Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: davidb@caen.engin.umich.edu (David Bonnell)
Subject: The Story That Time Couldn't Tell-4
Message-ID: <x3f_v8-@engin.umich.edu>
Date: Sat, 09 Nov 91 18:25:06 EST
Organization: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

MEDIA INFLUENCE.  The clients of WPP and its JWT Group and other subsidiaries
consist of government agencies, media companies and corporate giants with
enormous advertising budgets.  They include, among many others, TIME-Warner
Inc., TIME-Life Books, Eli Lilly and Company and other major drug firms such
as Bristol-Myers, Squibb, Lederle Laboratories, SmithKline Beecham and
Warner-Lambert.
  That kind of money has influence.  In the book, Ethics, Morality, and the
Media,  George Harris obsrved that editors are more likely to be influence by
their sales and marketing staff than by their subscribers.  In a research
paper, author Vicki Lynn Hesterman noted, "nearly 75 percent of the editors and
publishers report that pressure from advertisers and the advertising or
business offices influences editorial decisions."

LILLY STRIKES BACK...AND OUT. On April 15, 1991 Lilly chairman Richard Wood
attributed Prozac's negative publicity to the Church of Scientology and assured
Lilly stockholders that Prozac would rebound.  The very next day, Merrill-Lynch
issued a report that reached an opposite conclusion:"While Lilly believes that
physicians are not concerned about Prozac's safety, the company is dealing with
unwilling patients."
  On April 15, Lilly's Wood also misrepresented the Church's interest in Prozac
to Lilly stockholders by claiming that Scientologists were impelled by
"financial incentives."  Wood's reference, of course, parallels the central
theme of Behar's TIME article published two weeks later.
  On April 19, 1991, a mere ten days before the publication of the TIME
article, the Wall Street Journal, which had previously published articles
recounting Prozac's adverse effects, published a front page story defending the
drug and criticizing both the CCHR and the Church of Scientology.  Lilly
chairman Richard Wood is a director of the Dow Jones Company, the publisher of
the Wall Street Journal.
  The Wall Street Journal coup de grace, however, turned out to be a grand
faux pas.  On the day that the article appeared, Lilly stock nose dived 2 1/2
points, representing a loss of more than $600 million in market value.  At the
close of business, Lilly stood at $79.75 and was still downtrending.
  To make matters worse, on April 25, 1991, the CBS Evening News aired an
expose describing the dangers of Prozac, a blow that resulted in a further
decline in Lilly's stock market value.
  Then, on April 29, 1991, TIME unleashed the Behar article and within days,
Hill and Knowlton resigned from its Scientology account.

ON SALE FOR A PRICE. How far will TIME go to support its advertisers?
  That question was answered long ago by TIME founder Henry Luce when he penned
the memorandum setting forth TIME's policy regarding advertising:"We believe we
can be subsidized by the Advertiser by giving him value for value received and
without compromising our journalistic soul.  That small fraction we are frankly
willing to sell for a price."
  Even Luce had to know that the soul cannot be bartered in bits.  The sale of
a part of it destroys all of it - and so it has been with TIME.  And JWT.
And WPP. AND Lilly.
  Lilly, through its advertising connections and media influence, has attempted
to silence the Church in order to salvage and protect its billion dollar Prozac
empire through the TIME article.
  It is clear, by this response alone, that Lilly and TIME have silenced no one.