For Immediate Release
DATE
OF RELEASE: February 19, 2013
CONTACT: Heather Greene, National Public Information
Officer
WEBSITE: www.cog.org
The Covenant of the Goddess, a Wiccan
advocacy organization, responds to the recent media commentary on Wicca and
Paganism
San Bernardino, CA – The Covenant
of the Goddess, a 37-year old organization supporting Wiccans and Witches
in the United States, is profoundly disappointed at the string of negative,
inaccurate and sensationalized comments made by various media anchors and
reporters about Wicca and Paganism. Over
the past two weeks, ABC News, CNN’s Headline News and Fox News Network have all allowed their
commentators to broadcast misinformation and to publicly ridicule a
recognized religious faith.
Earlier in the month, ABC
and CNN’s HLN over-emphasized and
hyper-focused on the importance of Wicca in the Jodi Arias trial in Phoenix,
Arizona. The two media outlets used Wicca to draw-in audiences and dramatize an
already difficult case. In one report, ABC’s titled its news video “Jodi
Arias Testifies She Tried Wicca, Buddhism with Boyfriends.” However,
the video had no information on Ms. Arias’ religious experimentation.
In the case of Fox
News, the Fox & Friends Weekend
commentators, Anna Kooiman, Clayton Morris, Tucker Carlson, and Tammy Bruce,
spent Sunday morning, February 17th, mocking Wicca as it relates to the
University of Missouri’s “Guide to Religion.” Not only were their comments
irreverent, they were factually incorrect. They turned the University’s sincere
attempt at diversity awareness into a three-ring circus act.
The Covenant of the Goddess
recognizes and respects the opinions and beliefs of all people, of faith or no
faith. We applaud the University of
Missouri and any other organization that strives for community awareness and
interfaith peace. We do not expect
special treatment for Wiccans or Witches on campus or otherwise. However, we do expect the national media to
report with reasonable accuracy and to offer a modicum of respect to people of
all faiths and all practices.
Our organization stands ready to provide information about
Wicca and Witchcraft when needed. For more information on The
Covenant of the Goddess, go to our website at www.cog.org.
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I just saw that video of Fox degrading Wicca as a whole and would like to find a way to reach out to them. Have you found anyway, or attempted, to speak with Fox News?
ReplyDeleteDear colleagues at CoG, we at PFI have also noted the disrespectful nature of reporting from above mentioned media. Thank you for your response which we will definitely spread via our own network.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and continue the good work, Bright Blessings, Morgana
Thank you very much for your support and words. This will mean a lot to CoG members. I will share this today.
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