In his December 18 Media Notes column, Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz shares a compelling example of reporter transparency.

Kurtz writes about New York Times reporter Diana Henriques sharing her active participation in organized religion in her bio on the Times website. Henriques had been writing about government regulation of religious programs. Kurtz quotes Henriques as saying that "it seemed appropriate to be candid about that. I have no reason to hide my religious faith," especially when tackling "a topic that people don't instantly think the New York Times has any expertise in."

Kurtz poses the question: Would it be useful for readers to know, depending on the subject matter, that a reporter is black, or gay, or married, or Jewish, or a registered Democrat? And where would editors draw the line?

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Click here for the full text of Kurtz's article on washingtonpost.com. NOTE: Kurtz's column is spread across five pages. The link is to the second page, where the part of the column entitled "Faith-Based Journalism" appears.