Mark Bunker
Encyclopedia
Mark Bunker is a television journalist
. He won an Emmy Award
in 2006 from the Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
. He is a critic of the Church of Scientology
and founder of the website Xenu TV.
reporter Lena Lewis, won an Emmy Award
from the Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
, for a story on border issues in the San Diego, California
area.
where he produced videos for the Lisa McPherson trust
. Bunker's site states that it gets one million hits per month.
In 2001, Mark Bunker and Jeff Jacobsen, a fellow critic of the Church of Scientology, were refused service by businesses operated by Scientologists in Clearwater. Together they filed discrimination complaints with the Pinellas County Office of Human Rights. The Office of Human Rights rejected their complaints, ruling that the church members had not broken any laws in denying them service. Bunker, Jacobson, and other members of the Lisa McPherson Trust saw this as a sign of the escalating control the Church of Scientology held over the town. Ray Arsenault, a University of South Florida
professor and then acting president of the Pinellas
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union
, also viewed the denials as acts of discrimination. "It really is a way of trying to bring pressure to stop them from exercising their First Amendment rights."
critical of the Internet-based group "Anonymous
" and asked them to tone down their campaign against the Church of Scientology; a movement called "Project Chanology
". In the video "Message to Anonymous", Bunker urged the group to work legally and pursue peaceful ways to protest Scientology.
According to NPR's Morning Edition
, Bunker has "become a revered voice to many members of Anonymous", and they refer to him as "Wise Beard Man". Anonymous has adopted a slogan referring to Bunker: "Wise Beard Man. His words are wise, his face is beard." The refrain along with a picture of Bunker has become an Internet meme
on the website 4chan
.
When actor Jason Beghe
decided to leave Scientology in 2008, he contacted Andreas Heldal-Lund
, founder of Operation Clambake
, who convinced him to meet with Bunker. Heldal-Lund and Bunker went to Beghe's house, where Beghe participated in an interview about his experiences as a Scientologist. Bunker published a 3-minute portion of the 3-hour interview to YouTube in mid-April 2008, and in the video Beghe calls Scientology "very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution". He also comments "I don't have an agenda. I'm just trying to help. I have the luxury of having gotten into Scientology and after having been in it, been out. And that's a perspective that people who are still in and not out do not have."
The video was taken down from YouTube on April 17, 2008 but was reposted by multiple other YouTube users shortly thereafter. By April 18, 2008, at least 45 users had reposted the video interview using their own YouTube accounts. Bunker's account was also canceled on April 17, and he believes this was due to copyright issues with a clip from The Colbert Report that he had uploaded. Bunker said that those issues had been resolved, and that YouTube should have given him time to prove that before pulling the Jason Beghe interview. Bunker believes that YouTube removed the Beghe interview after receiving pressure from Scientology. A representative for YouTube told Fox News "There’s no conspiracy here.", but would not say whether Scientology pressured YouTube to remove the video, saying: "We do not comment on individual videos."
On February 24, 2009, Bunker was arrested while photographing the arrest of another individual who was protesting against Scientology outside of the organization's Gold Base
compound near Hemet, California
. The protester was also arrested, after Scientology officials had made a citizen's arrest
. Bunker stated that five protesters had previously walked in front of the Scientology property, and crossed its driveway. Police allege that the two individuals arrested were blocking the entrance to the facility, but according to The Press-Enterprise: "protesters say they were neither trespassing nor blocking the entryway". A protester was arrested, and Bunker said that while he was photographing police deputies arrest the individual, he was arrested as well. The protesters were released the same day, and the Riverside County District Attorney dropped the case because of insufficient evidence.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 2006 from the Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....
. He is a critic of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
and founder of the website Xenu TV.
Work in television
In 2006, Bunker along with KUSI-TVKUSI-TV
KUSI-TV, virtual channel 51.1, is an independent television station based in San Diego, California. The station is owned and operated by Channel 51 of San Diego, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of McKinnon Broadcasting...
reporter Lena Lewis, won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
from the Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....
, for a story on border issues in the San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
area.
Activism against the Church of Scientology
Bunker started Xenu TV in 1999 and moved to Clearwater, FloridaClearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
where he produced videos for the Lisa McPherson trust
Lisa McPherson Trust
The Lisa McPherson Trust was an organisation created in 1999 by Bob Minton. The trust was named after Lisa McPherson, a Scientology member who died in 1995 after being in the Church of Scientology’s care for 17 days...
. Bunker's site states that it gets one million hits per month.
