About the Writer
Patrick Butler at the Movies
Patrick Butler spent thirty years in newsrooms and Christian media. That work taught him to check the history and say plainly when a story is worth a person’s time.
Patrick once admitted that he did not realize he still felt passionate about, “yuk, television” until a friend mentioned working on Max Headroom. Ten minutes of posting old photographs followed. He ended by asking everyone else which shows they still loved.1 A memory had caught his attention, and he wanted the rest of us in the conversation.
Patrick’s movie reviews usually begin with a practical question: Should you see it? His ten-year-old grandson settled Migration with a “10 out of 10.”2 Hacksaw Ridge took Patrick back to the Battle of Okinawa and Desmond Doss’s prayer, “Please, Lord. Help me get one more.”3
Patrick will recommend a Hollywood film that tells the truth and turn down a film sold as Christian when it fails as a story. Fine photography and a famous cast cannot rescue it. He watches the movie in front of him and explains his verdict. Sometimes he writes, “Nope. Skip it.” When a film deserves more time, he may follow its story into the Bible or into history, as he did with Blackboard Jungle and the ministry of David Wilkerson.4
The Work Behind the Voice
Thirty Years in Media
Patrick directed Mercy Media in Washington State from 1990 to 2000. During much of that period he also produced and directed public-affairs programs at KTBW-TV in Seattle. He came to East Texas in 2001 to direct newscasts at KLTV, then spent seven years as religion editor at the Tyler Morning Telegraph.6
He later co-founded Resonate News and served as its executive editor. This site includes 101 Resonate News articles under his byline, along with work for The Epoch Times and Insight magazine. The research collection now identifies 696 pieces of reporting, commentary, essays, personal posts, and book-related work.7
On a September 11 anniversary, Patrick remembered his day at an ABC News affiliate. What stayed with him was the cooperation among reporters when the country was under attack.8 That control-room experience still follows him into the theater. He notices when an edit changes the meaning. He checks historical claims, and he has little patience for an ending the story has not earned.
Sources
- Patrick Butler Facebook post about television and Max Headroom, June 23, 2011.
- Patrick Butler review of Migration, January 10, 2024.
- Patrick Butler on Hacksaw Ridge and Okinawa, June 21, 2025.
- Patrick Butler on Blackboard Jungle, June 25, 2025.
- Patrick Butler Facebook photograph, posted August 15, 2014.
- Archived Resonate News Patrick Butler profile.
- Patrick Butler research record, including the March 25, 2026 transcription of public profile records and publication catalog.
- Patrick Butler recollection of September 11 newsroom work, September 11, 2012.