9a.m., before the hordes of demonstrators and journalists showed up.)

 

Friars advertise for recruits on the subway

February 10, 2009

Listen here. Aired on the Marketplace Morning Report.

I was on my way to work on the subway one morning when my glance drifted to one of the ads above the seats. I did a double-take. There was a photo of several smiling men in habits, and a tagline that indicated these Franciscan friars were seeking new recruits among the traveling public. It was refreshing to see this ad next to the usual ones for ambulance-chasing law firms, skin remedies and impotence treatments.

I met with Father Brian Smail of Holy Name Province in Manhattan to find out what had sparked the campaign. I also talked to Mara Einstein, author of the book 'Brands of Faith', about the campaign's timing. After my piece aired, many other outlets, from the Today Show to CNN, picked up the story.

Wall Street churches serve larger flocks

January 9, 2009

Listen here. Aired on the Marketplace Morning Report.

As we approached the first Christmas of the financial crisis, I wondered whether churches near the physical center of the crisis were seeing more attendance. I approached Trinity Church on Wall Street, and St. Bartholomew's in midtown Manhattan, very close to the collapsed Bear Stearns. It turns out both had fuller pews in the weeks and months after the markets crashed in September 2008. One church was even using the financial crisis as part of its marketing campaign.