Scientology in Clearwater | A FREEDOM SPECIAL REPORT

Special feature

An Outsider’s View of

Scientology in
clearwater
What happens when an independent journalist takes an objective look at
St. Petersburg Times coverage of the Church of Scientology?

Downtown Clearwater, a visiting journalist finds, shows a restoration complete with cobblestone streets, new restaurants and a host of shops offering a wide range of amenities. Prominent on the downtown skyline are the Scientology Flag building, now
in the final phase of construction, and the 267,000-square-foot restored Fort Harrison Hotel, which re-opened in March 2009 as a Scientology religious retreat. Both are above at far right.

By Jim Lynch preceding the harshest recession since the

Clearwater – At first blush it’s difficult
to discern any difference between this
coastal city and many others hugging
each coast of the Sunshine State. Gulf
to Bay, the main thoroughfare leading
into downtown, is lined with the usual
generic shopping malls anchored by the
big-box stores, while restaurants ranging
from shrimp joints to barbecue eateries
sit snug with the standard beach motels
displaying vacancy signs. It’s right on the
cusp of the busy “snowbird” season.
It’s only on foot after a close inspection
of the city’s downtown that the differences
come to a stark end. While many of the
tonier communities lining the East Coast
of the state, extending from Palm Beach
County down the 50-mile stretch to
Miami, have been blighted by the double
whammy of the real estate collapse
Great Depression, downtown Clearwater
has by all appearances largely escaped the
downturn.
A stroll along Cleveland Street in the
heart of downtown reveals a restoration
complete with cobblestoned streets, new
restaurants and a host of shops offering
amenities ranging from Starbucks coffee
to beachwear.
Amid this array of downtown edifices
stands by far the most prominent, a seven-
story Mediterranean-Renaissance building
under construction, tan-hued with orange
tile roof, under construction and scheduled
to be completed by fall 2010. Tentatively
named the Flag Building, a pedestrian
bridge connects it to a jewel in the city’s
crown, the Fort Harrison Hotel, which
reopened in March after restoration, down
to the last detail, to its former beauty and
grace when first constructed in 1926.
To this reporter from outside the
community, even amid the grim economic
news, the inescapable conclusion for the
visitor to downtown Clearwater is that
somebody is doing something right to
“This city has seemed to escape that
unrelenting economic downturn....
Somebody is doing something right.”
counter the buffeting financial storm in the community in 1975. Much of the
and propel the city forward through the downtown renewal can be attributed to
hurricane-like economic gales that have the Church, both through their restoration
not been witnessed in generations. of many of the 40 or so buildings and
the direct economic and social impact of
To the knowledgable local resident, it’s
thousands of Scientologists who visit the
not quite that simple. Here in this quiet,
area every year. The Church is also involved
placid town, if one read only the major
in local initiatives to attract visitors and
newspaper’s headlines, one could think a
businesses to downtown, say local business
war is raging, one that’s been dragging on
owners and politicians.
for 30 years. An objective observer could
assume that any differences between the “Not Exactly Objective or
Church and the St. Petersburg Times would Disinterested”
have receded into the fog of history, but
For this story it would be impossible to
for the newspaper, Scientology continues
chronicle in detail the subjects, content and
to be its standard fare and, some say, at the
vast number of articles the St. Petersburg
top of its “hit list.”
Times has published on the Church. Some
Clearwater, of course, is the home 4,100 stories and 72 follow-up editorials
and spiritual headquarters of the Church on Scientology over the past 33 years,
of Scientology, which established itself according to Church officials.

>>Jim Lynch
Veteran journalist Jim Lynch is a former managing editor of the New York Post and former executive editor of
the New York Daily News, as well as a former senior editorial manager of the Chicago Sun Times Media Group.
He has also held senior-level editorial positions and acted as a consultant for various national publishers in the
celebrity magazine field. Currently he works as a media consultant and freelance writer based in Florida.

