When singer/songwriter Jennifer Knapp revealed her homosexuality this month, legacy news media reporters instantly recognized a good story, but were quick to sensationalize it.

Seven years ago, Knapp was a leading Christian rock musician. She labeled herself a Christian and marketed her music through Christian bookstores and other media outlets. Then she suddenly dropped out of sight. Now we're learning that she had moved to Australia with her same-sex partner.

Knapp is "coming back and coming out" as some articles have cleverly put it in their headlines. She's returning to the music scene, but not as a Christian artist; instead, she's touring under a secular label.

Mainstream news media have largely chosen to highlight what some conservative Christians see as a contradiction. Many articles still refer to Knapp as a "Christian Artist" despite her secular label and her deliberate attempt to distance herself from the term. In interviews, she has said she's not a Christian artist anymore, but someone of faith who makes music.

This is an important distinction, but one that has been mostly lost or overlooked in the secular press. The Huffington Post headlined its story: "Jennifer Knapp GAY: Christian Music Artist Comes Out as Lesbian." Larry King Live titled its segment: "Christian Singer Comes Out as Lesbian." The New York Daily News said, "Jennifer Knapp, Christian Music Singer, Announces She is Gay..."

Most articles in the Christian press went the opposite route, omitting the word "Christian" from headlines and ledes. The Christian news site The Underground titled its story: "After a 7 Year Absence, Jennifer Knapp Says She is a 'Gay Person of Faith.'" Christianity Today simply stated, "Jennifer Knapp Comes Out."

This reportorial strategy is more accurate since Knapp's new record does not specifically target Christians and will not be sold in Christian bookstores. The story without the Christian label is also less sensationalistic, less inflammatory (to conservative Christians) and closer to Knapp's stated intentions as an artist.

Despite labeling Knapp a Christian artist, Larry King did a good job of telling Knapp's story as an individual and not as a representative of anything other than her own struggles as a singer and as a person of faith. He asked her when she knew she was a lesbian and how she thinks the Bible addresses the issue.

What was noticeably absent from most other pieces in the mainstream press was any curiosity about  how Knapp's former fans are responding to her news. Will they buy her new album? Is the music from her earlier career now tainted for them? Or do they still resonate with the younger Knapp's spiritual message?

These questions could have broad implications within evangelical Christian communities, but this potential direction for future reporting has largely been ignored. (Kelefa Sanneh's recent profile of gospel singer Tonex for the New Yorker suggests what this kind of story might look like.) By digging deeper and resisting the impulse to sensationalize narratives that deal with sexuality and religious taboo, reporters could find themselves in the midst of stories they hadn't expected to discover.

Isn't that what good reporting is all about?

Sarah Grooters is an M.A. candidate in the journalism program at USC Annenberg.