As the thread title indicates, here is a collection of articles (and a video I just came across) regarding the UC ownership of The Washington Times and its purchase of UPI, which Preston Moon later took control of. Not all of the incidents/issues are directly related to Moon, but I just posted articles I found interesting/surprising. And now, let's go back in time to May 1982, a great month for pop music! (https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1982-05-15/)
May 17, 1982: The Nation's Capital Gets A New Daily Newspaper (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/wtimes.htm) (The Washington Post)
Note: long and full of lots of interesting tidbits
QuoteThe Washington Times is not just any newspaper. Commonly referred to as "the Moonie paper" since its plans were announced, it is supported by the religious movement that Moon founded in Korea 28 years ago. Preaching "The Divine Principle," Moon sees himself as the new Messiah and Korea as God's chosen country. Since the church emerged in the United States in the early 1970s, questions have been raised about its finances, its suspected ties to the Korean CIA and its alleged brainwashing of young recruits. It is now an international business empire that encompasses entertainment, fishing, food retailing, publishing and, for a time, the Diplomat National Bank here. Robert Boettcher, the staff director of a 1978 House subcommittee investigation into Korean-American relations, says the church aims at creating a global theocracy that Moon would control. ...
But the real Washington story at The Times is its staff members--the ones who aren't church members. Many are familiar bylines from the Star. Some were bored writing books, others joined because of pleadings from already hired colleagues whom they trusted. Many badly needed a job; for them, their decision was proof that you can't eat your principles. Almost all had serious reservations. "You'd have to be a brick not to go though some sort of moral convulsions," says Doug Lamborne, The Times sports editor and former Washington Star copy editor. "I lost five pounds the first week. We all had these twitchy sort of feelings: 'Is what we're doing right?' " ...
With Moon and his family standing before them in ceremonial Korean dress, selected church officials played different religious and political leaders, such as Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, President Reagan and Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Each one prostrated himself before Moon, bowing his forehead to the floor three times, Soejima said. "The meaning is that Moon is higher than all of them," Soejima said. In church theology, "Sun Myung Moon is the father and his wife is the mother of the whole human race."
The next day, with the church officials assembled at Moon's estate in Tarrytown, N.Y., Moon expressed disappointment with his inability to win more converts in the United States. But he spoke with pride of The Washington Times, bragging of important officials who had attended its opening cermonies. Moon said that James Whelan, then publisher of The Washington Times, "listens to what I say and makes the newspaper as I tell him," according to Soejima. ...
"With journalism, we have now reached success by establishing The Washington Times," Moon said, according to Soejima. "We now have a direct influence on Reagan through The Washington Times."
May 16, 1983: Year-Old Paper Seeks Its Place in the Sun (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1983/05/17/year-old-paper-seeks-its-place-in-the-sun/aba16061-ce48-4836-b897-b1e54a90b014/) (The Washington Post)
Quote"No business that Moon owns is ever independent from Moon," said Warren Adler, an author and an owner of Dossier magazine. "To me, it's a myth that The Times is independent . . . They the church are establishing a powerful beachhead in the nation's capital that reaches right into the White House."
Adler and his wife were among 50 people who picketed a gala Times celebration at the Corcoran Gallery of Art a year ago. The Adlers' son, David Adler, chief operating officer of Dossier, briefly belonged to the church. His parents alleged that he had been brainwashed during a 1978 vacation trip to California. ...
James R. Whelan, 49, a former editor of The Sacramento Union who was coaxed into taking the Washington Times job by a persistent Pak, discounts most of the criticisms of Moon as "religious persecution." He said he negotiated a contract that gives him a free hand to run the paper.
....
....
July 17, 1984: Washington Times Riled by Charge of Moon Church Control (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/07/18/washington-times-riled-by-charge-of-moon-church-control/50140451-20bb-44fb-9f05-10a8f73371a7/) (The Washington Post)
QuoteAt a morning press conference at the National Press Club, James R. Whelan charged that The Times "is firmly in the hands of top officials of the . . . Unification Church Movement" and that Col. Bo Hi Pak, the South Korean who is Rev. Moon's top aide and president of News World Communications, has taken "direct, on-site, executive control of all noneditorial functions of the newspaper on behalf of the newspaper's owners."
Orders were being given, Whelan said, by unnamed "elders of the church."
Whelan, saying that "a covenant of independence has been irreparably breached," also held out the possibility that he might sue the newspaper for breach of contract....
"I have one major message to give to you," said Hempstone, who has been executive editor at The Times since it began publishing in May 1982. "The Washington Times is not -- I repeat, not -- a 'Moonie newspaper.' "...
Newspaper analyst John Morton, of the brokerage firm of Lynch Jones and Ryan, said of Whelan's going public with his claims: "It won't have much impact on advertising support because they don't have any. I doubt it will have a substantial effect on circulation."
July 18, 1984: Moon Newspaper Head Dismissed in a Dispute (https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/18/us/no-headline-072872.html) (The New York Times)
QuoteThe publisher, James R. Whelan, said he was replaced Friday by Smith Hempstone after Bo Hi Pak, president of News World Communications, the newspaper arm of the Unification Church, failed to keep promises assuring Mr. Whelan control of the editorial content of the newspaper....
According to a statement released by the Times, Mr. Whelan was dismissed after he demanded ''in excess of $2 million over five years'' as the price for giving up the publisher's position.
July 20, 1984: It's Only a Paper Moon (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP91-00561R000100020081-0.pdf) (Washinton Weeky/CIA Reading Room)
QuoteBut the dream won't end, and Whelan glances down at the text and resigns himself to the inevitable. The words are spoken haltingly, as though extracted from his mouth one by one with a pair of pliers-"The Times is a
Moonie paper."
July 23, 1984: Ex-Pubisher Says Moon Church Ran Newspaper (https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/23/us/ex-publisher-says-moon-church-ran-newspaper.html) (The New York Times)
QuoteIn a July 18 letter to The Washington Post released Friday by Mr. Whelan, he said, ''I had no intention ever of impugning the motives of those who, until a few days ago, were my close associates and who, until they realized I was going public, were together with the owners, unstinting in their praise of me.''
Mr. Whelan said he had watched in shock as his former colleagues engaged ''in the vilest form of character assassination, dredging up every resentment - every grievance, every grudge, real or imaginary - all for the sole and single purpose of disguising the fact that they had gone along with what they had said they would never go along with: direct Moonie control of The Washington Times. ...
Conscious of the mistrust that surrounds its relationship to the church, The Times takes great care in handling coverage of articles involving Mr. Moon or church activities. In an effort to avoid charges of bias, the newspaper used a wire-service report for its front-page article on Mr. Moon's conviction of tax fraud, and according to one senior editor it agonized for many months before running an editorial in support of Mr. Moon's position. Dozens of religious and civil liberty groups had also taken Mr. Moon's side in the case
Note to Self: Compare recent coverage of Moon with that bolded quote in mind. In particular Religiocide in Korea: The Attempted Assassination of a Faith (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/sep/22/religiocide-korea/)
Sept. 16, 1984: Moon's Japanese Profits Bolster Efforts in US (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/profit.htm) (The Washington Post)
QuoteThe Japanese branch of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church has transferred at least $800 million over the past nine years into the United States to finance the church's political activities and business operations, including The Washington Times newspaper, according to two former high-ranking church officials.
This money is generated in Japan, primarily through a Tokyo-based business operation that uses church members to sell marble vases, miniature treasure pagodas and other religious icons that are represented as having supernatural powers, the former officials said.
Nov. 28, 1984: FBI Holds 6 in Kidnapping of Moon Aide (https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/28/nyregion/fbi-holds-6-in-kidnapping-of-moon-aide.html) (The New York Times).
