The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power
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"The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", an article highly critical of Scientology, was written by investigative journalist Richard Behar and first published in the May 6, 1991 edition of Time magazine as a ten-page cover story. Time magazine makes the full-text of the article available on its website.
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[edit] Noah Lottick
On May 11, 1990, Dr. Edward Lottick's son Noah Antrim Lottick committed suicide. Dr. Lottick described this as his motivation for researching cults in his article describing a survey of physicians that he presented to the Pennsylvania State Medical Society.[1]
These events were initially described in the Time Magazine article,[2] and later in Reader's Digest.[3]
Noah Lottick was a Russian studies student, who "jumped from a 10th-floor window of the Milford Plaza Hotel and bounced off the hood of a stretch limousine."[2] When found by police, he was holding $171 in cash. The Lottick family found their son's body, lying in a morgue, a month after his death.[4] Initially, his father had thought that Scientology was similar to Dale Carnegie's techniques. However, after his ordeal, Dr. Lottick now believes that the organization is a "school for psychopaths."[2]
After the article describing these incidents had been published in Time, Dr. and Mrs. Lottick submitted affidavits[5], when the Church of Scientology sued Richard Behar and Time magazine for $416 million. All counts against Behar and Time were later dismissed in courts of law.[6] In their court statements, the Lotticks "affirmed the accuracy of each statement in the article", and stated that Dr. Lottick "concluded that Scientology therapies were manipulations, and that no Scientology staff members attended the funeral [of their son.]"[5]
[edit] Scientology legal actions
[edit] United States
The Church of Scientology responded to the publication of "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" by suing Time for $416 million.[7] Richard Behar, the writer of the article and a Time contributing editor, was threatened and harassed after the article's publication.[8] By July, 1996, all counts of the libel suit had been dismissed.[6]
The Church of Scientology took out four-color, full-page ads in USA Today in May and June 1991, on every weekday for multiple weeks, protesting the Time magazine cover article.[9]
On October 1, 2001, the United States Supreme Court refused to consider reinstating the church's libel case: "Church of Scientology International v. Time Warner Inc., 00-1683". Time Warner had stated that it refused to be "intimidated by the church's apparently limitless legal resources."[10]
[edit] Europe
The Church of Scientology also sued Reader's Digest in Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany for publishing a condensed version of the Time story. A court in Lausanne, Switzerland was the only court to provide a temporary injunction.[11] The company defied the injunction and mailed copies of the article, entitled: "Scientology: A Dangerous Cult Goes Mainstream", to their 326,000 Swiss subscribers.[12] The injunction was lifted shortly thereafter.[13]
Due to the controversial history between the Readers Digest and Scientology, the writer of a 2005 cover story on Tom Cruise had to agree to certain demands, including giving "Scientology issues" equal play in the writer's profile of Cruise, submitting questions for Cruise to Church of Scientology handlers, and sending the writer of the article to a one-day Church "immersion course."[14][15]
[edit] Awards
The cover story garnered Time Magazine several notable awards, including:
- Gerald Loeb Award - "distinguished business and financial journalism"
- Worth Bingham Prize, 1992
- Conscience in Media Award - American Society of Journalists and Authors, 1992
- Leo J. Ryan Award, to author Richard Behar, 1992
[edit] External links
- Full text at Time Magazine Website - 'The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power', Richard Behar, Time magazine (May 6, 1991)
- Full Text, with Images, David Touretzsky, Website
- Full Text of article, at the Rick Ross Institute
- Scientology - A Dangerous Cult Goes Mainstream, shortened Reader's Digest version of the article, full-text
[edit] References
- ^ Survey Reveals Physicians' Experience with Cults, Dr. Edward Lottick, Cult Observer, Volume 10, Number 3, 1993.
- ^ a b c Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power, Time magazine, May 6, 1991.
- ^ October 1991, Readers Digest, "A Dangerous Cult Goes Mainstream".
- ^ Scientologist Commits Suicide, Scientology Convicted, St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 1998
- ^ a b Church of Scientology v. Time and Richard Behar, 92 Civ. 3024 (PKL), Opinion and Order, Court TV library Web site., retrieved 1/10/06.
- ^ a b Judge Dismisses Church of Scientology's $416 Million Lawsuit Against Time Magazine, Business Wire, July 16, 1996
- ^ "Fair Game": Leveling the Playing Field in Scientology Litigation, J.P. Kumar, The Review of Litigation, Summer, 1997, 16 Rev. Litig. 747
- ^ When scientologists aren't so clear, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 31, 2005
- ^ "Scientology's Critical Ads", The New York Times, May 31, 1991, Section D, Page 5, Column 1, 342 words
- ^ Court Passes on Scientology Libel Case, The Associated Press, October 1, 2001.
- ^ Scientology's Current Target: Reader's Digest, Brian Steffens, The Quill, November-December 1991, p.39
- ^ "Reader's Digest Defies Court", The New York Times, October 2, 1991, Section D, Page 6, Column 5, 465 words.
- ^ Swiss Lift Ban on Digest, The New York Times, November 27, 1991.
- ^ Reader's Digest Sells Out to Scientology, Austin Cline, June 16, 2005
A few years ago, Reader's Digest was involved in a legal battle with the Church of Scientology: Scientologists tried to block international publication of excerpts of a Time magazine piece critical of Scientology. The Scientologists lost and bad blood resulted, but now RD has published a fawning interview with Tom Cruise. What changed? - ^ Reader’s Digest on Cruise Control, June 8, 2005., Radar Online
Back in 1991, Reader’s Digest excerpted an in-depth investigative piece from Time magazine entitled Scientology: The Cult of Greed. Among other things, the article asserted that the Church “is a highly profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner.” In response, the Church filed injunctions aimed at blocking Reader’s Digest from publishing the story in its international editions. But Scientology’s lawyers ultimately lost, and the mag gained cred beyond its walker-waving readership for standing up to the cult’s bullying ways. With so much bad blood between them, how did Reader’s Digest land a rare sit-down with Scientology’s top celebrity spokesman? By caving in to a long list of bizarre demands.
