Chances are, at some point, you will likely receive an e-mail, typically forwarded from "a friend of a friend of a friend," which discusses supposed efforts by the infamous atheist, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to kick Christian broadcasting off the air. Sometimes the e-mail even lists Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson — linking him to a supposed effort to fight this "threat."
Be advised: This is a false report! Do not pay attention! Do not forward this hoax!
Even if she had been involved in such shenanigans, O'Hair can no longer do so — she's dead. She and her adopted daughter, Robin Murray O'Hair, were murdered in 1995 by a former employee who had kidnapped them.
And Dr. James Dobson has issued no call to action.
Broadcasters have a name for it — they call it "The Rumor" — and chances are, somewhere in the world this hoax is again making the rounds, as it has for more than 30 years.
Millions of people have contacted the FCC about this over the years. While they are well-meaning, they are most certainly misguided.
The Rumor comes in many forms. Again, most of them focus on O'Hair, the notorious atheist, and link her with a petition to the FCC seeking to kick religious broadcasters off the air. Along the way, one version of The Rumor added that O'Hair was trying to remove the at-the-time hit drama, "Touched by an Angel," because it mentioned the word "God." In truth, the show's producers simply agreed with CBS to end the show to make way for something else.
The FCC did receive a petition in 1974, designated RM-2493, asking the agency to look into the operating practices of religious organizations licensed to broadcast on TV.
The FCC rejected the petition in 1975.
"We denied it outright," said David Fiske, deputy communications director for the FCC. "There was never any proceeding; there was not a comment period; there were never any hearings, there was absolutely nothing."
Interestingly, O'Hair had absolutely nothing to do with that short-lived petition — and she certainly couldn't be involved in any action today, even if there was one, which there isn't.
The FCC does not have before it any proposal to deny licenses to religious broadcasters.
"This rumor is totally false on about three or four different counts," Fiske said. "It has popped up from time to time, in various forms, since 1975."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To see the official FCC statement response to the rumors, click here.
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
