ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses Kfuku no Kagaku's mediation practices and conflict with press media in early 1990s. In this chapter, the mediation practices adopted by Kfuku no Kagaku and its reaction to critical reporting in the press is discussed in order to investigate the potential impact of religion-media dynamics on the branding of religious leaders' images and on the relationship between leaders and members. The negotiations for the publication of the photograph of the leader was one of the first signs of the tensions between Kfuku no Kagaku and the media that would increase in the following months. Finally, because of its visibility, Kfuku no Kagaku was in the media spotlight and its activities were under intense scrutiny. Media reporting about new religions can strongly impact how a group is perceived by the general public. However, how the mass media are judged by a religious group can strongly impact how members criticise communications media.
