October 5, 2007

No Apparent Ad Policy at Ed Week


On page 8 of the October 3rd print edition of Education Week, alongside articles about college admissions and MacAurther Fellows grants, was a shocking ad from the "Citizens Commission on Human Rights" - a nonprofit group founded by the Church of Scientology.

The ad reads: "Fact: 20 million children are condemned for life to the hell of psychiatric drug addiction." The ad is a promotion for a
new DVD put out by the organization called "Psychiatry- An Industry of Death." The ad dominated the page with text that listed "facts" like: "An admitted 'success rate' of less than 1% - today psychiatrists claim that every second one of us could be 'mentally ill.'"

What kind of advertising and editorial policies does Education Week have that ads like this have a place in their publication? I'm curious to know what they were thinking when they accepted payment from an organization that uses such heated rhetoric, propaganda, and unscientific evidence to make their appeal.