Note: More here about the kidnapping. (https://peterdaley.net/strangerthings/index.php?topic=83.0)
QuoteThe church leader (and founding chairman of The Washington Times Corp.) Bo-hi Pak, said he had been held for two days in a small house in Orange County and had been subjected to shocks with electric devices before being released. Two of the arrested men were identified by the F.B.I. as members of the Unification Church and friends of Mr. Pak.
Feb. 20, 1986: Media Cautioned on Stories About Editor : Lawyers' Letter Seen as Novel Attempt to Influence News Coverage (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-10-mn-27268-story.html) (Los Angeles Times)
QuoteThe circumstances of Whelan's ouster from the Washington Times remain unclear even 18 months later. Whelan charged at the time that control of the newspaper, which has considerable visibility in the White House, was being seized by its controversial owners, officials from the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. "The Washington Times has become a Moonie newspaper," he told a press conference.
Washington Times editors denied Whelan's accusations in their own press conference and charged that Whelan had been removed after he demanded a lucrative new contract, including a gift of an $800,000 house. ...
Larry Chandler, promotion and research director for the Washington Times, contended in an interview that Moon and the Unification Church have no legal or financial connection to the newspaper, although previous statements by Washington Times editors contradict that.
Aug. 12, 1988: Reporter Quits Over Dukakis Story (https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/08/12/Reporter-quits-over-Dukakis-story/2543587361600/) (UPI)
QuoteA reporter for the Washington Times said Friday he resigned from the newspaper in a dispute with his editors over their handling of a story suggesting Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis had sought psychiatric counseling. The reporter, Gene Grabowski, resigned Wednesday in a disagreement with editors who revised his original story appearing Aug. 4 to emphasize what Grabowski felt was a more remote possibility Dukakis had visited a psychiatrist. ...' This was the first instance in my personal experience where a story was changed substantially,' said Grabowski, who worked for The Associated Press for nine years before joining the Times in February 1987.
Note: The Washington Post is currently having issues of its own. (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/sep/15/karen-attiah-fired-washington-post-charlie-kirk)
1991: A fascinating panel discussion from 1991:
- James Whelan was the founding editor of the Washington Times as well as the editorial page editor.
- Michael Warder was a Director of the Unification Church of America in 1977.
Transcript of Michael Warder's Speech (https://howwelldoyouknowyourmoon.tumblr.com/post/133144975448/michael-warders-reasons-for-leaving-as-a-top-uc) (How Well Do You Know Your Moon)
QuoteOver a period of time I began to reach the conclusion that Moon had a literal, biologic, belief in the superiority of Koreans, and that they, among the orientals were superior, but that orientals were superior to all the rest anyway. So there was a real racial, nationalistic hierarchy involved in the concept. ...
We had a little girl. Shortly after her birth Moon established a nursery in Tarrytown, and all the couples were called together by Moon at a meeting in the New Yorker [Hotel] and basically ordered to put the children in the nursery in Tarrytown. We were living on 34th and 8th Avenue in Manhattan. Now this was very difficult, but we did it. We would see our daughter on the weekend, on Sundays.
Then about two weeks later, we had a meeting at the Belvedere Estate. This was phase two, and he must have known phase two before he started phase one. He basically ordered all of the wives to go on a three-year evangelical mission for C.A.R.P. on the West Coast. My wife at the time was three months pregnant, and she went off to California on this trip, led by Tiger Park.
Meantime, in the nursery, our daughter, she would literally, there would be one person assigned to take care of five infants and when one person wasn't there, they would have these tape recordings of Korean language so these kids would learn to speak Korean. The lady who ran the nursery could not speak English. The idea was that Korean was the heavenly language so they were going to get a leg up on the rest of us. It is pretty grisly, grim stuff.
May 21, 1992: A Decade of Service to God and America: 10th Anniversary of the Washington Times and Presentation of the Freedom Awards (https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon92/SM920521.HTM)(Sun-myung Moon/TParents.org)
So much to unpack! Note to self: Revisit with related links
QuoteAs the Founder of The Washington Times, I would like to extend my congratulations to the Freedom Award recipients, who richly deserve recognition for their service in defense of freedom. Tonight, as I look back, I remember the day in 1981 when I decided to create this newspaper. With the collapse of The Washington Star, the capital of the United States of America and the world's inspiration for freedom and democracy was left with just one liberal newspaper, The Washington Post.
At that time, the idea of starting up a new, conservative paper to challenge The Post was unthinkable. I assure you that if I had sought political influence, religious propaganda or personal riches, The Washington Times would have been the wrong project indeed. The fact is, I have invested close to one billion dollars in this newspaper during the past 10 years.
Why I founded the paper. I founded this newspaper only because I believed that it was the will of God. God loves America and its Judeo-Christian heritage, and looks to America to assume the central role in saving the world from the collapse of traditional values and to defend the free world from the threat of communism. I, therefore, created The Washington Times to provide America with responsible leadership in fulfilling this providential role. This Tenth Anniversary celebration commemorates the decisive role played by The Washington Times in the fall of communism and anticipates America's and the world's hope for a bright future.
In speaking of the future, allow me to share with you my hopes for a world of peace and harmony.
Ladies and gentlemen! What is the most precious thing in the world? It is true love centered upon God. If there is anything that you cannot buy with money or power, it is true love. True love is unique in that it cannot be actualized except within a relationship. A relationship requires give and take between two beings, a subject and an object. Love between husband and wife, parent and child, and brother and sister are all experienced within relationships.
In the same way, in order for God to fulfill the ideal of true love, He created the universe to be His object. Of all His creations, mankind, as His sons and daughters, was created to be His primary object of love. It is only through true love that we can experience true unity between God and man, between men and women, and among all the creatures of the earth. True love is the ultimate center of all unified and absolute values. This love originates from the act of sacrificing oneself for the sake of others. Give yourself to others and forget your giving. Then give again. This is the nature of true love. When God created His object of love, He gave Himself for the sake of His creation. He invested 100 percent of Himself. And then He invested again and again.
In nature, when air moves, a vacuum is created. Then air rushes back in a circular motion to fill the vacuum. In human life, when we give our love until we have no more to give, God's unlimited love rushes back into our hearts to fill the void. Absolute giving for the sake of others, therefore, will bring us unlimited energy. God stands in the subject position of giving love to mankind. His original nature of giving love again and again creates a perpetual dynamic motion characterizing His eternal existence. Thus, eternal life is the natural consequence of living the way of true love.
If you can stand in the position of having God's absolute and unchangeable love, you can be where God is. You will have the right to live together with Him all the time. If we as human beings resonate with God's love and enter a sphere of unified oneness with Him, then God's love will be our love, God's life will be our life, God's lineage will be our lineage, and God's creatures will be our creatures.
It is, therefore, by God's design that man is created to live for the sake of others. By living and sacrificing for others, the ideal of love can be realized. With this in mind, we cannot expect world peace to result from the contemporary philosophy of individualism, in which each person lives for him- or herself. It is the intention of evil to destroy the sphere in which the individual dwells as an object of God. When that occurs, what remains is the individual, living only for oneself. This is the fundamental cause of family breakdown, racial conflict, economic disparity and conflict between religions. America was founded upon the Judeo-Christian spirit of love. Then how did it develop this culture of individualism?
While fighting communism, I have continually tried to awaken America's youth and I have repeated my warnings to the free world so they would not be affected by this degenerating pattern. Yet America is still suffering from a variety of social ills. Drug wars, AIDS and increasing criminal violence still plague this great country. Even the considerable military, economic and intellectual might of America have not and can not cure these diseases. Decisive Role
I came to America only with the desire to help save her. Even after this country indicted me, I was still committed to this cause. I even made the decisions that created The Washington Times while sitting in the courthouse during my trial. Moreover, I gave instructions to start Insight and The World & I magazines while in Danbury prison. I am proud of the fact that The Washington Times played a decisive role in heightening America's awareness of the threat of communism. Although this country has repeatedly rejected me, I have continued my best efforts to awaken America to its providential responsibility.
