December 24, 2004
Jesus don't cry, Or, Where Are the Satanists?
After your local newspaper inserts "advertisement" New Testament editions into your daily delivery, you want a sticker that says "God is on my shit list". You'll find it at Unamerican, celebrating their tenth irreverent anniversary.
Most national newspapers allow religious advertising on their religion pages, but it's unusual to see a Bible giveaway, said Aly Colón, a teacher at the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school and think tank.If newspapers are going to accept that type of advertising campaign, they must also make sure that the newspaper maintains impartiality in its news section, he said.
Editors might want to place a disclaimer in the news portion of the paper to let readers know that the Bible they are receiving is an advertisement, not an editorial endorsement of a religion.
"The key thing is how the newspaper maintains its independence from their product and pays attention to their readership and how it maintains that clear separation," Colón said.
Messages left with the Colorado Springs Gazette for comment about the issue were not returned late Thursday.
Theoretically, members of a another group, such as Satanists, could seek to raise money and distribute copies of the Satanic Bible in newspapers, and publishers who deny them the advertising opportunity could be accused of discrimination.