Conference yukon::christian

61.0. "Jesus Fellowship and The Miami Herald" by COVERT::COVERT (John R. Covert) Tue Mar 25 1997 13:36

Response To The Miami Herald's Position
Rev. Rick L. Patterson, Th.D.
[email protected]
http://jf.org/herald.htm

For wide distribution.

Factual Events:

October 1996 
	Jesus Fellowship began its research concerning 
marketing and advertising in The Miami Herald.  We 
evaluated their existing advertising options and 
determined that advertising on the plastic "poly-bag" 
(the protective plastic bag the daily newspaper is 
wrapped in) was the most effective and cost-efficient 
mode of advertisement.

January 1997
	I spoke with The Miami Herald's sales 
representative and received information and a price for 
placing  "poly-bag" ads for Easter week.  

February 1997
	I entered into an agreement with The Miami Herald 
for the placement of  two "poly-bag" ads during the week 
of March 23, 1997.  We submitted our ad for approval and 
The Miami  Herald prepared a proof copy for our approval.  
I made our corrections resulting in the final approved 
draft accepted by The Miami Herald.  I signed all required 
forms for processing and payment terms.

March 1997
	The Miami Herald ordered and printed 100,000 
poly-bags with our ad to be used for distribution.  The 
dates of distribution were to be Tuesday, March 25, 1997 
and Sunday, March 30, 1997.
	Jesus Fellowship then proceeded with plans and 
purchases needed to facilitate increased attendance for 
our Easter services.
	
March 21, 1997
	At 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 21, 1997, I 
received a phone call from Skip Benjamin, The Miami 
Herald sales representative, informing me that our 
advertisement had been rejected by The Miami Herald 
because it was considered to be "offensive."  I asked 
what  part of our ad was considered to be "offensive" 
and he was only able to refer me to the V.P. of 
Advertisement for clarification and he reiterated that 
The Miami Herald would not run our ad on the poly-bags.  
At that time I indicated that this would not stop with 
their simple rejection of our ad.
	I then contacted our corporate attorney, Dean 
DiBartolomeo, at 8400 Bird Road, Miami, FL 33155.  I 
informed him of The Miami Herald's decision not to 
publish our contracted advertisement and that they had 
every intention to breach our contract.  Mr. 
DiBartolomeo then contacted the legal department at 
The Miami Herald and he spoke to their legal counsel, 
Samuel A. Terilli, Jr., regarding the issue.
	In a second call, Mr. DiBartolomeo spoke to Mr. 
David Lawerence, Jr., the Chairman and Publisher of The 
Miami Herald. During that conversation it was confirmed 
that The Miami Herald had made the unilateral decision 
to pull the advertisement, but Mr. Lawerence offered to 
meet with me to discuss this matter.

	That Friday night during our services which are 
broadcast live via RealAudio we shared with the world our 
concerns.  I then asked our webmaster William Greene to 
post an email to those who are on our mailing lists as 
to the incident that had occurred.  That night email 
responses began pouring into The Miami Herald!

March 22, 1997
	At 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, Mr. David Lawrence, 
Jr. called my home and discussed with me his rationale for 
pulling the ad. He simply advised that it would be 
"insensitive" to allow such an advertisement to run.  I 
asked him what he considered to be insensitive.  He told 
me that running the ad on the poly-bag would be a 
perceived endorsement of our church.  I indicated how 
unreasonable that position was because it is a simple 
advertisement and nothing else.  I also asked if running 
our ad on the poly-bag would be considered to be an 
endorsement, why wouldn't all ads running on the poly-bags 
be considered an endorsement of the advertising company 
or organization?  To which there was no reasonable reply.
	The truth is someone in The Miami Herald felt 
that the name of JESUS was offensive and/or insensitive!  
Clearly, there is nothing about this ad that could be 
construed to be offensive or insensitive.

	At 4:00 p.m. Saturday, I met with Mr. David 
Lawrence, Jr., Mr. Joe Natoli, the President of The 
Miami Herald, Mr. Samuel A. Terrili, Jr., their attorney, 
accompanied by our attorney, Mr. Dean DiBartolomeo.  We 
met at Mr. Lawerence's home to discuss their position.  
During this conversation Mr. Lawerence offered to run 
two ads at their expense within the newspaper, but not 
on the poly-bag.  He also offered to write a joint 
editorial on Easter Sunday morning allowing me to present 
our position.  We also offered to post his response on 
our website allowing our readers the opportunity to see 
his side of the issue.  (See Mr. Lawerence's response 
posted at this site.)  We also agreed that we would not 
immediately file suit against The Miami Herald over 
their obvious breach of contract.  However, we reserved 
the right to pursue any legal remedy we deem to be 
necessary in the future in the event this matter could 
not be resolved amicably. 

