Jody Brown
OneNewsNow.com editor-in-chief
January-February 2018 – Did you hear the one about the atheist who did volunteer public relations work for noted atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair but eventually became one of the nation’s preeminent pro-life reporters? Get set – here it comes!
When he joined the news team at American Family Radio in 2008, Charlie Butts brought not only 45+ years of experience, but also a passion for reporting, a surprising salvation story, and experiences most journalists only dream about.
For example, an assignment early in his career sent Charlie to Dallas, Texas, where he found himself just outside the Dallas County Courthouse on November 24, 1963 – easily within earshot when Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, assassin of President John F. Kennedy, as Oswald was being transferred by authorities.
Later in his career, Charlie landed the job of religion editor with USA Radio Network. An assignment in Jordan brought him back through New York City in the early morning hours of September 11, 2001. When all flights into and out of NYC were cancelled, he grabbed his recorder, caught a cab downtown, and was just two blocks from the second tower of the World Trade Center when it came down, destroyed by terrorists. (See below.)
Escape from atheism
Somewhere between those two historic dates, Charlie – an atheist himself – did volunteer PR work for Madalyn Murray O’Hair who, at the time, was arguably the highest-profile atheist on the planet. But after working with O’Hair for more than seven years, Charlie sought more.
“I got a brain and became a Christian,” he told AFA Journal. More succinctly, Charlie – at age 48 – decided to get a Bible “to take a look at the enemy,” he explained.
“And I found so much truth,” he recalled. “After I read the Bible a second time, I simply realized that God exists. And I surrendered my life to Christ at that particular point, on my own, in the living room of my apartment.”
Since joining AFR, Charlie has been the go-to reporter on the pro-life movement and the legal/political issues affecting it. His 250 to 300 pro-life stories each year have aired on AFR News and been posted at OneNewsNow.com.
Charlie has now decided it’s time to retire, albeit gradually. He still plans to cover his beloved pro-life beat for the AFR news team two days a week.
Accolades from peers
Plaudits from numerous pro-life leaders reveal the level of respect he merits as a newsman.
Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said he always left Charlie’s interviews feeling affirmed in his work.
“[There are] topics that many reporters do not cover very objectively, or prefer not to cover at all,” said Pavone. “[When Charlie called] I knew the interview would be … marked by [his] professionalism, his objectivity, his keen insight into the topic at hand, and his succinct way of highlighting what the listeners needed to know.”
Thomas Brejcha, president of Thomas More Society, added, “From the historic and epic N.O.W. v. Scheidler case, which lasted for 28 years, to the many cases against the young pro-life hero David Daleiden, Charlie has faithfully reported on the heroes of the pro-life movement we have represented.”
Pro-Life Action League executive director Eric Scheidler commended Charlie’s decades covering ObamaCare, Planned Parenthood, religious freedom, and pro-life activism.
Scheidler concluded by expressing gratitude for Charlie’s “tremendous work on behalf of the pro-life movement and the church.” 
Learn more on the podcast of an interview with Charlie Butts (photo, left), found at afr.net in the archives of Today’s Issues (Part 1, 10/30/17, beginning at 36:50).
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Jody Brown is editor of onenewsnow.com, daily e-news service of AFA.