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Scientology in Clearwater | A FREEDOM SPECIAL REPORT

An example is a story by St. Petersburg Ethically Challenged

Times reporters Joe Childs and Tom
Tobin that appeared in November 2009.
Curiously, it was about events that
allegedly transpired in 1992, involving a
longtime staff member of the Church who
apparently decided to remain on Church
staff rather than depart with her husband,
who left to live in Canada.
The story, as told by her ex-husband
to whom she was married for one year,
17 years ago, and several other embittered
former staff of the Church, was that his
wife was convinced to remain in a staff
position in the Church in California
rather than go with her husband.
In an italic disclaimer at the top of the
story, the Times explained that the staff
member and her attorney categorically
denied all subsequent events that the Times
published in the story. This was backed
up by a letter from the staff member’s
attorney that was also published on the
paper’s Web site.
As an exercise in assessing the
ethics in truth and accuracy consistent
with fair and balanced reporting, a
guiding tenet of all mainstream U.S.
newspapers, this article was offered for
evaluation to Kelly McBride, Group
Ethics Leader at the Poynter Institute
in St. Petersburg, a nonprofit journalism
think tank that also gives courses and
seminars to journalists.
When asked to evaluate the ethical
implications of the story, McBride issued
a terse “no comment,” citing a conflict
of interest because the Poynter Institute
owns the St. Petersburg Times.
But Professor of Communication and
Media Studies Paul Levinson at New York
City’s Fordham University had much
more to say about the journalistic ethics
employed by the Times in its reporting of
the story. According to Levinson, who is
also the author of New New Media, which
has a section on ethics and journalism in
the digital age:
“I think the St. Petersburg Times story
probably does not meet the minimum
standards for responsible journalism.
The subject of the story denies that the
reported events took place. The sources
are her ex-husband and four former
Church of Scientology staff members,
not exactly objective or disinterested
parties.”
Levinson concludes his analysis with
this observation: “In terms of serving
its readers, and the public interest, the
Times did no one any good by publishing
this story, and, as a matter of policy, it
probably should not have published it
until the events were corroborated by
objective sources.”
Prior to that story, the Times ran a
three-part series in early November 2009.
The thrust of the series was that attorneys
for the Church hired private investigators
to investigate former Church staff who
were reportedly planning actions against
the Church’s best interests. The series reads
like a cross between a suspense novel and
a travelogue, with locations ranging from
Telluride, Colorado, to Las Vegas to the
Caribbean. All the events documented in
this Times series took place from 1990 to
2001.
Again, the Times printed wholesale
denials by the Church of what was
being alleged by these sources. But more
striking, and going directly to Professor
Levinson’s point concerning the more
recent story, none of these events were
“corroborated by objective sources.”
And to cite Levinson’s journalism ethics
analysis, the subjects involved as sources
in the series were again “not exactly
objective or disinterested parties.”
The paper followed up this
series with an editorial published on
November 8 with a brief summary of
the series’ revelations. But it was the
last paragraph of the editorial that
was really telling, though it offered a
“Both members of the Church and
non-members have been instrumental
in their efforts to revitalize the down-
town area,”
Bill Sturtevant
Chairman, Clearwater
Downtown Partnership
disconnect in terms of the series’ time
frame. Given that the most recent
actions described in the series took place
in 2001 and many other allegations
dated from 1990 as chronicled by the
paper, that last paragraph stated in
part, “those politicians and community
leaders who have normalized relations
with Scientology can no longer claim
ignorance about the nature of the church
and the treatment of its workers.”
This is a 2009 editorial addressing
issues that allegedly took place at least
eight years ago and as long as 19 years
ago. Perhaps the most egregious and
ethically challenged series of the year,
again coauthored by Childs and Tobin,
was published in June 2009.
Final construction of the Scientology Flag Building, using dozens of local firms, is scheduled to complete by fall 2010. The
377,000-square-foot building will become the largest part of the Scientology religious retreat in downtown Clearwater.
The same four Scientology defectors
who were used as primary sources for
the later series came forth to tell the
Times, on the record, their version of
a series of events. Their stories were
published in the June three-part series.
The first part detailed alleged incidents
of roughhousing and manhandling
involving various Church workers. The
second part revisited a lawsuit settled in
2004 alleging documents critical to a legal
case were destroyed by the Times’ main
source himself, 14 years ago. The third part
of the series dealt with more allegations
of roughhousing. By way of comparison,
and to put the stories in context, if the
Times had given as much ink to past
altercations in newsrooms it would likely
have filled the entire paper. And, as this
reporter knows from his own background,
if it had done so regarding every physical
contact in Catholic schools, there would
undoubtedly not be enough trees in the
forest to cover those “stories.”
The Church, for its part, again
categorically denied all the allegations
leveled by the Times sources. In effect,
the Church’s response was that all of the
“defectors,” i.e., Times sources, had been
demoted by the Church for mishandling
their assigned Church duties and were
bitter and disgruntled. The Church also
produced written statements from the
sources in which they admitted to the
neglect and mishandling of their Church
duties. Furthermore, the Church flew in
from Los Angeles a host of Scientology
executives to respond in detail to the
allegations of the sources. And, lastly,
Church officials made Church leader
David Miscavige available to the Times
for an on-the-record interview.
Scheduling difficulties made him
unavailable until the following month, July
2009, to which the Times reporters agreed. It
was slated to be only the first print interview
Miscavige had given in more than a decade.
The only other interview given to U.S.
print media, ironically, was published by
the Times in 1998 in which Miscavige gave
Times managing editor Joe Childs, who has
overseen the Times’ Scientology coverage
since 1993, full access to Scientology facilities
in Clearwater and Los Angeles in an effort
to broker a truce and “put the past behind
us” in regard to the contentious relationship
between the paper and the Church. The
truce was not to last.
The following three points illustrate
why it broke down and, simultaneously,
reveal some disturbing facts that cast the
Times’ sources in a highly dubious light
as to the veracity of the information they
gave to the Times, a newspaper where
ethical standards and factual accuracy
ostensibly demand that both sides of any
story be told.
1) Three of the Times sources freely
admitted to the paper that they had been
on the delivering end of physical abuse that
they alleged. Furthermore, if hypothetically
they were only on the receiving end
of the abuse, why did they not lodge a
police report? Regardless of any religious
affiliation, that’s what most people do when
they suffer a physical attack.

