''Insight on the News'', also called ''Insight'', was an American
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
print and online
news magazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...
. It was owned by
News World Communications
News World Communications Inc. is an American international news media corporation.
History
News World Communications was founded in New York City, in 1976, by Unification Church founder and leader Sun Myung Moon. Its first two newspapers, ''Th ...
, an international media conglomerate founded by
Unification movement
The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
founder
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon (; born Moon Yong-myeong; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the ...
, which at the time owned ''
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'',
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
, and several newspapers in Africa, Japan, and South America. ''Insight''s reporting sometimes resulted in journalistic controversy.
[ "News World Communications is the media arm of Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church."]
History
''Insight'' was founded in 1985, three years after the founding of ''
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
''. ''The Washington Times'' assistant managing editor Kirk Oberfeld became the editor of ''Insight''. Both publications were headquartered at 3600
New York Avenue NE, in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
''Insight'' was subsidized annually with $40 million from News World, which by 2002 had shrunk to about $4 million.
In 1991, ''Insight'' was one of the first publications to use the word "
Islamophobia
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
".
In 1997 ''Insight'' reported that the administration of President Bill Clinton gave political donors rights to be buried in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
. This charge was widely repeated on talk radio and other conservative outlets; but was later denied by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
, which has charge over the cemetery. Media and political pressure led to the body of
M. Larry Lawrence, a former
United States Ambassador
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the United States' diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of th ...
to
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, to be exhumed at Arlington and
reinter
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...
red at another location.
Conservative journalists who worked at ''Insight'' include Richard Starr,
John Podhoretz
John Mordecai Podhoretz (; born April 18, 1961) is an American writer. He is the editor of '' Commentary'' magazine, a columnist for the ''New York Post'', the author of several books on politics, and a former speechwriter for President Ronald ...
and
David Brock
David Brock is an American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by ''Time'' as "one of the most influential operatives in the Democratic Par ...
.
Contributors included
Arnold Beichman
Arnold Beichman (May 17, 1913February 17, 2010 Podhoretz, John"Arnold Beichman, 1913–2010."'' Commentary'', February 18, 2010. Archived frothe original./ref>) was an author, scholar, and a critic of communism. At the time of his death, he was ...
,
Arnaud de Borchgrave
Arnaud Charles Paul Marie Philippe de Borchgrave (26 October 1926 – 15 February 2015) was a Belgian–American journalist who specialized in international politics. Following a long career with the news magazine ''Newsweek'', covering 17 wars ...
,
Frank Gaffney
Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (born April 5, 1953) is an American defense policy analyst and founder of the Center for Security Policy (CSP). He founded the CSP in 1988, serving as its president until 2023, and thereafter as executive chairman. In the 1 ...
, and
Lew Rockwell
Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit promoting the ...
.
In 1998,
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
reported that ''Insight'' "created a stir" when
Paula Jones
Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is an American civil servant. A former Arkansas state employee, Jones sued United States President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994. In the initial lawsuit, Jones accus ...
, who had filed a
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
lawsuit against President Clinton, was the magazine's guest at the annual
White House Correspondents Association
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor ...
dinner where Clinton spoke.
In 1999, ''Insight'' criticized
Project Megiddo
Project Megiddo was a report researched and written by the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation under Director Louis Freeh. Released on October 20, 1999, the report named followers of white supremacy, Christian Identity, the American ...
, an
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
report on possible
right-wing terrorism
Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different Right-wing politics, right-wing and far-right politics, far-right ideologies. It can be motivated ...
predicted for the year 2000.
In 2001, ''Insight'' printed an article by Dan Smith which said that
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
and an ethnically diverse population helped to protect the United States against
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
. This article was reprinted as a chapter in the 2004 book ''Terrorism: Opposing Viewpoints''.
In 2002, ''Insight'' printed a story ''The Washington Times'' reporter Steve Miller writing that
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
were doing well economically. This story was reprinted in the 2005 book ''Race Relations: Opposing Viewpoints''.
In 2003, ''Insight'' misquoted President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
as saying during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
: "Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." By 2008, this statement was being widely repeated, although Lincoln never said or wrote it.
In 2004, ''Insight'' printed an article by Abdulwahah Alkebsi defending the role of
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
in bringing
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
to the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. The story was reprinted as a chapter in the 2004 book: ''Islam: Opposing Viewpoints''.
