|
Christian Science Monitor
|
The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is an international newspaper published daily, Monday through Friday. Started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, the paper does not use wire services and instead relies largely on its own reporters in bureaus in nineteen countries around the world.
Despite the name, the CSM is a newspaper that covers current events around the world. The paper does not attempt to evangelize.[1] With the exception of a daily religious feature on the The Home Forum page, the content represents international and United States news.
As of 2005, the print circulation is reported to be 71,000 but has a much larger online readership.[2]
Concept and inception
Despite its name, the Monitor was not established to be a religious-themed paper, nor does it promote the doctrine of its patron church. However, at its founder Eddy's request, a daily religious article has appeared in every issue of the Monitor. Eddy also required the inclusion of "Christian Science" in the paper's name, over initial opposition by some of her advisers who thought the religious reference might repel a secular audience[1].
The Monitor's inception was, in part, a response by Eddy to the journalism of her day, which relentlessly covered the sensations and scandals surrounding her new religion with varying degrees of accuracy. In addition, Joseph Pulitzer's New York World was consistently critical of Eddy, and according to many historians, this along with a derogatory article in McClure's Magazine, furthered Eddy's decision to found her own media outlet.[1]
Eddy declared that the Monitor's mission should be "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind."[1] Since its founding, the paper has won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism seven times. It is particularly well known for its in-depth coverage of the Middle East, publishing material from veteran Middle East specialists like John K. Cooley.
The Monitor was originally published in broadsheet form but today it is published in tabloid format. The newspaper has struggled since the 1960s to enlarge its circulation and turn a profit. The church's directors and the manager of the Christian Science Publishing Society were purportedly forced to plan cutbacks and closures (later denied), which led in 1989 to the mass protest resignations by its famed editor Kay Fanning (an ASNE president and former editor of the Anchorage Daily News), managing editor David Anable, associate editor David Winder, and several other newsroom staff. These developments presaged administrative moves to scale back the print newspaper in favor of expansions into radio, a glossy magazine, shortwave broadcasting, and television. Expenses, however, rapidly outpaced revenues, contradicting predictions by church directors. On the brink of bankruptcy, the board was forced to close the broadcast programs.
Due to its church ownership, the "Monitor" largely avoids coverage about medicine, disease and death; articles that discuss these topics are carefully vetted for language viewed as inappropriate or unnecessary per church doctrine.citation needed Obituaries typically don't mention the cause of death, and the ages of people in stories are rarely mentioned.citation needed
Modernization
The print edition continued to struggle for readership, and, in 2004, faced a renewed mandate from the church to turn a profit. The Monitor, more quickly than other newspapers, turned to the World Wide Web for its future. The Web offered the paper the opportunity to overcome the severe cost and logistical difficulties of mailing out a daily international newspaper. The Monitor was one of the first newspapers to put its text online (in 1996), and also one of the first to launch a PDF edition (in 2001). It was also an early pioneer of RSS feeds.
More recently, the website has proven to be one of the most respected news sources on the internet while the print edition continues into its one hundredth year, amid a search for a successful business strategy. In 2005, Richard Bergenheim, a Christian Science practitioner, was named the new editor; shortly before his death in 2008, Bergenheim was replaced by a veteran Boston Globe editor (and former Monitor reporter), John Yemma.[3]
Reporter kidnapping
In 2006, Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter for the Monitor, was kidnapped in Baghdad, and released safely after 82 days. Although Carroll was initially a freelancer, the paper worked tirelessly for her release, even hiring her as a staff writer shortly after her abduction to ensure that she had financial benefits, according to Bergenheim.[4]
Beginning in August 2006, the Christian Science Monitor published an 11-part account of Carroll's kidnapping and subsequent release, with first-person reporting from Carroll and others involved.
Galloway misprint
In April 2003, several news organizations including the Monitor reported that George Galloway was accused by a U.S. Senate Committee led by Norm Coleman of personally profiting from abuses of UN Oil-for-Food programme. These documents were forgeries.[5] The Monitor investigated the matter, and in response to a lawsuit by Galloway, apologized in court.[6]
Monitor Radio
Monitor Radio was a radio service produced by the Church of Christ, Scientist between 1984 and 1997. It featured several one hour news broadcasts a day, as well as top of the hour news bulletins. The service was widely heard on public radio stations throughout the United States, as well as several shortwave transmitters. The service ceased operations on June 28, 1997.
Awards
The CSM has been the recipient of 7 Pulitzer prizes, the most recent in 2002.
References
External links
|