>>Ed Hooper >>Tony Armer

Florida State Representative Founder and Executive Director
“[Scientologists] buy up properties, St. Petersburg Sunscreen Film Festival
repair them and clean them up. Plus “Some of our Board members are
they bring to Clearwater people from Scientologists and we also have
all parts of the world.” Muslims, Jews and Catholics.”

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 Scientology in Clearwater | A FREEDOM SPECIAL REPORT

2) Bolstering the argument that the instrumental in their efforts to revitalize

Church defector sources may, indeed, have
an ax to grind against Church leadership,
it’s evident in all the Times reporting that
the sources never attack the beliefs and
basic tenets of Scientology.
3) Childs and Tobin did pay several
lengthy visits to the Clearwater Church
to interview the executives who had
flown in from Los Angeles to respond
to the allegations. However, after several
hours the final meeting was called to a
halt by Childs shortly after he was offered
interviews with the actual parties involved
in the alleged incidents. Most importantly,
he then informed the Church that the
Times was ready to go with publication
of the story imminently, in June. When
reminded of the July 6 interview the Times
had set up with Miscavige and asked by
Church officials to hold off publishing
until that interview was conducted, Childs
reneged.
Considering that many of the
allegations in the series were squarely
aimed at Miscavige, it defies logic that the
Times would not hold their stories until he
was interviewed. Plus, it was an exclusive
to the paper. They had no competitors
breathing down their necks with the
same information and had no urgency to
be first with the story—an alleged story
which was 10 years old or more and took
place thousands of miles from Clearwater.
The story was, indeed, holdable, given
these considerations. So what was the
rush to print before Miscavige could be
interviewed? And since he wasn’t, could
this be construed as a rush to judgment?
United Efforts Improve Community
Moving forward, it indeed becomes
apparent that the Church leader has been
interested in forming better community
ties and involvement on the part of
Scientology.
Despite the unreceptive audience,
i.e., the Times, his and the Church’s
community outreach efforts have borne
fruit in volunteer assistance to schools,
helping troubled youth with anti-drug
programs and in economic terms,
generating jobs and revenue for the city.
Bill Sturtevant, chairman of the
Clearwater Downtown Partnership, a
volunteer board that offers marketing,
advertising and financial assistance, says
he remains 110 percent neutral when it
comes to matters of religion. “It’s not our
responsibility to justify the Church or to
support those who detract from it.” He says
that Scientologists and non-Scientologists
are both on the board and the matter of
what they worship is irrelevant.
He adds, “Both members of the
Church and non-members have been
the downtown area” and that he has a “very
talented board, regardless of religious
denomination.” Sturtevant points
proudly to a community monthly event
called Fourth Friday, essentially a street
fair comprised of musical attractions, food
vendors and the like. He says the event
draws 2,000 people each month. “Families
come downtown and everybody has a ball
and they keep coming back.”
He adds, “The Church has never, ever
told us what to do or not to do. It’s all
about attracting people downtown to have
a place to live, work and have fun. And
it works.”
Local developer Jim White, also active in
the Downtown Partnership, has a view of the
Church that encompasses past and present.
His take: “We in the community hope we have
gotten by the past.” A subscriber to the Times
for the last 25-30 years, he says of the recent
Church coverage, “Reading about stuff that’s
ancient history doesn’t benefit the community
at all, especially when it’s rehashing things 25
years old that took place in other states. The
Church has worked hard to repair community
