wfn.org | Madalyn Murray O'Hair FCC Rumors Resurface

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWS SERVICE
Office of Communication
American Baptist Churches USA
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320
Web: www.abc-usa.org
Richard W. Schramm, Director
  E-mail: richard.schramm@abc-usa.org

'O'HAIR PETITION' RUMORS RESURFACE

  A new round of e-mail communication is keeping alive
the myth of an alleged petition by atheist Madalyn Murray
O'Hair and/or her organization to ban religious
broadcasting.

  The rumor, which began more than 25 years ago, has
been discounted numerous times, but periodically reemerges
and circulates in print and, increasingly, through Internet
communication.

  The petition never existed.  Rumors about it first
surfaced in 1974 when two public broadcasting advocates
filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission
to investigate operations of religious broadcasting
stations.  Their petition, which was routinely assigned a
number (#2493), was denied in 1975 on the grounds that the
First Amendment required government bodies to observe a
stance of neutrality toward religion.

  Nonetheless the "O'Hair petition" has been assumed by
some to be a genuine document with 287,000 signatures.  Most
e-mail communication reporting it has called for a concerted
letter-writing campaign to the FCC to counter the petition.
Despite efforts by religious communicators and many
others to debunk the allegation, the misinformation
persists.  In 1976 alone the FCC received 4.5 million pieces
of mail on the issue.  The FCC's response to the rumor can
be found on its Website: www.fcc.gov/mmb/enf/forms/rm-2493.

  According to Richard Schramm, deputy general secretary
for Communication for American Baptist Churches USA, "One of
the challenges for all Internet communicators, including
American Baptists, is to encourage and practice responsible
verification of alleged information.  Something odious like
the O'Hair petition copy can be received and further
circulated to a larger group in a matter of minutes; the
damage is exponential.  And 'reclaiming' any such groundless
material often is about as effective as closing the
proverbial barn door after all the livestock has wandered
off.  The important thing is to take the time to ascertain
validity--and to set the sender straight if need be--before
any information flow continues."

3/21/00
WFN321A

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