In 2004, News World Communications discontinued publication of the print magazine
and hired
Jeffrey T. Kuhner to run ''Insight'' as a stand-alone
website
A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
. Under Kuhner, ''Insight'' did not identify its reporters, in what Kuhner described as an effort to encourage contributions from sources who "do not want to reveal their names". Kuhner said about this: “Reporters in Washington know a whole lot of what is going on and feel themselves shackled and prevented from reporting what they know is going on. ''Insight'' is almost like an outlet, an escape valve where they can come out with this information.”
In 2007, ''Insight'' reported on an undercover investigation of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, located in
Falls Church, Virginia
Falls Church City is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is ...
, a suburb of
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, by the group Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE). ''Insight's'' story was denounced by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...
(CAIR).
In May 2008, ''Insight'' ended publication and wrote to its readers: "The kind of cutting edge behind-the-scenes political intelligence you have come to rely upon from Insight will now be available from its sister publication, ''The Washington Times''."
2008 presidential campaign
On January 17, 2007, ''Insight'' published a story which claimed that someone on the campaign staff of American presidential candidate Senator
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
had leaked a report to one of ''Insight's'' reporters which said that Senator
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
had "spent at least four years in a so-called madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
"
Kuhner, who wrote the story, claimed that the source said that the Clinton campaign was "preparing an accusation that her rival Senator Barack Obama had covered up a brief period he had spent in an Islamic religious school in Indonesia when he was six." Clinton denied the allegations. When interviewed by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Kuhner refused to name the person said to be the reporter's source to ''The New York Times''.
''Insight's'' story was reported on first by conservative
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
and ''
Fox News
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
'', and then by ''The New York Times'' and other media.
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
reporter
John Vause
John Vause (born 22 August 1968) is an Australian journalist and Atlanta-based presenter for CNN International. Before that, he was a Beijing correspondent responsible for coverage of China and the region. Before CNN, he was the Los Angeles burea ...
visited
State Elementary School Menteng 01
State Elementary School Menteng 01 (), also known as SDN Besuki or the Besuki school, is an Indonesian public school in Menteng, Jakarta. Former United States President Barack Obama attended the school for one and a half years when he was growing ...
, a secular
public school which Obama had attended for one year after attending a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
school for three, and found that each student received two hours of religious instruction per week in his or her own faith. He was told by Hardi Priyono, deputy headmaster of the school, "This is a public school. We don't focus on religion. In our daily lives, we try to respect religion, but we don't give preferential treatment."
Students at Besuki wore Western clothing, and the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' described the school as "so progressive that teachers wore miniskirts and all students were encouraged to celebrate
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
".
Interviews by
Nedra Pickler
Nedra J. Pickler (born October 13, 1975) is an American national political journalist formerly employed by the Associated Press. She resigned from the AP in 2015 to work as a managing director at The Glover Park Group, which later merged with two ...
of the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
found that students of all faiths have been welcome there since before Obama's attendance. Akmad Solichin, the vice principal of the school, told Pickler: “The allegations are completely baseless. Yes, most of our students are Muslim, but there are Christians as well. Everyone's welcome here ... it's a public school.”
See also
*
Barack Obama religion conspiracy theories
Allegations that Barack Obama secretly practices Islam, or that he is the antichrist of Christian eschatology, or covertly holds some other esoteric religious position, have been suggested since he campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and prol ...
*
News World Communications
News World Communications Inc. is an American international news media corporation.
History
News World Communications was founded in New York City, in 1976, by Unification Church founder and leader Sun Myung Moon. Its first two newspapers, ''Th ...
*
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
*
Unification Church political activities
The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
*
Unification Church of the United States
The Unification Church of the United States is the branch of the Unification Church in the United States. It began in the late 1950s and early 1960s when missionaries from South Korea were sent to America by the international Unification Church' ...
References
{{Authority control
1985 establishments in the United States
Conservative magazines published in the United States
Defunct Christian magazines published in the United States
News magazines published in the United States
Online magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1985
Magazines disestablished in 2004
Magazines published in Washington, D.C.
Unification Church affiliated organizations
Unification Church controversies
Defunct conservative magazines