The strategy of God to save mankind is to absorb the first blow and suffer loss, but over the course of time regain more than what was lost back to God. Evil, on the other hand, always strikes first and claims initial victory but, ultimately, in the end, loses all. As you know, during World Wars I and II and even the Cold War, the countries that struck first, eventually lost. If a righteous person endures persecution, his commitment to suffer for his faith plants a seed of respect and admiration in the consciences of his oppressors. Eventually, that seed will grow and transform the hearts of many for generations to come. This quiet revolution of the heart is heaven's secret weapon.
Investment to Save America. I have undergone immense hardship in my efforts to pioneer the way to a true and just world peace. When I founded The Washington Times, there were very few people who comprehended my intent, let alone who offered to help. But because I knew the winning strategy of God, I went forward. I foresaw that this newspaper would be an instrument to save America and the world, although it would mean sacrificing myself and my Unification Movement.
In the next decade, our task will be more difficult than ever. We cannot relax just because the fight with communism has ended. For example, who can halt the surging wave of immorality that is sweeping the globe? This is becoming a world that worships hedonism, and seeks only to stimulate carnal desires. The war against drugs in this country has been a complete and utter failure.
The riots that occurred a few weeks ago in Los Angeles, moreover, confronted us with issues that cannot be solved merely with more police, more laws, more money or more political negotiations. Without the true love of God on earth, that is, without people living and sacrificing for the sake of others, we will not be able to solve these problems. As community leaders, it is important to realize that giving and sacrificing for the sake of others is the only way to establish yourself as the head of your true family and society, and to become true leaders of your nation.
When your family, society and nation follow you in practicing the great principles of true love, then you will become the champions in the establishment of world peace. What we need is a revolution-a moral revolution, a revolution of true love. Moreover, this revolution is needed everywhere. Mrs. Moon and I are working to organize this now in Korea.
As you may know, I visited North Korea last November. That event shocked the world. It was considered an impossibility due to my lifelong stand against communism. As early as 1985, I had predicted and proclaimed the fall of communism and the economic disintegration of the Soviet Union. I was known in many communist countries as a national enemy. My trip, therefore, was a life-risking trip for my wife and me.
I went to North Korea out of love for my country and out of a fervent desire for the reunification of my homeland. I met with President Kim Il Sung and had a meaningful dialogue. Even with differences of opinion, dialogue is always useful. Isolation is always dangerous. For example, he promised me that the nuclear issue will be settled to the satisfaction of the United States. The moment of truth on this issue is coming soon. All in all, I feel my visit contributed tremendously to easing the tension in Asia and the world. In that atheistic country, I preached that God and true love must be the basis and spirit for national unification and permanent peace. The Reverend Billy Graham is well known for his great work, the first to preach in several communist countries. This time, however, it was my privilege to be God's instrument and speak God's words in communist North Korea. Today, The Washington Times and its magazines begin another decade of service to America and to God. There lie even greater challenges ahead of us. In order to meet these challenges, I need every one of you to be a champion. In the next ten years, let us build a moral America, a better world for our children. You can surely count on my support.
Ladies and gentlemen, The Washington Times is your newspaper as much as it is mine. Together we will make this great newspaper even greater.
Nov. 22, 1997: A Low-Profile Aide Plays a Powerful Role (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/11/23/a-low-profile-aide-plays-a-powerful-role/b59a77cd-40bc-46f4-ad2b-a11302309c3f/) (The Washington Post)
QuoteFrom video production to real estate, one man plays an extraordinary role in Moon Inc.'s Washington operations. Dong Moon Joo, a South Korean citizen who is one of Moon's closest aides, heads Crown Communications, Unification Church International and Atlantic Video. He is a director of several other church entities, including Nostalgia and U.S. Property Development, a Delaware corporation that reported assets of $114 million in 1990.
Joo is also president of the Washington Times, a position not included in the list of executives that appears in the paper daily. ...
Joo took over many of the church's Washington enterprises after Pak left the United States. According to former church leaders, Pak was badly beaten in 1987 by a Zimbabwean tribesman whom Moon had recognized as the spiritual reincarnation of his son Heung-Jin, who had been killed in an auto crash.
Concerning the last sentence in the above quote:
March 29, 1998: Theological Uproar In Unification Church: Rev. Moon Recognizes Zimbabwean As His Reincarnated Son (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/03/30/theological-uproar-in-unification-church/bdba72f8-6ccd-4eca-a90c-d18cf0323150/)(The Washington Post)
QuoteSome senior officials of The Washington Times, which was founded by Moon, have been anguished over the affair, according to sources there. While now publicly dismissing reports about the new Heung Jin Nim as "wild" rumor, Editor in Chief Arnaud de Borchgrave previously worried that the Zimbabwean might be a North Korean plant designed to discredit Moon because of his staunch anticommunism, according to two of de Borchgrave's associates.
"From the bottom of my navel, I don't want to know about this," said Ron Godwin, The Times' senior vice president for business and a former executive of Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, when asked about the new
Heung Jin Nim. "I know that such a person exists and that he's been preaching in the church. But I will walk a mile not to get involved . .
Stories that Pak had been injured spread rapidly throughout the church, partly because of Pak's position as Moon's most loyal deputy. Questions arose as to whether the Zimbabwean was responsible. Kate Tsubata said she was inclined to be skeptical until she heard the church elder describe a meeting with the Rev. Moon in which Moon was asked about the new Heung Jin Nim's reported violence. The lecturer "then added how 'even Col. Pak had been beaten,' " said Tsubata. "He just let it drop . . . It was quite significant."
Pak is out of the country and unavailable for comment, according to his office. "It's a sensitive matter," said Pak's son, Jonathan Park, yesterday. "It would be totally inappropriate for me to comment one way or another."
Since the incident, Pak has rarely been seen around The Washington Times. He attended the office Christmas party two days after his release from the hospital and had to be led around the building by an aide clutching his elbow. "He literally couldn't walk without assistance," recalled Kirk Oberfeld, managing editor of Insight, a national weekly magazine published by The Times. "He was dizzy; his equilibrium had been affected."
When asked about his health then, Pak was mum. "It was very clear he didn't want to talk about it," Oberfeld said. "He just said, 'I'm not feeling terribly well.' "
Pak returned to Korea, where, according to sources at the newspaper, he was hospitalized once again, undergoing head surgery. He returned to The Times, smiling and ambulatory but somewhat weaker and subdued, on Friday, March 18. Times officials put up a big "Welcome Home, Dr. Pak" banner in their auditorium, and Pak spoke for about 10 minutes, telling the assembled he was making a "rapid recovery.
Much more here. (https://tragedyofthesixmarys.com/black-heung-jin-moon/) (Tragedy of the Six Maries)
And from the above link, two videos of that Zimbabwean, Cleophas aka "Black Heung-jin Nim", after parting with the Moons. He shares his version of events from 50:00 in the first video and claims it was all Moon's idea and shares knowledge of Moon's many affairs - although given the power differential between a "Messiah" and a young female follower, I don't think "affair" is the right word. And I have no idea if Heung-jin was a violent boy, but there are a lot of accusations that Black Heung-jin was.
Part 1: https://vimeo.com/39941021 (https://vimeo.com/39941021)
Part 2: https://vimeo.com/39949809 (https://vimeo.com/39949809)
May 14, 2000: Moon Landing Looms for UPI: Reverend Sun-myung Moon Set to Buy Wire Service (https://nypost.com/2000/05/14/moon-landing-looms-for-upi-reverend-sun-myung-moon-is-set-to-buy-wire-service//) (New York Post)
QuoteTHE Moonies are very close to landing on Air Force One. Media Ink has learned that the venerable but battered United Press International is on the brink of being sold to News World Communications, the publishing arm of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church....
