The Rumor That Won't Die
Experts still trying to dispel irrepressible O'Hair-FCC rumor.
by Pete Winn, Focus on the Family's online associate editor
(posted Spring 2000)
Is the infamous atheist, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, trying to have the CBS hit
drama, "Touched by an Angel," removed from the air because it mentions
the word "God"?
Most definitely, if you believe a
letter currently finding its way into e-mail boxes all over the Internet.
But a closer inspection of the story reveals it is more urban myth than real
threat.
"This rumor is totally false on about three or four different
counts," said David Fiske, deputy communications director for the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC). "It has popped up from time to time, in
various forms, since 1975."
The FCC first received a petition, numbered RM 2493, in 1974, asking the
government agency to look into the operating practices of religious
organizations licensed to broadcast on TV. Fiske said the FCC rejected the
petition in 1975.
"We denied it outright," Fiske said. "There was never any
proceeding; there was not a comment period; there were never any hearings, there
was absolutely nothing."
Yet that couldn't stop the rumor mill. Despite the fact that O'Hair had
nothing to do with the petition, her name somehow got intermingled with RM 2493
-- probably because of her well-known involvement in a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court
case that ultimately resulted in a ban on mandatory prayer in public schools --
and the myth was born. Originally spread by word of mouth or by traditional
mail, the rumor has proliferated in recent years with the advent of e-mail
technology.
Interestingly, Fiske said, O'Hair had absolutely nothing to do with the
petition. In fact, the self-proclaimed atheist, her son, Jon Garth Murray, and
adopted daughter, Robin Murray O'Hair, have not been seen since they vanished in
1995.
Federal officials are currently holding a man on charges that he kidnapped
O'Hair and her children. The FBI alleges that the three were later murdered.
However, several tales about their disappearance have circulated, so whether the
three are dead, kidnapped or living off ill-gotten proceeds is still unknown.
One thing is clear: CBS's "Touched by an Angel" is not in danger of
being canceled.
"The reference to 'Touched by an Angel' is a total gratuitous comment,
by somebody obviously picking up on the 25-year-old rumor and freshening it
up," Fiske said. Indeed, producers of "Touched by an Angel"
confirm that the highly rated show is under no threat.
Urban legend trackers such as Barbara Mikkelson, however, can see why
rumormongers would mention the CBS program.
"This is a very popular show," said Mikkelson, webmaster for the
Urban Legends Reference Pages, a Web site which examines urban myths and
legends. "A lot of people enjoy it a great deal. But of course, because of
the use of words 'angel,' and 'God,' it naturally will attract a resurgence of
this legend. People are afraid that one of their favorite television shows will
be taken off of the air."
Steve Watters, Internet expert for Focus on the Family, agreed that this
incarnation of the hoary old FCC rule is indeed a myth. He admitted, however,
that the situation is complicated by the fact that the FCC last year did issue a
ruling which could have threatened non-commercial religious TV. That ruling,
however, was rescinded by the FCC shortly after it was issued.
Still, Watters said the proliferation of the O'Hair myth points out the need
for Christians to check out their information before they pass it on.
"I think there are a lot of biblical principles that guide how we go
about spreading information," Watters said. "Obviously, we're
encouraged not to be false, and not to gossip. And we have a responsibility to
be more credible, to do more investigation than our secular counterparts."
TAKE ACTION: For more information on other Christian rumors, see Focus on the Family's paper, "Urban Myths Within the Christian Community." To see the FCC's response to the rumors, click here.
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