Details of suit reveals Moonie Times newspaper has never made a profit, depends on $$$$ millions from the "Unification Church"
Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names
A wide-ranging affidavit by Washington Times editorial page editor
Richard Miniter in the lawsuit he is filing against the Times provides
a detailed picture of the inner workings of the newspaper that has
been rocked in recent weeks by the canning of three executives and the
resignation of its top editor.
Budget meetings Miniter attended show that the newspaper relies on a
roughly $40 million annual subsidy, delivered weekly, from the
Unification Church, he alleges in the affidavit. Church leader Rev.
Sun Myung Moon founded the Times and his son Preston controls its
parent company. Miniter writes:
70. Based on what I learned in budget meetings, the paper relies on a
roughly $40 million annual subsidy from the Unification Church and
cannot survive without that subsidy, which is paid in weekly amounts.
Of the slightly more $70 million the Washington Times spends annually,
less than $37 million comes from advertising and subscription revenue.
In addition, the number of paid subscribers has been falling since
July 2008 and advertising revenue is plunging as competition from the
Washington Examiner and others intensifies.The affidavit says that
Miniter, who was hired at a salary of $225,000 -- plus a $5,000
signing bonus, a health club membership, and other benefits --
suffered medical and emotional stress because of how he was treated at
the newspaper.
Miniter lawyer Larry Klayman, who sent the affidavit to TPM, said it
would be included with a suit filed in federal court today or
tomorrow. (The Miniter camp had previously said they would file last
week.)
Following an order in June by then-Times publisher Tom McDevitt that
he work from home, Miniter felt "trapped" because he could not perform
his work, but was stuck in the position, according to the affidavit.
"During this period, I felt profound emotional distress and physical
pain, including headaches, back pain, loss of sleep, weight gain and
other maladies."
The affidavit alleges that the Times human resources chief repeatedly
asked Miniter to sign a document stating her son lived at his house so
the boy could continue to attend an Arlington, Virginia, elementary
school after he had moved to Maryland. It also describes two internal
Times investigations into Miniter, launched, he says, for retaliatory
reasons. In one, an outside consultant was brought in to "conduct what
she called a '360' in which every employee who reported to me was
privately interviewed."
The Times spokesman has not returned calls for comment, but the
publisher of the paper previously dismissed as baseless Miniter's
charges in a discrimination complaint to the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission. Miniter is today still listed prominently on
the paper's masthead.
Also touched on in the affidavit is the Unification Church religious
ceremony -- including a mass wedding, though that is not specifically
mentioned in the affidavit -- Miniter says he was made to attend
earlier this year. The Washington Post previously reported that
Miniter said the New York City ceremony was in December, but the
affidavit gives the date as roughly Jan. 31 of this year. The
affidavit details why Miniter, who at the time was serving as a
consultant for the paper, felt pressured to go:
21. McDevitt told me that "It would be good for you to go." I took
this to mean that if I didn't go, it would count negatively against my
prospects at The Washington Times and of being offered permanent
executive employment there.
22. I knew that McDevitt was a member of the Unification Church and
that his religion was important to him. A large, Mao-like portrait of
Rev. Moon hung above his desk and a billboard-sized Korean-language
calligraphy, written by Rev. Moon, hung in the executive conference
room. While these Moon relics were only seen by senior executives, I
knew they had personal significance to McDevitt. At first, I
considered this artwork to be a sign of personal and private religious
devotion, like an Advent calendar tacked to someone's cubicle, and not
a sign that the Church would interfere in the "editorial independence"
that editors were promised.
The affidavit describes a rigorous screening process before he was
hired, including a three hour "computerized test designed to reveal
hidden psychological and behavioral factors." Miniter says a former
Wall Street Journal colleague asked, "Are you going to work for the
CIA or something?"