One of the perks of UPI ownership is a guaranteed seat in the press cabin of Air Force One as part of the permanent wire-service pool covering the President. The Moonies also land the legendary Helen Thomas as White House bureau chief. She started with UPI in 1943 and broke into the White House press corps bantering with President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
May 17, 2000: Helen Thomas Resigns as Moonies Buy UPI (https://www.theregister.com/2000/05/17/helen_thomas_resigns_as_moonies/) (The Register)
QuoteWhite House press corps Dean and permanent fixture Helen Thomas resigned her post with the United Press International (UPI) wire service, for which she worked for 57 years, on news that a Unification Church affiliate - which also owns the transparently Right-Wing Washington Times newspaper - has bought UPI.
May 17, 2000: Helen Thomas, the Gridiron, & The Moonies (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2000/05/helen-thomas-the-gridiron-and-the-moonies.html) (Slate)
May 21, 2000: UPI Star Escapes Moon's Orbit (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2000/may/21/theobserver.observerbusiness5) (The Guardian)
QuoteHelen Thomas, who relentlessly pursued Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton around the world and the West Wing with unrivalled persistence, refused to answer reporters' questions about her decision, issuing one brief statement: 'UPI is a great news agency. It has made a remarkable mark in the annals of American journalism and has left a superb legacy for future journalists. I wish the new owners all the best, great stories and happy landings.'
But Lee Michael Katz, who quit the same day as UPI's international editor, said he had no doubt about the reasons for her departure: 'Look at the timing of this, and Helen's devotion.' He said that his own decision was 'a no-brainer' and added: 'I cannot work for the new owners.'
And sometime in 2003, the piece de resistance:May 21, 2018: Locked and Loaded for the Lord (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2018/05/21/feature/two-sons-of-rev-moon-have-split-from-his-church-and-their-followers-are-armed/) (The Washington Post)
QuoteUnification Church membership figures have always been elastic, ranging from tens of thousands to several million. In 2009, the Washington Times cited 110,000 "adherents." Whatever the correct number, it had peaked by the late 1990s. Yet the Rev. Moon pressed on. In 2003, a double-page ad in the Washington Times trumpeted this news: All 36 deceased American presidents acknowledged Sun Myung Moon's greatness. What's more, each one had written an endorsement letter from the Great Beyond. "People of America, rise again. Return to the nation's founding spirit," said Thomas Jefferson, once characterized as a "howling atheist" by political opponents. "Follow the teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the Messiah to all people."
And here they are. (http://messagesfromspiritworld.info/United%20Nations/United%20Nation3.html) And I'll post part of George's message, he seems a little sad. Luckily, he provides us with a remedy for his meloncholly. But I thought heaven was supposed to be a happy place. As Trump would say, "It's full of Moonies!" (https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/26/nyregion/unification-church-insists-trump-apologize.html)
QuoteI, George Washington, am deeply moved to learn through Mr. Sang Hun Lee the identity of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, learn about Rev. Moon's accomplishments and philosophy, and come to a realization that he has appeared as the Messiah. I was introduced to poignant content, including the course of Rev. Moon's turbulent life and suffering that led to his ascension to the position of the True Parent of humankind, his bloody battle with Satan to discover the Divine Principle, his providential victories, and the circumstances of God as he oversaw the historical time periods that existed in parallel from ages past. In particular, I came to the realization that the Messiah is giving unlimited love to the people of the United States, and is offering the most profound sincerity and dedication in order to guide humankind to the philosophy of peace. Yet the people of America are greatly lacking in sincerity and dedication in attending the Messiah. I realize that the American people are blessed by the mere fact that the Messiah is present on American soil. Yet, they appear unable to realize this deeply. I am deeply distressed over this. ...
Will God guide you to the path of eternal blessing? Only if the people of America repent and receive guidance in the teachings of the Messiah will America become God's eternal Eden.
George Washington; June 9, 2002
June 19, 2005: Dear Leader's Paper Moon (https://web.archive.org/web/20080918041932/http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=9868) (John Gorenfeld for American Prospect - Internet Archive)
QuoteThe Washington Times has played an essential role in Moon's relations with the Kim dynasty, although the tone of its coverage alternates between promotional and hostile. Ironically, while Times editorial-page editor (and TV personality) Tony Blankley has published recent op-ed columns attacking the Clinton administration's "perverse policy of appeasement" for giving "enticements and sweetheart deals" to North Korea, a secretive organization housed just one floor above the very office where he writes his editorials serves as the headquarters for Moon's emissaries. However harshly The Washington Times may denounce North Korea, those emissaries and Moon himself have been providing attractive "enticements" and "deals" to Pyongyang for almost 15 years.
September 26, 2006: Hell of A Times (https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/hell-times/) (Max Blumenthal for The Nation)
Note to Self: Read the whole article, which is quite long. The quotes below are from the first part of the article:
QuoteStill one of the most important right-wing organs in the nation, the paper has a circulation base of around 100,000. According to a source close to senior management, in the past two decades it has burned through far more than the $1.7 billion previously reported. During that time its editorial stance has consistently leaned to the hard right, as its favorite targets have ranged from liberal comsymps to President Bill Clinton to, most recently, "illegal aliens" and their allies in the "open borders lobby." Throughout, the Times has served as a major key on the conservative movement's Mighty Wurlitzer.
A nasty succession battle is now heating up at the paper, punctuated by allegations of racism, sexism and unprofessional conduct, that has implications far beyond its fractious newsroom. According to several reliable inside sources, Preston Moon, the youngest son of Korean Unification Church leader and Times financier Sun Myung Moon, has initiated a search committee to find a replacement for editor in chief Wesley Pruden--a replacement who is not Pruden's handpicked successor, managing editor Francis Coombs. ...
Both Coombs and Pruden, meanwhile, are facing a litany of complaints from former and current colleagues of racism and sexual harassment. More than a dozen well-placed sources spoke to The Nation. Many wished to remain anonymous, for fear of jeopardizing their jobs. Others spoke on the record. But the sources are consistent about the atmosphere Pruden and Coombs have fostered inside the paper, which they describe as profoundly demeaning and abusive to women and minorities. Preston Moon has hired the powerhouse Washington law firm Nixon Peabody to interview Times staffers about the allegations of racism and sexism. ...
Now Coombs is driving the paper to the far shores of the right. Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project executive director Mark Potok credits the Times with helping to fuel the nativism that has taken hold this year in Republican political campaigns. "The Times is a terrible little newspaper that unfortunately has vastly disproportionate influence on the right wing of the Republican Party," Potok said. "The vast majority of people who read it don't realize that this paper is in bed with bigots and white supremacists. The Times is a key part of the radical right's apparatus in the United States."
Pruden and Coombs have stonewalled Preston Moon's investigation and threatened to hold a public news conference, during which they would denounce "the crazy Moonies" and claim that Preston Moon and his father are pressuring them to inject pro-Unification Church propaganda into the paper's coverage, according to a senior newsroom staffer. Times president Douglas D.M. Joo is backing Coombs and Pruden to the bitter end. Joo is a business rival of Preston Moon who, the senior staffer says, would be stripped of his post at the Times and redeployed to Korea if Pruden and Coombs go down. "This is a cancer that goes all the way to the top," the senior staffer said of the paper's tolerance of bigotry. "And if you don't root out the cancer, it will kill you. If this ever got out to the mainstream press, we would be finished as a paper."
Sept. 27, 2006: Times Employee Arrested in Sting (https://web.archive.org/web/20061128220920/http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20060927-054303-9103r.htm) (The Washington Times/Internet Archive)
QuoteMetropolitan Police today charged the director of human resources at The Washington Times with one count of attempting to entice a minor on the Internet. Randall Casseday, 53, was arrested at 9:45 p.m. yesterday in the 1300 block of Brentwood Road NE, where police said he had arranged to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. He had actually exchanged Internet messages and photographs with a male police officer posing as a girl.
