Scientologists buy Governing magazine

Governing magazine, the ubiquitous periodical of the nation's city hall and state house offices, will be sold this week to a Sacramento-based company called e.Republic. The sale has drawn an unusual amount of attention because the prospective buyer is run by Scientologists and the magazine's current owner, Poynter Institute, owns the St. Petersberg Times, a newspaper that won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.

Staffers at Governing - the new owners plan to whittle the staff down to 12 from 27 - have real concerns about working for a company that so closely ties management and religion. The New York Times reports:

Some of the anxiety among the staff stems from a 2001 article in the Sacramento News and Review, an independent weekly, about e.Republic. That article, which has been widely read by Governing’s reporters in the last few days, reported that e.Republic’s staff members are required to read a book on management called “Speaking From Experience,” written by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.

“There is concern,” Mr. Harkness said. “Unquestionably, there is concern.”

Officials at e.Republic say its all business, but the meltdown at the Unification Church-owned Washington Times, where attempts to raise journalism standards led to a bloodletting of top staff, has staffers understandably nervous.