relations and has done a good job.”
When he developed the Publix Super
Market in downtown Clearwater, White
said that he met with local Church officials
due to some sentiment in the community
that parishioners would frequent only
Scientologist-run businesses.
“If you’re trying to make downtown
Clearwater a better place, part of that
must include the Church. And they
have definitely made improvements
to the downtown area. They’re big and
they’re a big part of that.”
Jim White
Clearwater Developer
Instead, he says, “The Church became an
ally. They were able to tell me that people from
all over the world come for religious services
and that city businesses are frequented by
all those visitors with no attention paid to
religious affiliation, be it Catholic-owned or
Scientologist-owned.”
Church officials confirm that some 12,000
students or trainees visit per year, many from
out of state and from other countries. And
they are never encouraged to spend their
money at any particular establishment. It’s
completely up to them as individuals.
The 267,000-square-foot Fort Harrison Hotel reopened in March 2009 after top to bottom renovation and restoration. The
1926 structure has been a hub of the community for decades and is open for use by nonprofit community groups today.
White adds, “If you’re trying to make
downtown Clearwater a better place, part
of that must include the Church. And
they have definitely made improvements
to the downtown area. They’re big and
they’re a big part of that.”
Speaking from his own personal experience,
White says, “People are nice there at the
Church. They’re part of the community.”
Economic Impact
Ed Hooper is a politician and careful
with his words. A former Clearwater City
Councilmember and veteran Clearwater
firefighter, he is a second-year Florida State
Representative whose district includes the
Church facilities.
According to Hooper, there’s no
question that Scientologists are doing
positive things on the Clearwater economic
stage. “They buy up properties,” he says,
“repair them and clean them up. Plus they
bring to Clearwater people from all parts
of the world.”
Ed Turanchik is a former Hillsborough
County Commissioner and now a Tampa
developer and president of ConnectUs,
Florida’s high-speed rail initiative. He
offers a unique perspective on how the
Church impacts both Clearwater and the
greater Tampa Bay area: “On the city side,
the Church has made significant efforts
in Clearwater to turn around a struggling
town. Their investments have been positive
both in major infrastructure projects as
well as generating traffic, which is good for
Clearwater.”
It was a groundbreaking development on
the regional end of the spectrum, Turanchik
says, when the Church got involved as an
active sponsor to attract the 2012 Olympics
to Tampa, an effort he spearheaded. The
Church has also contributed significantly
as a member of the Board of Governors of
the Tampa Bay Partnership.
“The Church of Scientology is recognized
as an important community member in the
Tampa Bay area,” says Turanchik. “They’re
involved in a lot of programs and invest a
lot of money. I think they’ve made a positive
impact.”
Community Impact
From his perspective, Lee Fugate,
attorney and native of the Tampa Bay area,
has seen a big turnaround in the evolution
of the Church’s impact and regard in the
community. Fugate was a prosecutor with
the State Attorney’s Office in the late
’70s and ’80s and as such directed official
investigations on many subjects. Since 1996,
Fugate has acted at various times as counsel
for the Church.

>>The Rev. Charles Kennedy >>Lee Fugate

Pastor, Glorious Church of God in Christ Tampa Bay attorney
“I’ve seen the impact [of The Way to “It became clear to me … that the
Happiness]. It’s all about finding that Church was interested in building
moral base.” a stronger Clearwater. The Church
brings in people from all over the world
and that is a good thing, especially
when you consider that Clearwater is
a tourist-driven town.”