Sept. 28, 2006: How an Accused Child Sex Predator Covered Up Racism, Sexual Harassment at the Washington Times (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-an-accused-child-sex_b_30501) (The Huffington Post)
QuoteThe revelation of Casseday's alleged solicitation of sex with a child is emblematic of the culture of lawlessness and arrogance fostered at the Washington Times by its president, Douglas Joo, editor-in-chief Wes Pruden and managing editor Fran Coombs, which I detailed in my recent article for The Nation, "Hell of a Times." According to two sources who have dealt directly with Casseday, the accused sex criminal has played a central role in stonewalling internal investigations into the racist and sexually predatory behavior of Times managing editor Fran Coombs, and did so on orders from Joo and Pruden.
"Whatever Joo, Pruden and Coombs wanted, Casseday did," a senior staffer in the Times newsroom told me today. "Casseday literally was their hatchet man, the hit man for Pruden, Coombs and Joo. Now the whole story is exploding that they had a ticking time bomb all these years and they did nothing. There was no background check or anything."
Times former media relations staffer Melissa Hopkins complained to Casseday in 2004 that Coombs had sexually harassed her then attempted to undermine her career. Hopkins said Casseday accused her of lying, then sabotaged a subsequent investigation into her charges. Today, Hopkins expressed outrage at the news of Cassadey's secret life. "Randall Casseday, the Washington Times' director of Human Resources who was arrested Tuesday for attempting to entice a minor on the internet with sexually explicit communications, is the same man who said to me that my claims of sexual harassment and hostile environment against Fran Coombs at The Times were baseless," Hopkins told me.
(Nevermind that the incident between Hopkins and Coombs occured in a taxi cab with no witnesses present. At Douglas Joo's Washington Times, a paper that publicly supports conservative "victims' rights" crusades, the victim is always wrong.) ...
Former veteran Times correspondent George Archibald told me that when he showed Coombs a photo of his nephew's African-American girlfriend, Coombs "went off like a rocket about interracial marriage and how terrible it was. He actually used the phrase 'the niggerfication of America.' He said, 'Not in my lifetime. If my daughter went out with a black, I would cut her throat.'"
Nov. 21, 2006: Randall Casseday Pleads Guilty (https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/randall-casseday-pleads-guilty/)(Ad Week)
QuoteA former human resources director for The Washington Times pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to possession of child pornography and online child exploitation.
In accord with a plea agreement, Randall Casseday, 53, could be sentenced to 7? years in prison and supervised release of no less than 10 years and up to life. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly must approve the plea agreement before imposing a sentence on Feb. 15. The Times terminated Casseday's two-year employment a week after his arrest at 9:40 p.m. on Sept. 26.
Yesterday, Casseday said in court that pictures of his and a young girl's private parts were sent and received on his laptop computer. Officials for The Times cooperated with police by securing the laptop and other possible evidence in Casseday's office.
Dec. 27, 2006: The GOP's $3 Billion Propaganda Organ: Sun Myung-moon's Washington Times (https://thirdworldtraveler.com/Robert_Parry/GOP's_WashingtonTimes.html) (Robert Parry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Parry_(journalist)) - The World Traveller/Consortium News)
Note to Self: Very long and very detailed - explore further and add quotes to related threads - especially regarding early sex rituals and Sam Park, Moon's son from an affair (not the right word given the power differential between God and believer), but anyway, Han Hak-ja is not his mother.
Quotehe American Right achieved its political dominance in Washington over the past quarter century with the help of more than $3 billion spent by Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon on a daily propaganda organ, the Washington Times, according to a 21-year veteran of the newspaper.
George Archibald, who describes himself "as the first reporter hired at the Washington Times outside the founding group" and author of a commemorative book on the Times' first two decades, has now joined a long line of disillusioned conservative writers who departed and warned the public about extremism within the newspaper.
In an Internet essay on recent turmoil inside the Times, Archibald also confirmed claims by some former Moon insiders that the cult leader has continued to pour in $100 million a year or more to keep the newspaper afloat. Archibald put the price tag for the newspaper's first 24 years at "more than $3 billion of cash."
At the newspaper's tenth anniversary, Moon announced that he had spent $1 billion on the Times - or $100 million a year - but newspaper officials and some Moon followers have since tried to low-ball Moon's subsidies in public comments by claiming they had declined to about $35 million a year.
The figure from Archibald and other defectors from Moon's operation is about three times higher than the $35 million annual figure.
The apparent goal of downplaying Moon's subsidy has been to quiet concerns that Moon was funneling vast sums of illicit money into the United States to influence the American political process in ways favorable to right-wing leaders - and possibly criminal cartels - around the world.
Though best known as the founder of the Unification Church, Moon, now 86, has long worked with right-wing political forces linked to organized crime and international drug smuggling, including the Japanese yakuza gangs and South American cocaine traffickers.
Moon insiders, including his former daughter-in-law Nansook Hong, also have described Moon's system for laundering cash into the United States and then funneling much of it into his businesses and influence-buying apparatus, led by the Washington Times.
The Times, in turn, has targeted American politicians of the center and left with journalistic attacks - sometimes questioning their sanity, as happened with Democratic presidential nominees Michael Dukakis and Al Gore. ...
March 1, 2008: Washington Times Cleans Out Extremists (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/washington-times-cleans-out-extremists/) (SPL Center)
QuoteSolomon's appointment may mark the end of a tumultuous period for the hard-right Times, which included a spate of extremely bad press such as "Hell of a Times," a devastating exposé of racism and sexism at the paper that was published in The Nation in October 2006. The negative coverage apparently took its toll on newsroom morale. Several prominent staffers — including Washington insider Tony Blankley, the newspaper's editorial page editor and former press secretary for then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and FOX News contributor Bill Sammon — have left the organization in the past year. ...
But Coombs, whose bigotry has been detailed in the Intelligence Report and who has been accused of racism by former Times employees, also announced his retirement in January.
Coombs' wife, Marian, has written extremist material for white supremacist publications, and Coombs has actually published several of her stories in the Times. As revealed by the Report in 2005, some of those stories relied on explicitly racist sources.
One of Coombs' favorite editors, Robert Stacy McCain, is a foe of interracial marriage and a former member of the white supremacist League of the South. (McCain resigned from the Times a few days after Solomon's hire was announced.) Coombs' personal website was created and registered by George McDaniel, who has worked for and been published by the racist American Renaissance journal. Possibly even more damaging were March 2007 allegations that Marian Coombs had associated with neo-Nazi leader Bill White, whose website is filled with attacks on Jews and blacks.
During Pruden and Coombs' tenure, the Times had on its staff other extremists besides McCain. Sam Francis, who would serve as editor in the late 1990s and early 2000s for the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens, was the paper's deputy editorial page editor from 1987 to 1991 and then a columnist until 1995. Francis was fired that year after conservative author Dinesh D'Souza wrote about racist remarks Francis had made at a 1994 American Renaissance conference.
Even so, when Francis died in 2005, the Times wrote a glowing obituary. The article completely omitted Francis' 1995 firing from the Times and his prolific writings for white supremacist publications, describing him instead as "a leading voice of traditional conservatism."
Nov. 18, 2009: Washington Times Editor Richard Miniter Files Discrimination Claim (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703325.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteThe former editorial page editor of the Washington Times has filed a discrimination complaint against the paper, saying he was "coerced" into attending a Unification Church religious ceremony that culminated in a mass wedding conducted by the church's leader, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
Richard Miniter, who was also vice president of opinion, made the claim in a filing Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that also disclosed he was fired last month. He said in an interview that he "was made to feel there was no choice" but to attend the ceremony if he wanted to keep his job, and that executives "gave me examples of people whose careers at the Times had grown after they converted" to the Unification Church. A Times spokesman said the paper would not comment. ...
