THE EROSION OF AMERICAN
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
When the editor ordered me to sign a statement relinquishing my rights to
write about or discuss abortion, even one-on-one, even in church -- or be
subject to dismissal -- I faced a choice I never thought I'd have to make.
Your Job
or Your Beliefs:
What if you really had to choose?
DIANE DEW
I never imagined that in America, and especially
in an industry that champions "free speech," an employer could fire
someone simply for refusing to relinquish her constitutional rights.
My pro-life beliefs never interfered with my job, at The Milwaukee
Journal (now Journal Sentinel) or elsewhere. I never discussed
abortion on company time. As newsroom secretary, I had no influence over
newscopy. I typed the weather page, posted obituaries, and occasionally took
dictation from reporters on the field. |
Diane Dew greeting protesters outraged by newspaper's
actions |
So when the managing editor called me into his office one day, challenged
my beliefs and demanded I sign a statement promising never to write about
or discuss the issue of abortion, even one-on-one, even in church -- I was
stunned. Since I had some background in constitutional law, as a legal
secretary for a pro-life firm, I knew my rights under the first amendment
included freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association.
I was amazed the newspaper was so bold as to even put it in writing
exactly why I would be dismissed, if I declined to sign.
Had any other employee ever been asked to sign such a statement, I asked?
No, he replied. This agreement was being drawn up just for me.
A reporter covering a downtown clinic protest had noticed me among hundreds
of others peacefully carrying a sign: "It grows, it moves, it breathes; it
has fingerprints, a separate blood type, a heartbeat. It's a BABY!"
"This is tissue," the back of the sign said, with a small Kleenex box stapled
at the top. " This is a baby," it said below, with a picture of an unborn
child.
Sometimes I pushed a stroller full of broken baby doll parts covered with
red paint.
Word of my position on the issue apparently disturbed editors of the newspaper,
which was a regular donor to Planned Parenthood. (In addition to The Journal
Company itself, several editors and a reporter who regularly covered abortion
protests and wrote feature stories on the issue, also were found to be donors
to the largest abortion provider in the world -- none of whom lost their
jobs or were even threatened with dismissal.)
Ironically, the newspaper's excuse for firing me was that the paper might
"appear" to be biased! (Biased in the opposite direction, I guess.)
However, I had never been presented a copy of the "Employee Handbook" to
which they referred -- for several reasons. First of all, as the Handbook
itself states, these rules applied only to editors and reporters, who have
influence over the news. Secondly, the Handbook was never adopted by the
Newspaper Guild as valid. Why hadn't I been informed of such a rule at my
hire? I asked. I checked with the personnel department, and no Handbook was
a part of the package presented to new employees, even in the editorial
department, I was told. It took several employees a couple hours to dig up
a copy from an old storage room, at the managing editor's request.
How could I break a rule I didn't know existed? I asked. And how can it apply
to only me?
Certainly this smelled of discrimination, and I knew it. I asked God for
wisdom on how to respond.
"I need some time to pray about this," I told my managing editor.
"Well, how long does it take for God to give you an answer?" he said,
sarcastically.
"It depends," I answered.
"I'll pray that he does it really quick -- like by 8:30 tomorrow morning,"
he said.
At 8:10 the next morning, I sent a network note to my colleagues, saying
good-bye: "Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom
of association. Folks have died for these rights. If I lose my job because
I refuse to give up those rights, it's been nice working with you all. Really."
When called to the office, I explained I could not in good conscience sign
a statement promising to be silent on an issue the Holy Spirit would probably
prompt me at some time to speak out on. I could not sign, I said, but
I did not choose to resign. I was promptly fired and escorted from the newsroom
and out of the building.
Surely the editors thought this soft-spoken secretary would just go home
and cry, and find another job. What I did was call a Christian pro-life attorney
and file a complaint with the EEOC.
It didn't take long for the Christian media to pick
up on the story, and soon the story was receiving widespread national coverage:
National Public Radio, talk shows in Washington, DC, Dallas, etc. Even liberals
concerned about free speech were upset at the paper for violating my freedom
speech, and freedom of association. Even the liberal newspaper union went
to bat publicly on my behalf -- and as a part-time employee I wasn't even
a member of the Newspaper Guild! My dismissal became an issue in major trade
journals (Editor & Publisher, Presstime, etc.) and journalism
classes. Even Newsweek interviewed me (though the story was bumped).
In the Christian media, it was covered by Moody magazine,
Christianity Today, nationally syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, and
many others. I was also on Focus on the Family, Marlin Maddoux, etc...
Still, the Milwaukee Journal refused to report the story within its
own pages, for weeks*, until challenged by conservative talk show host Mark
Belling of WISN and others.
An attorney with the Rutherford Institute represented
me and I settled out of court with the newspaper.
The media's
bias had been exposed; my point was
made.
P.S. It's a scary thought, when the media can so monopolize a metropolitan
area, that they can squelch a story, rendering it apparently nonexistent
-- all the while the rest of the country is reading about and discussing
the event. And they were afraid I would make them look biased!
And they, the bastions of free speech.
* The Journal Company owned both the morning and evening papers, which
have since merged to become the Journal Sentinel. It also owned a local TV
station, and two radio stations, as well as other media outlets.
Some media that reported the above
story
Email: Diane@dianedew.com
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Why should we care what they do with their
money?
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Luke 12:34
In other words, media dedicated enough to a cause to support it
financially probably also are biased toward that issue in
their reporting.
© Copyright
1998 Diane S. Dew All Rights Reserved
Email:
Diane@dianedew.com
Diane Dew o PO Box 340945
o Milw WI 53234
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