Justin Elliott: Affidavit From Ex-Editor Miniter Details Inner Workings Of Wash Times:
- Based on what I learned in budget meetings, the paper relies on a roughly $40 million annual subsidy from the Unification Church and cannot survive without that subsidy, which is paid in weekly amounts. Of the slightly more $70 million the Washington Times spends annually, less than $37 million comes from advertising and subscription revenue. In addition, the number of paid subscribers has been falling since July 2008 and advertising revenue is plunging as competition from the Washington Examiner and others intensifies.
The affidavit says that Miniter, who was hired at a salary of $225,000 -- plus a $5,000 signing bonus, a health club membership, and other benefits -- suffered medical and emotional stress because of how he was treated at the newspaper.... Following an order in June by then-Times publisher Tom McDevitt that he work from home, Miniter felt "trapped" because he could not perform his work, but was stuck in the position, according to the affidavit. "During this period, I felt profound emotional distress and physical pain, including headaches, back pain, loss of sleep, weight gain and other maladies."
The affidavit alleges that the Times human resources chief repeatedly asked Miniter to sign a document stating her son lived at his house so the boy could continue to attend an Arlington, Virginia, elementary school.... Miniter is today still listed prominently on the paper's masthead.
Also touched on in the affidavit is the Unification Church religious ceremony -- including a mass wedding, though that is not specifically mentioned in the affidavit -- Miniter says he was made to attend earlier this year. The Washington Post previously reported that Miniter said the New York City ceremony was in December, but the affidavit gives the date as roughly Jan. 31 of this year. The affidavit details why Miniter, who at the time was serving as a consultant for the paper, felt pressured to go:
McDevitt told me that "It would be good for you to go." I took this to mean that if I didn't go, it would count negatively against my prospects at The Washington Times and of being offered permanent executive employment there.
I knew that McDevitt was a member of the Unification Church and that his religion was important to him. A large, Mao-like portrait of Rev. Moon hung above his desk and a billboard-sized Korean-language calligraphy, written by Rev. Moon, hung in the executive conference room. While these Moon relics were only seen by senior executives, I knew they had personal significance to McDevitt. At first, I considered this artwork to be a sign of personal and private religious devotion, like an Advent calendar tacked to someone's cubicle, and not a sign that the Church would interfere in the "editorial independence" that editors were promised...
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