In May, the complaint says, Miniter refused to sign a "fraudulent statement" at the request of a Times vice president. As a result, the Times launched a "background investigation" and "questioned everyone who worked for me" but turned up nothing negative, the filing says. Miniter elaborated in an interview that the statement involved certifying his Arlington County address for a child of the vice president, who had moved to Maryland, so the child would be eligible to remain at an Arlington school.
The next month, Miniter alleges, the Times conducted a second investigation after he joked to his deputy about Moon's long, flowing garb in a church brochure. That probe was never concluded, Miniter said, and in July the company asked him to work from home. He said he was never given a reason for his termination.
Nov. 20, 2009 Complaint Adds To Tumult At Washington Times (https://www.npr.org/2009/11/20/120624304/complaint-adds-to-tumult-at-washington-times) (NPR)
QuoteTensions between the owners of newspapers and the journalists who run their newsrooms are nothing new. At the Washington Times, though, tension has become tumult this month. Top executives have been fired, the executive editor resigned, and here's a twist: The Washington Times is owned by senior officials of the Unification Church, and a former editor is alleging that he was forced out because he mocked the church. ...
Mr. Richard Miniter (Former Editorial Page Writer, Washington Times): "I really didn't want to attend a religious service for a religion I wasn't participating in, and I wasn't covering it as a journalist." ...
Miniter says he was badgers by Times executives when he ducked out for longer than 10 minutes to get a cup of coffee. ...
Miniter soon after became editorial page editor and a corporate vice president but says in June, he made the mistake of joking about the Unification Church to a co-worker. He says he was investigated, forced to work from home and ultimately fired. This week, Miniter filed a religious discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, though he cites other grounds, as well.
Dec. 3, 2009: The Washington Times Is Laying Off 40 Percent Of Its Staff (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120203295.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteThe Washington Times, which gained a strong foothold in a politically obsessed city as a conservative alternative to much of the mainstream media, is about to become a drastically smaller newspaper. Nearly three decades after its founding by officials of the Unification Church, the Times said Wednesday it is laying off at least 40 percent of its staff and shifting mainly to free distribution. ...
Many on the 370-person staff had braced for bad news after the company dismissed three top executives and Solomon resigned last month, but were nonetheless stunned by the depth of the reductions. Slevin, who was named acting president and publisher in the shakeup, said he did not know why Solomon had quit, calling it a "surprise" that came before the current cutbacks were decided. Slevin also said there is no search for a Solomon successor and that his job may not be filled under a reorganization.
The Unification Church, which is suffering its own financial strains, had served notice that its subsidy to the Times would have to be curtailed. In a recent affidavit, Miniter said the church provides $40 million of the paper's annual $70 million budget.
Dec. 8, 2009: Ex-Washington Times Editor Sues Paper (https://www.courthousenews.com/ex-washington-times-editor-sues-paper/) (Courthouse News Service)
QuoteThe former opinion editor at The Washington Times says executives pressured him to attend religious services, then fired him for refusing to sign bogus paperwork. Richard Miniter says he was persuaded to attend a mass wedding in New York City in January hosted by the Unification Church. The church is led by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who founded the paper in 1982 and who claims to be the Messiah.
Miniter, who was working with the paper as a consultant, says he was told by then-publisher Thomas McDevitt that "it would be 'good'" for him to make the trip to New York to attend the religious services. "Miniter took this to mean that if he didn't go, it would count negatively against his prospects at The Washington Times and of being offered permanent executive employment there," according to the lawsuit filed in District Court in Washington, D.C.
Miniter says he felt "extremely uncomfortable" while attending the event, but says he "was made to feel as if he had no choice." He says he was hired as editorial page editor the next month. Soon after starting, however, Miniter had heart-related problems, and indicated he'd need time off for doctor's appointments.
He says that's when Sonya Jenkins, the paper's vice president of human resources, began pressuring him to sign a document claiming that her son lived at his house so that the boy could continue going to school in Arlington, Va., after his family moved to Maryland. Minister says he refused, and that Jenkins retaliated by investigating him.
Miniter says the paper then tried to get him to sign a new contract that required him to find advertisers for the paper. He says he was ultimately fired for refusing to sign the new contract.
Dec. 31, 2009: A Newspaper's Surreal Dismantling (https://www.politico.com/story/2009/12/a-newspapers-surreal-dismantling-031088) (Politico)
QuoteCalled together in a staff meeting, every employee was given an envelope whether the employee was staying or going, along with a second paper that ironically listed some job openings for the relaunched paper.
By the time all the envelopes were opened, the newspaper no longer had any senior editors. "Monday begins a new chapter in the history of The Washington Times as a 21st-century multimedia enterprise," a press release had trumpeted.
Now that enterprise won't even have anyone in charge.
John Solomon, the editor brought in from the Post with what he thought was a mandate to make the Times more respectable, disappeared without comment weeks ago, leaving senior editors — many of whom he had hired — largely in the dark, amid a complete overhaul of management and far-reaching staff cuts. By the end of Wednesday, managing editors David Jones (print) and Jeffrey Birnbaum (digital), along with assistant managing editor Barbara Slavin, no longer had their jobs.
Slavin, hired in 2008 from USA Today to be in charge of foreign news, told POLITICO that she was proud of the work they'd done in a short period, and lamented the loss of "many good people who have put in a lot of hard work over the years."
And Slavin echoed a view of many of those departing, as well as those staying: "None of us understand what the strategy is."
Jan. 4, 2010: Washington Times Lashes Back at Former Editor (https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/476408/washington-times-lashes-back-at-former-editor/) (Washington City Paper)
QuoteLast week, the Washington Times laid off a large chunk of its newsroom, essentially junking its sports and Metro sections in favor of a more focused product. The new direction that the paper is unfurling—-whatever it is—-focuses on throwing less content on the street in hopes of reviving its business model.
The Washington Times, in other words, could be nearing its end. That's a bad thing not only for Washington Times employees and conservative journalism, but also for those who write about the paper. Every effort must be made to preserve what has become one of America's greatest hatcheries of workplace weirdness. When it comes to internal strife, no one does it like the Washington Times.
Washington Times weirdness takes on a starring role in the lawsuit filed in December by former Washington Times Editorial Page Editor Richard Miniter. In his complaint, Miniter made a number of damning claims against the paper, including the charge that he was essentially required to trek to Manhattan for a "peace festival" and a religious service of the Washington Times-connected Unification Church.
That's good and weird, for sure. But if you dig into the Miniter complaint, and the response that the Washington Times filed on Dec. 30, there's plenty more. ...
Jan. 29, 2010: The Washington Times Has a Long Record of Hyped Stories, Shoddy Reporting & Failure to Correct Errors (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/washington-times-has-history-hyped-stories-shoddy-reporting-and-failing-correct-errors/) (SPLC)
April 26, 2010: Washington Times Publisher Ousted After Clashing With Editor (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/25/AR2010042502985.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteThe president of the Washington Times said Sunday that he had been fired by a board of directors that "has no experience in the newspaper business" after clashing with an editor whose behavior has "had a detrimental effect on the company."
Jonathan Slevin said in a letter to the staff that it was "particularly upsetting" that the paper's new editor, Sam Dealey, had leaked information about his ouster, "since I had hired this young man with the intention of grooming him in his first opportunity to be an editor."
Dealey said in an interview that "it's no secret in the newsroom that Jonathan had an expansive view of his role as publisher and his view didn't sit well with the editor." He declined to respond to specific allegations, saying he wished Slevin well and would concentrate on putting out the newspaper.
The acrimonious departure of Slevin, who also held the title of publisher, is the latest problem at a paper that in recent months has fired three top executives, accepted the resignation of its top two editors, been sued by its former editorial page editor and laid off half its staff. Politico reported on Slevin's departure Friday, and Times spokesman Don Meyer denied the story. Meyer said Sunday that he had been given inaccurate information.
Quote"It's the Fox News of the print world," says Gene Grabowski, who in 1988 became one of a number of Times reporters to resign in protest of the paper's flouting of journalistic ethics.
