Reed Irvine, founder and chairman emeritus of Accuracy In Media also happens to be a fan of the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”.  It was in this role that he helped a Catholic priest from Utah get a second chance on the syndicated show.

Last year the Rev. Mike Sciumbato, from Orem, Utah lost when asked the question “which of these ecological regions often has dense thickets of evergreen trees and shrubs?” He answered “sierra”but the producers said teh correct answer was “chaparral” But it turns out evergreen shrubs are found in the sierras. 

Irvine, who hails from Utah knew that Sciumbato had given a correct answer and wrote a letter to the producers which resulted in the priest being given a second chance.  Sciumbato who lost at the $8,000 level in his first try wouldn’t disclose how well he did on his second chance, but said “it was worth the trip”

Unfortunately Reed Irvine suffered a massive stroke at the end of 2003 and is slowly recovering in a nursing home and will not be able to see the man he helped when the episodes air Wednesday and Thursday.

While it may seem odd for the founder of a media watchdog to go to bat for a correction on a game show, it just shows you that Reed was always working even when he was “relaxing” at home.

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