John Sugg responds.
http://tonyortega.org/2016/05/11/fr...t-arrived-with-a-surprise/#comment-2670713743
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John F. Sugg • 4 hours ago
Oh, Tony, there you are, gutless as always. Your blog item shows a decided lack of knowledge about Freedom, and your propaganda voice is determined to skew every statement you utter. I once tried to ask you a question at an event, and that must have scared the bejesus out of you. Since you are in no way a journalist, you aren't compelled to confront the people you slime. You won't confront me -- you could have called me; I may or may not have told you much, but I would have at least noted that you engaged in a small bit of journalistic ethics by confronting an intended target of an attack. But you attempt to slither in through one of our associates, who, of course, laughed at your sad, sneaky little stratagem.
Although not particularly interested in a dialogue with you, I will comment on one thing: Stop whining. You have been outting people for years only because of their religious beliefs -- naming and providing pictures, in photos and places of, dear God, CHILDREN. But, then, with your backpage.com mentality, you seem to have a perverse fascination in kids. You have no problem with trafficking them, no issue with making them targets of your attacks. After attacking, attacking and attacking a religion for decades, when that religion gets curious about you, why you scream "intimidation!." Absolutely hilarious.
That's not just me talking. Heck, the anti-Scientology clan has pretty much outted you. True, you don't print their assessments of you on your blog; it might... um, enturbulate your cult-like followers. But here's celeb Carmen Llywelyn, who in a public letter summed you up: "“[W]hen I decided to finally confront you, out came more lies. … I hope no one is stupid enough to ever trust you again.” Even better, the alpha male of anti-Scientologists, Marty Rathbun, has come after you like a low-flying missile: "Tony Ortega’s blogging campaign against my wife Monique and me over the past three months has resulted in the largest wave of hate we have experienced" ... "Tony's sexist pitch" ... "Tony Ortega and his unnamed sources will rue this day when they declared Monique Rathbun as fair game and subjected her to intentional libel." That's a big "ouch," Tony.
You can call my response to GBP "unhinged." But, of course, you don't actually tell you the rabble what I wrote to GPB; you are, of course, a coward. So here's the nut of what I wrote:
"I am writing a media and ethics column dealing, in part, with the highly distorted program you ran on Scientology. I have a number of questions at the end of this message that derive from GPB’s Code of Ethics.
"I also have contacted the PR people in the Church, both at the international and Atlanta operations, and you apparently made no effort to reach them for comment. Instead you used a clip from another Atlanta station that hardly conveyed “other side” of the story. And you briefly mentioned one Church member, although he had no official capacity. Four prominent Atlanta citizens, all involved major humanitarian projects in Georgia (one of them a state senator), spoke at the Atlanta Church opening — you neglected any mention of their remarks, which actually talked about important issues in the city and state that are supported by the Church. You were, however, rudely dismissive about the one Scientologist you interviewed, saying other people would “dispute” his assertion about the Church’s alignment with MLK and Malcolm X. What other people? All four of the well-known African-American speakers at the Church opening very much resonated MLK’s vision, and they obviously applauded the Church’s furtherance of goals MLK would have endorsed.
"Before I go further, here are a few statements from GPB’s own Code of Ethics:
"'Fact check all claims before they are broadcast.'
"'Offer an opportunity for subjects to respond to direct or indirect allegations.'
"'Never offer an open forum to a single viewpoint without offering a similar opportunity for divergent or opposing viewpoints.'
"'Verify any claim with two independent sources before broadcast/publication.'
"'Be able to identify the source of every fact, even the ones that have been reported over and over.'"
"Have you read the GPB Code of Ethics? Is it your opinion that your broadcast on Scientology adheres to those ethical principles? Can you explain how or how not?
"The overwhelming bulk of your broadcast — more than 13-plus minutes out of 15:42 minutes — was devoted to an unchallenged attack on the Church by Tony Ortega, That’s comparable to a Holocaust denier being allowed 85 percent of a broadcast while the only response was a clip from other media stating the general position of the Anti-Defamation League.
"It is a matter of public record that Ortega was the chief spokesman for his previous newspaper employer in defending business practices that pimped children to pedophiles. Ortega and his employer have been highly criticized for profiteering from that human trafficking. Did you explain that to your listeners? Did you check Ortega’s background? Here’s a start:
Code:
http://thedailycannibal.com/2012/09/26/blameless-shameless/
"And, of course, why you should have been wary is that Ortega — who makes his living attacking Scientology (because he was ousted from his last newspaper job) — was allowed to state numerous false, deceptive and exaggerated items, while no effort was made to respond to them. One example, Ortega claimed there were fewer than 20,000 Scientologists in the world. Did you attempt to check that information? Did you have someone from the Church who could have responded? The obvious answer to both questions is “no.” In 2014, highly regarded economists at Florida State University conducted an exhaustive study of the economic impact of Scientology on Clearwater — determining that the Church added almost $1 billion to the local economy. The economists’ study showed that about 13,000 Scientologists live in the Tampa Bay area, while 9,000 visiting Scientologists are in Clearwater for extended stays each year. Those facts are readily available:
Code:
http://www.freedommag.org/issue/201412-expansion/single-greatest-contributor.html
"Again, based on easily available information, the number of visiting Scientologist in Clearwater has increased by about 284 percent since the Church opened its cathedral, the Flag Building, in November 2013.
"So, if there are roughly 20,000 Scientologists in Florida, how can there be only 20,000 Scientologists in the whole world, as Ortega mendaciously states? Churches are booming in Taiwan, Japan, Moscow, throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, not to mention dozens of U.S. Churches (and California has at least as many Scientologists as Florida). Based on information, again easily available, did you not question Ortega’s claim? Did you, as a journalist and as a GPB employee who should adhere to the organization’s Code of Ethics, check that fact? Did you check any of Ortega’s facts? Did you invite the Church to participate in your broadcast?
...
"Unlike you, I do offer a chance to respond. Please provide answers to the following questions, including any documentation you have to your answers.
"1. What information prompted you to do a program on Scientology in Georgia? Was it suggested by Ortega or a public relations practitioner?
"2. How was contact made with Tony Ortega? For what reason? Please provide me with any emails between you and Ortega before or after the broadcast.
"3. Were you aware that for 20 years Ortega’s primary activity was attacking Scientology? Were you aware that he seeks to profit from defaming the religion?
"4. Since Ortega was the single source for your program’s attacks on Scientology, did a vehement anti-Scientologist constitute a fair and balanced program?
"5. Did you question why Ortega left the Village Voice?
"6. Were you aware that Ortega was Village Voice’s primary defender of child sexual prostitution in the newspaper’s “Backpage.com”? Did you ask Ortega about his role in “Backpage.com”?
"7. Do you consider the advocacy of child prostitution to be credentials for any source appearing on a program on GPB? Does GPB generally support and give comfort to those who profit from human trafficking?
"8. Are you aware of the incidents where Ortega has fabricated entire stories, under fictitious bylines? Is that a reason he should be regarded as an “expert” on any subject?
"9. Ortega made many claims about Scientology. Did you make any effort to ascertain the validity of his claims? He claimed, as noted above, that there are fewer than 20,000 Scientologists. What evidence did he show? Is it your or GPB’s practice for sources to make highly disputed allegations without substantiation?
"10. Did you inquire about Scientology’s work in disaster relief, anti-drug programs, anti-psychiatric abuse efforts, and more?
"11. Have you ever met a Scientologist? Please name them. Have you ever been in a Scientology Church? Where?"
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