'48 Hours' Questions Role Of Scientology In Murder, Scientologists Question CBS Ethics
(AP)
The Scientology community was not happy with the story, which raised the possibility that Elli Perkins might not have been murdered had her son been given psychiatric treatment. The group refused to provide "48 Hours" with an official spokesman and began taking action to influence the broadcast. "They hit us with numerous e-mails and there were some people at CBS or at '48 Hours' who they knew personally, and so there were some personal requests made as well," says CBS News Senior Vice President, Standards and Special Projects Linda Mason.
One of the primary complaints from Scientologists was that CBS News has a conflict of interest in covering the story, since the network counts pharmaceutical companies among its advertisers. The argument was that since these companies make anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs, CBS News wanted to promote them – and that this story was one way to do that. Mason disputes this argument. "Nothing could be further from the truth," she says. "At CBS the sales department and the news department – there is a Chinese wall between them. And we just don't cross. And we've done numerous stories on the ill effects of drugs of various sponsors that are on CBS." After the broadcast aired, Mason estimates that CBS News received "more than 500 letters from scientologists saying that we had been unfair."
Normally, "48 Hours" posts a long narrative of each week's story on its Web site on Saturday, towards the end of the broadcast. The narrative of the Perkins story did not go online until late afternoon Wednesday. According to Mason, this is because the story "was being edited at the last minute, and the broadcast wanted to make sure that they had an accurate transcript before they put it on the web." "48 Hours" was not able to interview the two defenders of Scientology featured in the piece until shortly before the broadcast, because no one from Scientology was made available until that time. "Usually it isn't that tough to get the other side of the story, or more participants in the story," says Mason.
Mason allows that Scientologists are "known as a litigious group, and they are known to resist the telling of stories about Scientology." I asked if this affected the story in any way, or if it discourages news outlets from doing stories that discuss Scientology. She says that it does not. "CBS has done several and '60 Minutes' has done several stories on Scientology, and I believe NBC did something," she says. "I think all of them do when they find a story they want to do and think is worthwhile in telling."
What about the possibility of litigation? "We do stories that we feel stand on their own grounds in the court of law," says Mason.
this is the way this socalled "religion" hande their believers ,so many victims lately
there are drug and psychiatry abuses too I don't deny it
but what I see from what I personnaly know is so many people got caught in this devastating cult and lose their sanity we had a trial in france ten years ago about a man who commited suicide afterbeen involved with the cult
the trial was lond and passionnate and one file was evenmissing...... how strange
this cult is dangerous ,harmfull for families and a financial scam ,that is my french point of view
This show wasn't a commercial. It was a story of the death of a woman and a family destoryed. While you may be out of scientology you are still in the mind set.
Meds work when used right. Thats been proven time and time again. This story was about a killing that didn't have to happen and the reason it did happen.
xenu.net
xenutv.com
Look and learn for yourself
The church is now not what it use to be and that is ever so sad. And what is worse my friends lives have been ruined by it and I lost many friends because I am no longer in good standing because I complained of things being done wrong.
Now one is dead and the other will probably never be free again. He did not act like this in about the year 2000 so after that is probably when it escualted. Check to see when he want to the Flag ship for their OT service and when he started to go off the rails and I bet you will find a connection somewhere.
All I can say is this is ever so sad and the teaching's in the church once had a bright promise but it no longer exists in the church. I found some of it out of the church where I now hang.
T'kheinsa
So Ellie should not have forced him to be a Scientologist. She did not deserve it being kill either as she was the sweetest soul I know and she thought the tech would save the day. Alas it did not. The church failed them both.
If you become a problem and they bounce you out. I know for they bounced me out and then I found the freezone the independents who do use standard tech and not the altered stuff. That is the part I hang with those who help and it works.
There was a Power takeover of the church in the 80's and the bad side won. Now they are working very hard to destory it and they will win. I see the church failing or becomming very smaller than it is.
So how I look at it. They probably did some type of counseling and it got screwed up and then refused to help him after things started to go wrong.
I agree this show was used as a commercial for drugs and shrinks.
I do think something should have been done. It was as if the church got an hour show bashing the drugs and shrinks. No difference to me it was to watch this.
Yes, Jeremy should have gotten more help and not be pushed into what he did not want to do by going to the church. I now know when I worked with him on the course just before all of this happened he did not want to be there. He and I were doing emeter drills and I got the reading on him that meant he wanted to leave. At the time I did not know it meant this for the altered tech we thought it was a different read but since I saw the unaltered definition of the meter read I know the truth now. So I know what he said on the show was true.
I am one who worked with Ellie as my first auditor. She was one hell of an auditor.
Here are my thoughts and comments.
CBSnews contacted me and wanted to talk to me. In the end I said no and I am glad that I did. Because what they were saying to me to get me to talk did not happen in the show and that was that they would tell about the independents and how the tech is altered so horrible screwups like Lisa and Jermy/Ellie happen. I in the end refused and I am glad that I did because this show became the biggest commercial for pshyes I ever seen.
This website is the true face that Scientology usually conceals.
http://religiousfreedomwatch.org pretends to offer an expose of "religious bigots" in general. However, it should be noted that all of the 50 or so people listed on these hateful pages are critics of Scientology. I'm the one in the fedora who isn't Dr. Touretzky!
Your piece on the Perkins tragedy and scientology was, well, fair and balanced.
Unfortunately the upper echelon of scientology (the sea org) are not permitted to watch television or visit the internet without supervision and or net-nanny filtration. Mr. Hubbard explained this requirement as being necessary to prevent upper level scientologists from becoming enturbulated (i.e. upset) at what they were watching and hearing about scientology.
For example, Mr. Tom Cruise himself has said that scientology is the most beloved and respected religion in the entire world (paraphrased). When in fact, scientology is the most ridiculed, laughed at, mocked, scorned and otherwise diss'ed religion ever, well, created for public consumption.
Tom doesn't visit the internet (without his net-nanny) and has his tv viewing time allotments scheduled by the church (to prevent upsets).