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Scientology in Clearwater | A FREEDOM SPECIAL REPORT

In 1996, Fugate decided to do some
investigating of his own. He paid for a
trip to the Scientology Celebrity Centre
in Hollywood, California, and was
struck by the many plaques and letters
of commendation from various Los
Angeles officials and agencies praising the
Church for its community involvement.
His initial thought was, “Will I ever see
such commendations and plaques in
Clearwater?”
Upon his return from Los Angeles,
he began to see Scientologists as a vital
force active in community development
in Clearwater. He says, “You’ll always
have your naysayers and you’ll always
have detractors, but it became clear to me
and the general business community that
the Church was interested in building a
stronger Clearwater. The Church brings in
people from all over the world and that is
a good thing, especially when you consider
that Clearwater is a tourist-driven town.
And they have a right to be respected for
that effort.”
He adds, “Church members actually
get out there and roll up their sleeves, such
as cleaning up the city for Jazz Fest. And a
lot of their social programs appear to work
and sometimes they get no credit.”
Fugate may take some comfort in
knowing that Scientology has received
credit in Clearwater, especially in the area
of social programs. The plaques and letters
of commendation that he noticed in Los
Angeles are now in abundance and on full
display in Church buildings in Clearwater,
for any visitor to see. But it is a story that
goes largely untold to many in Clearwater
simply because the St. Petersburg Times
does not tell the story.
The matter of individual worship seems
to matter little to Tony Armer. He is the
founder and executive director of the St.
Petersburg Sunscreen Film Festival, now
in its fifth year, and Church members,
including celebrities, have contributed
their efforts. Armer takes an ecumenical
approach to his board: “A few of our board
members are Scientologists, and we also
have Muslims, Jews and Catholics. I
notice that religious stuff never comes up
with the Scientologists. They’re nice, good,
hard-working people who offer their time
and volunteer work,” he says. He also is
aware of Scientologists’ efforts in the
realm of anti-drug programs and plans
to participate in an Anti-Cancer Walk in
May. Armer concludes, “I’ve read quite a
few of the articles in the St. Pete Times, but
I prefer to look at things objectively. I just
don’t know why they do so many stories
on one religion.”
Former Tampa mayor Dick Greco, now
working in the development field, is well
“I’ve read quite a few of the articles in
the St. Pete Times, but I prefer to look at
things objectively. I just don’t know why
they do so many stories on one religion.”
Tony Armer
Executive Director
Sunscreen Film Festival
known throughout the state of Florida
and enjoys the distinction of being one
of the few U.S. politicians to have visited
Cuba and met with Fidel Castro. Greco
has strong views on Scientology, views
that he’s reached through his own visits
to and interactions with Church members
and leaders.
He says he came to be very impressed
with the Church’s community outreach
anti-drug programs after witnessing
firsthand, during his tenure as mayor,
the harm that drug abuse has done to
Tampa Bay.
He decided to take a tour of the
Clearwater headquarters when asked
several years ago to get involved in a city
development project.
“On the tour,” Greco says, and in
subsequent dealings with the Church,
“nobody ever tried to convert me or said
anything about any other religion.” He
points out that although the Church is such
a significant member of the community,
“most people know nothing about the
Church,” despite their open-door policy.
Greco says, “The Church gave me full
access, and every question I asked them
they answered thoroughly. They’re very
open and anyone who wants to know
something about the Church is always
free to just come in and ask.”
“I have watched the Times repeatedly
attempt to drive a wedge between
Scientologists and others in the
community, particularly trying to
alienate civic leaders.”
Mary Repper
Public relations consultant Clearwater: “Nope, never had any issues
Free to Choose
Frank Murphy, communications
director of the Catholic Diocese of St.
Petersburg, says, “We take the position that
every person, regardless of their religious
beliefs, should be accorded dignity and
respect and we value that position, living
in the United States. That’s a wonderful
freedom we have in this country. Every
day there’s a new religion and there’s a
goodness there and people support that
religion whether it’s traditional or non-
traditional. And people are free to choose
what they decide to worship.”
The Rev. Charles Kennedy, pastor for
the last 30 years of the Glorious Church of
God in Christ in Tampa, takes his embrace
of Scientology a step further and sees the
Church’s educational tools as a way to
bridge the gap from a traditional religion
to a relatively new one.
He regards Scientology Founder L.
Ron Hubbard as a “gentleman.’’
Kennedy uses Hubbard’s secular
educational methods in the community
center that is part of his own church.
He finds them a valuable means to
pre-test young students to find out where
they actually are in terms of grade level
and a useful way to move them up the
educational ladder.
Kennedy says he also has seen the
positive impact of Scientology outreach
programs in the Florida state prison
system, through inmates’ embrace of the
Hubbard-authored The Way to Happiness,
as a practical method aimed at helping
them to lead better lives. Using these
methods, Kennedy says, “I’ve seen the
impact. It’s all about finding that moral
base. Shortening that gap between the
traditional and non-traditional in religion
is what it’s all about.”
“It’s Not What They Say,
It’s What They Do”
Founder and CEO of Tampa Bay
Academy of Hope, James Evans is a big
believer in bridging community divides
and breaking down stereotypes. A former
Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Evans and his
organization provide at-risk youth with
education and career assistance.
He cosponsored a Human Rights
Walkathon with Scientologists and has
visited the teacher training campus, Applied
Scholastics International in Missouri,
and uses that secular methodology in his
inner-city educational programs.
As for Scientology, Evans speaks with
no equivocation: “The Scientologists
help us fight poverty, reduce violence
and educate downtrodden youth in our
community. They’ve reached across the
aisle to make a difference. They take time
to volunteer, they support us when we lack
funds and they lend a helping hand to
the community. The Scientologists have
done this. It’s not a religious issue, it’s a
human issue.”
Evans says it has been a very inspiring
experience to see how much the Church
cares. As he puts it, “It’s not what they say, it’s
what they do. They want to make a difference
in the lives of others because they believe
people’s lives have meaning and purpose.”
An Honest Look
While Tampa Bay elected officials
and community leaders express support
for Scientology in terms of contribution
to the community, anecdotal responses
from casual conversations with ordinary
Clearwater citizens reflect another level
of perceptions of the Church.
A brief conversation with a Clearwater
police officer, while thumbing through
magazines at a local 7-11, indicated a
peaceful relationship between the Church
and the city.
The officer’s words are short and sweet
regarding the Scientology presence in
with them.”

