zakur
1st November 2003, 12:33 PM
Reuters Agrees To Display Church Message In Times Square (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--reuters-methodist1030oct30,0,6744739.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire)
NEW YORK -- Reversing course, the Reuters news agency has agreed to allow the display of a religious message on its Times Square building and said Thursday it will reevaluate the corporate policy that had prohibited it.
That could mean not only religious but also political messages on the company's giant electronic billboard, Reuters spokesman Steve Naru said.
"The whole policy will be up for review," he said.
The immediate effect was a victory for the United Methodist Church, which signed a $30,000 contract in September to display a series of Thanksgiving season messages _ only to have Reuters revoke the deal on grounds that it violated company rules designed to "preserve its independence, integrity and freedom from bias."
The policy, dating from the 1940s, when Reuters was owned by a British media trust, specifically prohibited messages with religious or political content, a company spokeswoman said. Reuters went public in 1984 but retained some of the former policies.
The Rev. Larry Hollon, chief spokesman for the Nashville-based Methodist denomination, which claims 10 million members worldwide, complained that Reuters allowed beer advertising while rejecting "messages of hope, peace and reconciliation."Oh, dear. . . Place your bets now on how soon the $cientologists will be doing this.
NEW YORK -- Reversing course, the Reuters news agency has agreed to allow the display of a religious message on its Times Square building and said Thursday it will reevaluate the corporate policy that had prohibited it.
That could mean not only religious but also political messages on the company's giant electronic billboard, Reuters spokesman Steve Naru said.
"The whole policy will be up for review," he said.
The immediate effect was a victory for the United Methodist Church, which signed a $30,000 contract in September to display a series of Thanksgiving season messages _ only to have Reuters revoke the deal on grounds that it violated company rules designed to "preserve its independence, integrity and freedom from bias."
The policy, dating from the 1940s, when Reuters was owned by a British media trust, specifically prohibited messages with religious or political content, a company spokeswoman said. Reuters went public in 1984 but retained some of the former policies.
The Rev. Larry Hollon, chief spokesman for the Nashville-based Methodist denomination, which claims 10 million members worldwide, complained that Reuters allowed beer advertising while rejecting "messages of hope, peace and reconciliation."Oh, dear. . . Place your bets now on how soon the $cientologists will be doing this.