In 2001, Mark Bunker and Jeff Jacobsen, a fellow critic of the Church of Scientology, were refused service by businesses operated by Scientologists in Clearwater. Together they filed discrimination complaints with the Pinellas County Office of Human Rights. The Office of Human Rights rejected their complaints, ruling that the church members had not broken any laws in denying them service. Bunker, Jacobson, and other members of the Lisa McPherson Trust saw this as a sign of the escalating control the Church of Scientology held over the town. Ray Arsenault, a University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
professor and then acting president of the Pinellas
Pinellas
Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly half-way down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula is bounded on the north by Pasco County, Florida,...
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, also viewed the denials as acts of discrimination. "It really is a way of trying to bring pressure to stop them from exercising their First Amendment rights."
Project Chanology
In 2008, Bunker posted a video to YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
critical of the Internet-based group "Anonymous
Anonymous (group)
Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
" and asked them to tone down their campaign against the Church of Scientology; a movement called "Project Chanology
Project Chanology
Project Chanology is a protest movement against the practices of the Church of Scientology by members of Anonymous, a leaderless Internet-based group that defines itself as ubiquitous...
". In the video "Message to Anonymous", Bunker urged the group to work legally and pursue peaceful ways to protest Scientology.
According to NPR's Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
, Bunker has "become a revered voice to many members of Anonymous", and they refer to him as "Wise Beard Man". Anonymous has adopted a slogan referring to Bunker: "Wise Beard Man. His words are wise, his face is beard." The refrain along with a picture of Bunker has become an Internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
on the website 4chan
4chan
4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime...
.
Jason Beghe
Jason Beghe is an American film and television actor and critic of Scientology. As a young man he attended the Collegiate School in New York City, where he became best friends with John F. Kennedy, Jr. and David Duchovny. Beghe is married and lives in Los Angeles, California.Beghe starred in the...
decided to leave Scientology in 2008, he contacted Andreas Heldal-Lund
Andreas Heldal-Lund
Andreas Heldal-Lund is a Norwegian anti-Scientology activist best known for operating the website Operation Clambake.-Activist:...
, founder of Operation Clambake
Operation Clambake
Operation Clambake, also referred to by its Web address, Xenu.net, is a Web site and Norway-based non-profit organization, launched in 1996, that publishes criticism of the Church of Scientology. It is owned and maintained by Andreas Heldal-Lund, who has stated that he supports the rights of all...
, who convinced him to meet with Bunker. Heldal-Lund and Bunker went to Beghe's house, where Beghe participated in an interview about his experiences as a Scientologist. Bunker published a 3-minute portion of the 3-hour interview to YouTube in mid-April 2008, and in the video Beghe calls Scientology "very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution". He also comments "I don't have an agenda. I'm just trying to help. I have the luxury of having gotten into Scientology and after having been in it, been out. And that's a perspective that people who are still in and not out do not have."
The video was taken down from YouTube on April 17, 2008 but was reposted by multiple other YouTube users shortly thereafter. By April 18, 2008, at least 45 users had reposted the video interview using their own YouTube accounts. Bunker's account was also canceled on April 17, and he believes this was due to copyright issues with a clip from The Colbert Report that he had uploaded. Bunker said that those issues had been resolved, and that YouTube should have given him time to prove that before pulling the Jason Beghe interview. Bunker believes that YouTube removed the Beghe interview after receiving pressure from Scientology. A representative for YouTube told Fox News "There’s no conspiracy here.", but would not say whether Scientology pressured YouTube to remove the video, saying: "We do not comment on individual videos."
On February 24, 2009, Bunker was arrested while photographing the arrest of another individual who was protesting against Scientology outside of the organization's Gold Base
Gold Base
The Gold Base is the international headquarters of the Church of Scientology on a parcel of land in unincorporated Riverside County, California, outside of San Jacinto, and north of Hemet....
compound near Hemet, California
Hemet, California
Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 78,657 at the 2010 census....
. The protester was also arrested, after Scientology officials had made a citizen's arrest
Citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval Britain and the English common law, in which sheriffs encouraged ordinary citizens to help apprehend law breakers.Despite the...
. Bunker stated that five protesters had previously walked in front of the Scientology property, and crossed its driveway. Police allege that the two individuals arrested were blocking the entrance to the facility, but according to The Press-Enterprise: "protesters say they were neither trespassing nor blocking the entryway". A protester was arrested, and Bunker said that while he was photographing police deputies arrest the individual, he was arrested as well. The protesters were released the same day, and the Riverside County District Attorney dropped the case because of insufficient evidence.
Awards
| Year | Award | Organization | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards | Border Special, KUSI | Historic/Cultural - Program Feature/Segment | Won |