	Now this may seem to be a fair and equitable 
resolution if the only issue was their attempt to avoid 
a breach of contract lawsuit.  However, their complete 
disregard for performance on a contract is only one of 
the issues.  The most important is the issue of Religious 
Discrimination.  The only reason this ad was pulled was 
because they have determined that the name JESUS on the 
poly-bag would be insensitive!  Secondarily, they are 
considering implementing a policy for future ad placement 
on the poly-bags which would now exclude all churches and 
religious organizations.  This policy is the direct result 
of our ad placement.  Therefore, not only would Jesus 
Fellowship now be denied "equal access" to the premier 
advertising location; so would all other churches and 
religious organizations. 




	We are not asking for any special religious 
discount.  We are not asking for any special exception 
or privileges.  We are merely asking for a level playing 
field that will allow our church or any other church the 
opportunity to place their ads anywhere in The Miami 
Herald without restrictions to placement.

	Clearly, anyone who has read our ad realizes this 
is a very simple business card type ad informing people of 
our location and service times!  Our ad does not  judge, 
belittle, or malign anyone's faith or lack or faith nor 
does it attempt to proselytize anyone.  

1)	If this ad is insensitive on the poly-bag how can 
it be any less insensitive inside The Miami Herald buried 
with hundreds of other ads, including, ads for escort 
services, nude night clubs, etc.?

2)	If our ad is insensitive because it is on the 
front of the poly-bag why isn't the quarter front page 
color picture of a priest leading a processional down 
the streets of Miami during a Palm Sunday celebration 
in The Miami Herald's Monday, March 24, 1997 edition?

3)	If there was a concern about possible endorsement 
of The Miami Herald and Jesus Fellowship they could have 
printed or required to print on the poly-bag "THIS IS A 
PAID ADVERTISEMENT."

4)	If there was a concern that "people of all sorts of 
different faiths" and "people of no faith at all" might feel 
our ad was insensitive how could The Miami Herald publish 
a front  page color picture of a priest and a processional 
cross?  

	I applaud The Miami Herald for running our ad inside 
the paper for free and their willingness to discuss this 
issue in Sunday's editorial.  I am thankful for the time 
and cordial dialogue with Mr. David Lawerence, Jr.   
However, I am very disturbed that they are considering an 
ad policy that will exclude churches from the most important 
advertisement spot in the newspaper!  Why?  Because we were 
the first to attempt to use that spot and our name contains 
the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

	I am convinced that the intelligence of all 
readers of The Miami Herald would never misconstrue 
our ad as an endorsement by The Miami Herald.  I am 
convinced that for every one person who would be 
against churches using this ad placement there are 
thousands who would simply look at the bag without 
any concerns and throw it away or recycle it as they 
do with all of their used poly-bags.  

	I want to thank the thousands of email 
protests that have been sent to The Miami Herald 
registering your concerns.  I am certain that without 
your quick response The Miami Herald would be less 
inclined to even discuss this issue.  This response 
has demonstrated the power of the internet in 
defending religious freedoms in America.  It has also 
shown us the need to add a new site to our ever 
growing website that deals exclusively with other 
acts of religious discrimination.  Your rapid response 
has demonstrated to The Miami Herald that they may 
have a monopoly over our local print media but they 
can not control or stop the electronic media.

	We are still the victim of discrimination 
even with their concessions!  The concessions from 
The Miami Herald have not resolved the most important 
issues in this case: undeniable religious 
discrimination and  a possible exclusionary 
advertisement policy.  Once again, we want "equal 
access" to advertise in The Miami Herald.  We wish 
to preserve the rights of all churches to advertise 
on the poly-bags or inside the newspaper as their 
budget dictates.  
	
	I am asking you to continue to voice your 
support for Jesus Fellowship and opposition to their 
actions.  Your overwhelming response has made this 
the classic David vs. Goliath scenario.  May God bless 
you and Happy Easter!