>>Frank Murphy >>James Evans

Director of Communications Founder and CEO
Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg Tampa Bay Academy of Hope
“We take the position that every person, “When we get past the differences of religion,
regardless of their religious beliefs, should beliefs and social stereotypes, we all bring
be accorded dignity and respect, and we something to the table. The Scientologists
value that position, living in the U.S.” help us fight poverty, reduce violence
and educate downtrodden youth in our
community. They’ve reached across the aisle
to make a difference.”

10

During an unsolicited, small-talk
conversation with an employee of the
Marriott, in response to an observation
that Clearwater is a “pretty nice city,”
the employee responded, “The city used
to be pretty run down, but it’s come a
long way and Scientology has a lot to do
with it. I would say a good 75 percent of
downtown development is directly related
to Scientology. Economically, this place
would be nothing without them.”
Mary Repper has been a political
consultant in the Pinellas/Tampa area
for more than three decades and now
consults with the Church. Having lived in
Clearwater since 1978, she is knowledgable
and outspoken on local issues.
She pulls no punches and goes straight
to the point: “I have watched the Times
repeatedly attempt to drive a wedge
between Scientologists and others in the
community, particularly trying to alienate
civic leaders.”
She acknowledges that in her former
career as a political consultant she advised
candidates to stay clear of Scientology. Her
view shifted when she saw Scientologists
in action in community and civic affairs.
“I got it wrong,” she says.
She recalls the black-tie gala the
Church held in 2002 to mark the 75th
anniversary of the historic Fort Harrison.
Elected officials, Tampa Bay civic leaders
and the business community were invited.
She says Times editors were also invited
but chose instead to publish a front-page
story the day of the event, two columns
with photos, of those who would and those
who would not be attending the gala,
based on speculation by the newspaper.
Then, Repper recalls, the night of the
gala the Times stationed photographers
in ambush mode outside the Grand
Lobby of the Fort Harrison, stunning
arriving guests with cameras flashing. That
incident, Repper says, “opened my eyes to
just how heavy-handed that newspaper
really is.”
Ethical Violations
After dozens of interviews that range
from local business, civic and political
leaders who support the economic
impact of the Church on Clearwater, to
religious leaders of many denominations
who embrace Church methodology
regarding social betterment programs
and community outreach, to ordinary
citizens who recognize the Church in the
community, why does the St. Petersburg
Times continue in attack mode? And what
speaks to the motives of the Times in its
campaign regarding Scientology?
The answer comes from several former
Times reporters who spoke on condition
>>Dick Greco
Former Mayor, Tampa
“The Church gave me full access and every
question I asked them they answered
openly and quickly. … Anyone who doesn’t
understand something about the Church is
always free to just come in and ask.”
“Joe Childs was rabid about Scientology.
If there was anything that had anything
to do with Scientology, it was hands
off, because he made decisions on
who would do what on Scientology.
Bringing down Scientology is like
grabbing the Holy Grail for Childs.”
Former St. Petersburg
Times reporter
of anonymity due to fears, they say, of
retribution from the Times that might
adversely affect future job opportunities.
Each laid the blame on Times managing
editor Joe Childs. He has supervised
Scientology coverage since 1993 and, with
reporter Tom Tobin, has personally written
much of the Scientology coverage.
One former reporter describes Joe
Childs as an editor with an ego who exerts
very tight control over what the reporter
refers to as the “sacred-cow reporters”
working under Childs. “Joe was rabid
about Scientology,” the reporter says. “If
there was anything that had anything to
do with Scientology, it was hands off,
because he made decisions on who would
do what on Scientology. Bringing down
Scientology is like grabbing the Holy
