L. Ron Hubbard, founder of scientology and sole source of valid information on earth, declared the media to be "Merchants of Chaos" and proclaimed in his "Press Policies" directive: "The reporter who comes to you, all smiles and withholds, 'wanting a story,' has an AMA instigated release in his pocket. He is there to trick you into supporting his preconceived story. ... The only ways to handle him are to eject him or to give him a story he thinks is a story." And in another reference (PTS Sections, Personnel and Execs), he declared: "There are no good reporters. There are no good government or … [Read more...]
Catherine Bell “Defends” Scientology
Watch Catherine Bell interview This is the party line fed to celebrities (and anyone else) to use as a cop out when asked about scientology. “It’s misunderstood, there’s so much false information out there. Read a book and then make a decision for yourself.” It’s a pretty effective deflection and tends to end any inquiries — the vast majority of people who interview celebs are not investigative reporters, they have a 2 line briefing sheet that is handed to them before they “interview” the six or eight celebs who are gathered for a press junket to promote their latest film/tv show or project. … [Read more...]
A Classic Scientology Media Dead Agent Letter
I happened to come across this the other day, and thought it worth commenting on. It is a letter sent in the name of Karin Pouw to ABC 20/20 after they had been provided a series of questions before an interview with Leah Remini by Dan Harris aired. The interview in fact aired on Oct 29, 2015 as part of the release publicity for her book Troublemaker. Here is the letter in full, and my comments in red script October 26, 2015 John Bentley ABC News 20/20 47 West 66th Street New York, NY 10023 Re: ABC’s program and the Church of Scientology Dear Mr. Bentley: This letter … [Read more...]
An Interview with Leah Remini
If you didnt see this on my social media yesterday, I recommend you read this piece in AwardsCircuit.com about The Aftermath. It is pegged to the Emmy nomination for the finale that aired last year (the result will be announced on Monday 14 Sept). Leah talks about the Danny Masterson case and why we didn't air the initial episode we shot. She also discusses the Me Too movement and scientology, the STAND League, scientology tax exempt status and much more. Give it a read. … [Read more...]
Episode 3: Scientology’s War on the Media with Richard Behar
We were very fortunate to speak with Richard Behar on this week's episode of the Fair Game podcast. Rich, along with Pauletter Cooper (who will feature in an upcoming episode) is a poster child for scientology Fair Game against journalists. He is an award-winning investigative journalist who first wrote about scientology in 1986 for Forbes magazine in an article entitled The Prophet and Profits of Scientology. His most famous scientology piece was the 1991 Time magazine cover story, The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power. The subhead on his article pretty much sums up … [Read more...]
Koncrete Podcast: Mike Rinder Episode
I recently sat down with Daniel Jones for an episode of his Koncrete Podcast series. It was just uploaded so I am sharing it here. We cover a WIDE range of topics. It's a lengthy chat - over 2 hours. I hope you enjoy it, and find it informative. … [Read more...]
My Recent Chat With Dr. Susie Meister
I recently spoke with my old friend Dr. Susie Meister on her Brain Candy podcast. Susie has interviewed me before and it's always enjoyable and she asks the best questions. She may not look like the stereotypical Religious Studies PhD, but she is one smart cookie. She is perhaps more well-known for her MTV reality show appearances back before she became a religious scholar, and in this case we talked a lot about "reality" TV and making The Aftermath. Interestingly, and entirely coincidentally, Susie's husband, Adam, was a Sound Engineer on The Aftermath. He is as nice and as smart as she … [Read more...]
Scientology Inciting Murder? STAAD League Suddenly Silent
The hypocrisy of the OSA Front group STAAD is astonishing. Remember when Fast Eddie Parkin and the STAAD League made an enormous deal out of the false story that someone who committed a murder at their Advanced Org in Sydney was "incited" to do so because he had read a website that had a link to an Aftermath show. He claimed repeatedly that Leah Remini and Mike Rinder had "incited a murder" along with "hundreds of other incidents and threats." This of course was a completely manufactured accusation. The alleged murdered has NOT claimed ANY motivation for committing the crime, let alone … [Read more...]
“Freedom” Rag “Responds” to 60 Minutes
In its inimitable and oh so predictable style, Freedom has responded to the 60 Minutes Australia piece. In a surprise to absolutely nobody, they lashed out at their dirty laundry being exposed once again not by responding to the facts, but attempting to smear the reporter, complete with the most unflattering photo they could find/doctor. Their entire "defense" is to rehash a story from 2016 concerning correspondent Tara Brown and her film crew. They were arrested in Lebanon on charges of "attempted kidnapping" for their coverage of a story of a woman trying to get her 2 … [Read more...]
John Sweeney’s Classic Scientology Expose
I was looking through old scientology shows and came across this one from 2010. I had not watched it in many years, but found it fascinating. Obviously, my views about scientology have changed. But I have a much greater appreciation for the show now having worked on 3 seasons of Scientology and The Aftermath. This is a terrific piece of investigative reporting and a finely crafted show that contains a LOT of information. John Sweeney and his brilliant producer Sarah Mole did a masterful job of putting this together. They battled with the legal constraints imposed on them by the … [Read more...]