A few years ago, Reader's Digest was involved in a legal battle with the Church of Scientology: Scientologists tried to block international publication of excerpts of a Time magazine piece critical of Scientology. The Scientologists lost and bad blood resulted, but now RD has published a fawning interview with Tom Cruise. What changed?

Radar Online explains:

According to well-placed sources at the magazine, to ensure Cruise’s cooperation, the Digest’s reporter, Meg Grant, promised to give “Scientology issues” equal play in her profile of the star, and agreed to enroll in a one-day Church “immersion course.” Before the interview took place, our sources say, the magazine also agreed to submit its questions for Cruise to his Church handlers, who weeded out any queries they deemed inappropriate. But they were still not taking any chances. When the exclusive interview finally took place, one of Cruise’s handlers asked the star the list of pre-approved questions, as Grant recorded Cruise’s responses.

“Reader’s Digest has sold out with no turning back as far as I’m concerned,” laments one former editor. ... Grant says she was taken to the church’s “anti-psychiatry museum” on Melrose Ave. (at which point her guides made clear they somehow knew her husband was a practicing psychiatrist).

Cruise is evidently "thrilled" with the interview — and why not? In addition to personal publicity, he scored more publicity for Scientology and managed to cow a one-time critical magazine into doing his bidding. What's not to like about this situation from his perspective?

Of course, this isn’t such a great situation from the perspective of readers. If true, it does mean that Reader's Digest has sold out. How can readers really trust what they see in the magazine now?

Read More:

• What is Scientology?
• Scientology News
• Scientology: Critiques
• Scientology: Spoofs & Books
• Scientology vs. the Internet
• Scientology: Court Cases
• Scientology: L. Ron Hubbard