May 1, 2010: Unification Church Will Put Washington Times Up For Sale (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043002043.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteThe finances are so tight that the newspaper hasn't paid some of its bills or tended to basic maintenance issues -- such as hiring an exterminator to deal with mice and snakes sneaking into the building on New York Avenue in Northeast.
"The feeling everyone feels is that it's a totally rudderless ship," said Julia Duin, the paper's longtime religion reporter. "Nobody knows who's running it. Is it the board of directors? We don't know. There was a three-foot-long black snake in the main conference room the other day. We have snakes in the newsroom -- the real live variety, at least. One of the security people gallantly removed it."
June 3, 2010: Washington Times Reporter Who Spoke Out About The Paper Is Dismissed (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/02/AR2010060204384.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteA month ago, Julia Duin, for 14 years a reporter at the Unification Church-backed Washington Times, did something journalists might admire, but their bosses often abhor. She spoke out about her employer, in print, on the record. In a Washington Post article on the potential sale of the Times, Duin said the paper felt like a "rudderless ship" and reported that a black snake -- "the real live variety" -- had turned up in the newsroom.
Duin, 54, said she was dismissed Tuesday, a decision she believes came in retaliation for her published comments. To make matters more painful, Duin was given the news while her 5-year-old daughter Olivia was visiting the newsroom. On top of that, Duin had to pack up and remove her belongings while on crutches, the result of a recent foot injury. Don Meyer, a spokesman for the Times, did not return a call seeking comment.
June 8, 2010: Helen Thomas: Bitter Dnd For 'Dean' of Press Corps (https://www.bbc.com/news/10260512) (BBC News)
QuoteThomas was a trailblazer: the first female president of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), the first female officer of the National Press Club and the only female print journalist to travel with President Richard Nixon on his first trip to China.
The unofficial dean of the White House press corps, Thomas worked for United Press International (UPI) for 57 years.
She left UPI after it was bought out by a company owned by Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church, whose adherents are known colloquially as Moonies. She described the acquisition as a "bridge too far" and soon took up her most recent position as a columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
Aug. 24, 2010: New Life for Washington Times (https://www.politico.com/story/2010/08/new-life-for-washington-times-041428) (Politico)
QuoteAccording to a leaked memo from the Unification Church treasurer, the subsidy that supported The Washington Times stopped "abruptly and completely" in July of 2009. Since 2002, the paper has shrunk from 225 to about 70 people, cut its sports and metro sections, and reduced its circulation. The paper stopped reporting its circulation to the Audit Bureau of Circulation in 2008, and earlier this month, was moved back a row in the White House briefing room.
Last autumn, the Rev. Moon transferred control of day-to-day operations among some of his sons, including Preston, the eldest, who received The Washington Times, and Sean, the youngest, who was put in charge of the religious mission. The succession plan sparked a feud between Preston and what several sources said was much of the rest of the family.
In November, three longtime executives at the paper — Washington Times publisher Thomas McDevitt, chief financial officer Keith Cooperrider, and chairman Doug Moon Joo — were fired, TPM reported.
Aug. 25, 2010: Rev. Sun Myung Moon Said To Be Considering Buying Back Washington Times (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR2010082406128.html) (The Washington Times)
QuoteJust four years after giving the Washington Times to his eldest son, the Unification Church's leader, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, is considering paying millions of dollars to buy back the conservative newspaper he founded in 1982, according to former Times staffers with knowledge of the negotiations.
Moon wants to buy the Times back from his son Preston Moon, who has threatened to shut down the foundering broadsheet altogether, said Charles Sutherland, the Times's former director of development and promotions, who was laid off in May.
Times sources said Moon, who is 90, has tapped Dong Moon Joo, the former Times chairman who was ousted last year by Preston Moon, to purchase and run the paper. Messages left at Joo's home and with his attorney were not returned Tuesday. ...
The newspaper's editor, Sam Dealey, declined to comment. Church spokesman Joshua Cotter did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Some current and former Times staffers hope Moon and Joo can save the paper, but they also worry that Preston Moon will be reluctant to sell to Joo, whom he pushed out in late 2009.
Other sources said Joo may end up teaming up with at least two other former Times executives forced out by Preston Moon -- ex-publisher and president Thomas McDevitt and former finance chief Keith Cooperrider.
Sutherland said that Preston and Joo "don't like each other at all. It's a question of ego. If Joo ends up with the paper, it's a slap in the face to Preston."
Sept. 6, 2010: Washington Times Struggles Amid Divisions of Family, Ideology, Finances (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/05/AR2010090503212.html) (The Washington Post)
Quote...But Preston, who had been blessed by his father a decade earlier as the son who would lead the Unification movement, was furious about this division of the family empire and felt outmaneuvered by his siblings, according to church and Times officials who declined to be named because they were wary of offending the faith's leaders.
Through the spring and summer of this year, that fraternal rivalry has come perilously close to claiming as its victim the Times, which was once one of the nation's most prominent platforms for conservative writers and politicians but is now one of the most endangered newspapers in a troubled industry. Since 2008, Times circulation has tumbled from 87,000 daily copies to about 40,000; its sports and metro sections were shuttered; its three top executives were fired; and more than half the newsroom was laid off.
Since its founding, the paper has lost an estimated $2 billion, surviving on church subsidies. Last year, those payments dried up.
Now, the newspaper's future rests on a fragile deal that might return control to the "True Father," as the senior Moon is known in church circles. Moon, represented by a trio of recently fired Times executives -- president and publisher Thomas McDevitt, finance chief Keith Cooperrider and chairman Douglas M. Joo -- is negotiating to purchase the paper back from Preston for $1, according to an internal Times memo obtained by The Washington Post and first reported by U.S. News & World Report. Former and current Times employees say that under the buyback proposal, Moon and his top aides would also assume the paper's $8 million to $10 million in liabilities and debt. But Times board member Richard Wojcik said in an interview that completion of the deal "remains to be seen."
McDevitt, Joo and Cooperrider did not return calls seeking comment. A church spokesman declined to comment. A Times spokesman said Preston Moon would not comment for this article. Sam Dealey, the Times' executive editor, declined to comment. ...
But former and current Times officials still worry that the team Moon intends to put back in charge includes the same people who presided over the paper's financial crisis. They fear that Moon's children will kill or sell the paper once the founder dies.
"The only one who seems to care about the paper is the father," said a senior Times official who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of getting fired. "The children don't care. . . . The morale of the newsroom is dreadfully low. You feel like you're in a dying institution and the owners don't care about what they have and what the Washington Times is."
Nov. 15, 2010: Just Like Old Times at the Washington Times? (https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/222092/just-like-old-times-at-the-washington-times/) (Washington City Paper)
QuoteFor almost 30 years, The Washington Times has devoted itself, so far as anyone inside or outside the paper could tell, to two main purposes: Carrying the banner of free-market conservative Republicans, preferably in outlandish and over-the-top style; and losing money, preferably in the same way.
The Times only ever existed in the first place because of the near-bottomless benevolence of Moon, a convicted tax cheat whose church controls a vast global empire of profitable operations. And as angry conservatives marched to the polls around the country, restoring GOP rule on Capitol Hill, the Unification Church marched back into the newspaper's offices, restoring Moon's hardline disciples to rule on New York Avenue NE. Tuesday's "sale" (to borrow the scare quotes that the paper used to use to refer to gay "marriage"), from Preston Moon, Moon's Harvard MBA-educated eldest son, to a Delaware-based limited liability corporation led by Joo, who ran the paper back in the early 1990s and is known as "Mr. Joo" in the newsroom, will keep the paper in business.
Sept. 3, 2012: Unification Church Leaders Vow to Complete Rev. Moon's Mission (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/unification-church-leaders-vow-to-complete-rev-moons-mission/2012/09/03/ae8c23f4-f5ec-11e1-91cb-58c92a8a140e_story.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteThree former Times executives, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they fear reprisal from church leaders, said the paper has lost more than $2 billion since its founding in 1981 and never made a profit in a quarter or month.
