VomitStainedCretin
05-15-2007, 02:49 PM
I'm surprised there hasn't been a thread about this yet:TONY JONES: Well it seems the media no longer has a monopoly on ambushing people with cameras. The Church of Scientology has created a video ambush of its own, filming a BBC reporter losing his cool. In past years the incident may have gained a quiet notoriety before fading into obscurity, but that's all changed with the advent of the hugely popular video websites like YouTube. That's the platform Scientologists chose to air their video to counter a BBC documentary critical of the church. John Stewart reports.
JOHN STEWART: When a BBC reporter for the Panorama program set out to make a documentary about the Church of Scientology, he found himself in front of the camera. After days of being filmed by the Scientologists, the BBC journalist cracked when his subjects accused him of failing to ask tough questions during an interview with a critic of the church. The Scientologists then posted the video on YouTube.
INTERVIEWEE: What evidence, Shaun Lonsdale, do you have that people have been tortured? You didn't do that.
JOHN SWEENEY, BBC REPORTER: Stop there, Tommy.
INTERVIEWEE: No, I'm not stopping there. You listen to me for a second, you're accusing members of my religion of engaging in brainwashing!
JOHN SWEENEY: You listen to me! From the beginning of the interview, you were not there! You did not hear the record of interview! Did you understand?
JOHN STEWART: The Scientologists have plenty of support in Hollywood with Tom Cruise and John Travolta amongst their ranks. The church has distributed tens of thousands of DVDs to undermine the BBC documentary, which examines the growth of Scientology and its negative views about psychiatry.
VOICEOVER: Scientology and me, John Sweeney investigates a religious organisation that does not like to be called a cult.
JOHN STEWART: But the BBC's Panorama show has hit back, posting this footage of a Scientologist losing his cool during the making of the documentary.
TOM DAVIS, SCIENTOLOGIST: You have no right whatsoever to say what and what isn't a religion. The constitution of the United States of America guarantees one's right to practice and believe freely in this country and the definition of religion is very clear and it's not defined by John Sweeney. Right here, right now, I'm angry, real angry.
JOHN SWEENEY: It is your turn to listen to me. I'm a British subject, not an American citizen and in my country we have a freedom of speech.
JOHN STEWART: The BBC reporter has apologised. That's also on the Internet.
JOHN SWEENEY: But I did it in a way which I regret and I apologise to the Church of Scientology.
JOHN STEWART: YouTube is now a powerful mass medium watched by millions of viewers around the world. The Scientology versus BBC battle on the Internet may be the shape of things to come.And here is the video of John Sweeney:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxqR5NPhtLI
In case you're wondering, I'm supporting the BBC despite the outburst as Scientology IMO is a farce and Sweeney was apparently followed and harassed by cult members throughout the making of the documentary. I'm just wondering what your opinions are.
JOHN STEWART: When a BBC reporter for the Panorama program set out to make a documentary about the Church of Scientology, he found himself in front of the camera. After days of being filmed by the Scientologists, the BBC journalist cracked when his subjects accused him of failing to ask tough questions during an interview with a critic of the church. The Scientologists then posted the video on YouTube.
INTERVIEWEE: What evidence, Shaun Lonsdale, do you have that people have been tortured? You didn't do that.
JOHN SWEENEY, BBC REPORTER: Stop there, Tommy.
INTERVIEWEE: No, I'm not stopping there. You listen to me for a second, you're accusing members of my religion of engaging in brainwashing!
JOHN SWEENEY: You listen to me! From the beginning of the interview, you were not there! You did not hear the record of interview! Did you understand?
JOHN STEWART: The Scientologists have plenty of support in Hollywood with Tom Cruise and John Travolta amongst their ranks. The church has distributed tens of thousands of DVDs to undermine the BBC documentary, which examines the growth of Scientology and its negative views about psychiatry.
VOICEOVER: Scientology and me, John Sweeney investigates a religious organisation that does not like to be called a cult.
JOHN STEWART: But the BBC's Panorama show has hit back, posting this footage of a Scientologist losing his cool during the making of the documentary.
TOM DAVIS, SCIENTOLOGIST: You have no right whatsoever to say what and what isn't a religion. The constitution of the United States of America guarantees one's right to practice and believe freely in this country and the definition of religion is very clear and it's not defined by John Sweeney. Right here, right now, I'm angry, real angry.
JOHN SWEENEY: It is your turn to listen to me. I'm a British subject, not an American citizen and in my country we have a freedom of speech.
JOHN STEWART: The BBC reporter has apologised. That's also on the Internet.
JOHN SWEENEY: But I did it in a way which I regret and I apologise to the Church of Scientology.
JOHN STEWART: YouTube is now a powerful mass medium watched by millions of viewers around the world. The Scientology versus BBC battle on the Internet may be the shape of things to come.And here is the video of John Sweeney:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxqR5NPhtLI
In case you're wondering, I'm supporting the BBC despite the outburst as Scientology IMO is a farce and Sweeney was apparently followed and harassed by cult members throughout the making of the documentary. I'm just wondering what your opinions are.