Grail for Childs.”
By way of explanation for Childs’
approach: “He has been with the Times,
in one capacity or another, since 1976. He
is obsessed with the Church and since he’s
in the twilight of his long career, it’s all
about winning a Pulitzer Prize, something
that has always eluded him.”
“Joe Childs never made any bones about
how he felt about Scientology and this
has been reflected in the paper’s coverage
for years.... How can the St. Petersburg
Times allow Joe Childs to have an active
hand in Scientology reporting?”
Former reporter In the next issue: Jim Lynch investigates
Scientology in Clearwater | A FREEDOM SPECIAL REPORT
As for the consistently negative tone
and content of his coverage of the Church,
the reporter offers: “He just doesn’t care.”
Another former Times reporter concurs
with the assessment of Childs’ endgame.
“Yeah, he’s getting older,” the reporter says,
“and definitely wants a Pulitzer.”
Another former St. Petersburg Times
reporter spoke about the June 2009 series
by Childs and Tobin from a journalistic
ethics standpoint: “I was ticked off that
they never interviewed David Miscavige to
get his side of the story,” instead cancelling
the scheduled interview and publishing
the series.
The former Times reporter says he “has
a big problem with that,” recalling that “I
did a story on another subject under Joe
and we took our time with the project
until Joe was satisfied with it. Joe held the
story for a good month and a half.”
The reporter also wearied of the
excessive—even incessant—demand by
Childs to include Scientology references
in stories that had nothing to do with the
Church or any religion. He says, “Anytime
>>Mary Repper
Public relations consultant
“Every person that has come forth in these
negative St. Petersburg Times stories … says
the Church has helped them.”
there was a new restaurant or business
downtown that was owned by a member
of the Church of Scientology that was a
routine community story, you had to put
Scientology in the story. One day when I
wrote such a story and didn’t include the
bit about Scientology, Joe came in and
asked me why I didn’t include it.”
And in a telling anecdote reflecting
Childs’ “disdain and disrespect,” recalled
by the reporter: “A reporter picked up a
picket sign from a Church protest of the
St. Pete Times in 1997 and gave it to Joe.
Childs had that and several other signs
from the picket and whenever a story on
Scientology would come out he would
put all that stuff up on the glass walls of
his office.”
Another ex-journalist offers his view
on the diminishing impact of Times
coverage of Scientology: “They have done
these series and there has been no public
outcry. The public is by now so apathetic
about the stories. After reading them, the
reaction is ‘OK, so what?’”
The journalist says Scientology has
been “standard fare” for the Times for 30
years and that Joe Childs has apparently
ignored journalistic ethical canons: “Joe
Childs never made any bones about how
he felt about Scientology and this has been
reflected in the paper’s coverage for years.
But anybody who knows anything about
journalistic fairness knows that when a
reporter or editor is biased on a particular
subject, either negatively or positively, that
person should not be writing or editing
anything on that subject. How can the St.
Petersburg Times allow Joe Childs to have
an active hand in Scientology reporting?”
__________
The negative Times coverage of the
Church of Scientology runs decidedly
opposite to the view this reporter found
in the community at large. The Times is
mired in the past and decidedly out of step
with the experience of the community
in relation to Scientology. If the Times
allows this gap to widen, it bodes ill for
the future of the paper and is a disservice
to the community.
Managing editor Joe Childs and
reporter Tom Tobin, coauthors of the many
Times series on the Church of Scientology,
did not respond to voicemail messages
left on their office phones asking them
to comment on this story. Times attorney
George Rahdert called to say that Childs
and Tobin “would not be commenting”
on the story. n
the relationship between the St. Petersburg
Times and the Poynter Institute.
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