One of the world’s largest media companies said Oct. 28 that it will change its advertising policies to allow the United Methodist Church to display a glitzy ad in the heart of Times Square.
Reuters CEO Thomas Glocer said he would welcome the Methodists’ ad on his headquarters building at 3 Times Square after several churches denounced a company policy that banned religious advertising on a 22-story electronic billboard.
“You state that your church should be given the same access and opportunity to speak in the commercial marketplace as corporate advertisers,” Glocer wrote to Larry Hollon, head of the Methodists’ communications agency. “On reflection, I believe that you are right.”
Company officials said they are unclear how long it will take to revise the Reuters policy that prohibits ads that are “pornographic, political, religious, libelous, misleading or deceptive in nature.”
Contract disputed
The Methodists had signed a contract on Sept. 23 to run a 30-second video clip on the 11-screen billboard as part of a four-year, $21 million “open hearts, open minds, open doors” ad campaign.
The $30,000 ad was scheduled to air 10 times daily and be seen by 1.5 million passersby. It was scheduled to start Nov. 15 and run through the end of the month, in part so it could be viewed during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Steve Naru, Reuters’ head of global public relations, said changes don’t happen “overnight” and will likely take several weeks. “The fact of the matter is, the policy needs to change and likely will be,” he said. A new contract must be signed before the ad could be posted.
The Reuters’ about-face came after sharp criticism by the National Council of Churches and communications officers at a dozen mainline Protestant and Orthodox churches.
“If religious speech is banned from the public marketplace, the remaining dialogue will revolve solely around getting and spending,” the churches said in a joint statement. “But life is about more than this. The community of faith should be allowed to say so and let people decide for themselves.”
Reuters officials said they wanted to maintain Reuters’ 152-year reputation for unbiased news coverage.
Glocer, who said he was traveling when the dispute erupted, said as long as the ad is clear that it is not sponsored by Reuters, it would be allowed “subject to certain limitations.”
“Consumers have become more sophisticated over recent years, and I think there is little likelihood of an advertisement being viewed as the opinion of a news gatherer such as Reuters,” he wrote to Hollon.
Hollon said he was gratified by Glocer’s change of heart. “We asked for fairness and to be given the same opportunity to speak in the commercial marketplace,” Hollon said. “They took us seriously and have responded in a reasonable and balanced manner.” (RNS)
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