Three other executives who remained loyal to Moon bought the Times back from Preston Moon, the Seattle-based son who has been at odds with his siblings, for $1 in 2010 and have sought to revive it as a conservative voice focused on political coverage.
Sept. 4, 2012: Sun Myung Moon's Death Leaves Conservative Newspaper at a Crossroads (https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/09/04/sun-myung-moons-death-leaves-conservative-newspaper-at-a-crossroads?) (US News)
Nov. 29, 2012: Washington Times Editor Demanded Daily A1 Benghazi Coverage (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/washington-times-editor-demanded-daily-a1-benghazi-coverage/2012/11/29/95ac5090-3a3c-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_blog.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteGrumblings started spilling from the Washington Times this month. New editor David Jackson, claimed the chatter, had demanded that Benghazi coverage be placed on Page A1 of the paper every day. Decisions on newspaper-article placement customarily take place on a day-to-day basis, based on the journalism at hand -- not via prospective dictate. "Totally arbitrary," spat a source who was forced to deal with the mandate.
Totally necessary, Jackson might well respond. The Washington Times editorial boss, after all, is proud of his directive. "I told them I wanted it on the front page every day. And until we get all the questions answered, I want us to be one of the news media [outlets] that will not blink on that story," says Jackson. "I make no apologies for that."
December 4, 2012: James R. Whelan, founding editor and publisher of the Washington Times, dies at 79 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/james-r-whelan-founding-editor-and-publisher-of-the-washington-times-dies-at-79/2012/12/04/bbfe2348-3e2b-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_story.html) (The Washington Post)
QuoteJames R. Whelan, the founding editor and publisher of the Washington Times who became a fierce critic of the newspaper's Unification Church owners after his abrupt dismissal, died Dec. 1 at his home in Miami. He was 79. ...In public remarks after his ouster, Mr. Whelan said the paper was "firmly in the hands of top officials of the . . . Unification Church Movement" and that "a covenant of independence has been irreparably breached."
Feb. 11, 2013: The Washington Times Takes a Giant Step–Backwards (https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/the_washington_times_takes_a_b.php) (Columbia Journalism Review)
QuoteBut while some conservative leaders are courting minority groups, one of the movement's ideological lodestars is taking a hard turn in the other direction. Last month, The Washington Times tapped Wesley Pruden, its one-time editor in chief, who was pushed out amid allegations that he allowed racism to fester in the newsroom, to run its Commentary section. Pruden's return–part of a wide-ranging shakeup following the death of the Times's founder–is a troubling sign for the opinion pages, long a key pipeline for conservative ideas and a training ground for right-of-center pundits.
Under Pruden's leadership, from 1992 to 2008, the Times became a forum for the racialist hard right, including white nationalists, neo-Confederates, and anti-immigrant scare mongers (all of which the Southern Poverty Law Center and The Nation magazine have documented at length). Pruden's own column, Pruden on Politics, was occasionally tinged with racial animus, too. In 2005, for instance, he lambasted the Senate for succumbing to "manufactured remorse" and passing a resolution of apology for blocking anti-lynching laws during the Jim Crow era.
Many Times insiders fear his return will stain the paper's image, especially in the current political climate. "Its a huge blow to the influence and credibility of the paper," says a senior Times official who worked closely with Pruden during his earlier reign. ...
One flashpoint was Arnaud de Borchgrave, a decorated former Newsweek correspondent who had served as the Times's editor in chief from 1985 to 1991. (He remains an editor at large). In mid 2011, Decker's staff discovered that the veteran journalist, who writes a weekly Times column, was lifting passages verbatim or almost verbatim from the work of other writers. Decker repeatedly alerted McDevitt and the rest of the executive team to the problem. In one particularly pointed email, he warned that de Borchgrave's "outright plagiarism" and "lack of respect for the most basic journalistic ethics" was "putting the reputation of The Washington Times brand and the individual professional careers of TWT journalists at risk." He added, "Action needs to be taken to protect this institution from further harm." Still, de Borchgrave was kept on. ...
From his new perch, Jackson quickly began altering the Times's political coverage. According to The Washington Post's Erik Wemple, at one point he demanded that the paper run a story about the Benghazi affair on page A1 every day. Times insiders
For articles betweem 2013 and 2018 if I should find some worth posting...
Jan. 18, 2019: Washington Times Corp. Founding Chairman Bo-hi Pak Dies (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/18/washington-times-corp-founding-chairman-bo-hi-pak-/) (The Washington Times)
QuoteBo-hi Pak, the founding chairman of The Washington Times Corp., who brought the flagship newspaper into existence in 1982 and who spent much of his life engaged in global diplomacy and peacemaking activities with Times' founders Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han Moon, died in Korea Jan. 12. He was 89. Lt. Col. Pak was the English translator for the Rev. Moon. He was at the evangelist's side at his large public speeches in the United States as well as many of the countless meetings Rev. Moon held with Unification Church members, leaders and guests.
Note: His kidnapping was not mentioned. Personally, if I survived a kidnapping by some Moonies, I'd want it mentioned in my obituary.
May 4, 2020: Dear Beloved True Mother, The Only Begotten Daughter (http://2021.familyfed.org/news-story/dear-beloved-true-mother-the-only-begotten-daughter-67283/) (Family Fed - A Letter to Hak-ja Han)
QuoteAlso, about two years ago, you greeted the members of The Washington Times Fact-Finding Tour to Japan at Tokyo Hotel. As soon as you received a flower from the former director of the CIA and his wife, True Mother asked them, "Do you know who I am?" and you told them, "I am the Only Begotten Daughter."
Aug. 10. 2022: Unification Church Pushes Back Against 'Abusive' Media Reports in Wake of Shinzo Abe Assassination (https://web.archive.org/web/20220810223520/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/aug/10/unification-church-pushes-back-against-abusive-med/) (The Washington Times/Internet Archive)
Quote"We strongly condemn the fake news and abusive language disseminated by a heartless media, which as hate speech, encourages religious discrimination, undermines the rights of individuals and, if anything, violates people's freedom of religion," he said.
Note: Actually, the above is quite a good article. I included the above quote as it reminded me of a related article.
2025The following mention of an event at The Washington Times building caught my eye, and I thought it suitable for this thread. Also, the title of Dr. for Mrs. Moon is interesting because it's false. She has some honorary degrees - one of course from the university Moon founded, but the title of Dr. is reserved for those with earned Ph.Ds. One very small cog in the cult-of-personality machine:
Oct. 20: Muslim Women Raise Global Alarm Over Detention of Faith Leader Dr. Moon (https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/muslim-women-raise-global-alarm-over-detention-faith-leader-dr-moon) (The National Law Review/American Muslim & Multifaith Women's Empowerment Council)
QuoteAt an interfaith prayer and solidarity gathering held at the Washington Times building in Washington, D.C., Anila Ali, President of AMMWEC, and Zeba Zebunnesa, AMMWEC Executive Board Member and Peace Ambassador joined Dr. Michael Jenkins, President, Universal Peace Federation (UPF) North America, along with other faith leaders from Sikh, Christian and Jewish communities to pray for Dr. Moon's release and call attention to her case.
A Washington Times mention caught my eye from this UC Facebook page, called The Monarch Report: (https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Lr3cvGoJa/)
Dec. 20: In December 2025, Pastor Mark Burns—a prominent U.S. evangelical leader and spiritual advisor to President Trump—completed his third fact-finding mission to South Korea with Michael Jenkins, President of The Washington Times Foundation and Universal Peace Federation (UPF).
The delegation met with detained religious figures, including Dr. Hak Ja Han of the Unification Church and Pastor Son Hyun-bo of Segero Church, both held following raids targeting multiple religious organizations.