Christian Science Monitor: Difference between revisions

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[[File:2006 ChristianScienceMonitor building Boston 2594437787.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The global headquarters of ''The Christian Science Monitor'' on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston]]
[[File:2006 ChristianScienceMonitor building Boston 2594437787.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The global headquarters of ''The Christian Science Monitor'' on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston]]
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The '''Christian Science Monitor''', sometimes called simply ''The Monitor'', is a [[nonprofit]], mainstream, [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format and also a weekly print edition.<ref name=CSM /> Based in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], it was founded in 1908 as a daily [[newspaper]] by [[Mary Baker Eddy]], who also founded [[Christian Science]].  She state that ''The Monitor''{{'}}s mission should be "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind", and she later wrote:
The '''Christian Science Monitor''', also known simple as '''The Monitor''', is a [[nonprofit]] news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition.<ref name=CSM /> It was founded in 1908 as a daily [[newspaper]] by [[Mary Baker Eddy]], the founder of the [[Christian Science]].  The newspaper has been based in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] since its establishment.  The Monitor is a mainstream newspaper paper known for coverage of international issues, and it generally reports objectively on most matters; in fact, the Media Bias Checker classifies The Monitor as "least biased", which is its best rating.<ref name=Objective /> In each issue, the newspaper makes a point of reporting on positive news as well as dangers and crises.  The Monitor has won more than a dozen Overseas Press Club awards, and its staff have won seven [[Pulitzer Prize]]s, including
<poem style="border: 2px solid #d6d2c5; background-color: #f9f4e6; padding: 1em; width: 80%">
Looking over the newspapers of the day, one naturally reflects that it is dangerous to live, so loaded with disease seems the very air. These descriptions carry fears to many minds, to be depicted in some future time upon the body. A periodical of our own will counteract to some extent this public nuisance; for through our paper, at the price at which we shall issue it, we shall be able to reach many homes with healing, purifying thought.<ref>Mary Baker Eddy, ''Miscellaneous Writings'' 7:17–24</ref>
</poem>
 
As a result, the newspaper as a policy reports on positive news as well as emergencies, and it always includes one religious editorial.  Eddy required the use of "Christian Science" in the paper's name over the opposition if some of her advisors, who thought the religious reference might repel a secular audience.   
 
The Monitor has won more than a dozen Overseas Press Club awards, and its staff have won seven [[Pulitzer Prize]]s, including


* 1950 Pulitzer for International Reporting<ref name=IntlRept />: to Edmund Stevens for his series of 43 articles written over a three-year residence in Moscow entitled, "This Is Russia Uncensored."
* 1950 Pulitzer for International Reporting<ref name=IntlRept />: to Edmund Stevens for his series of 43 articles written over a three-year residence in Moscow entitled, "This Is Russia Uncensored."
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* 1969 Pulitzer for National Reporting<ref name=NatlRept />: to Robert Cahn for his inquiry into the future of [[United States of America|U.S.]] national parks and the methods that may help to preserve them.
* 1969 Pulitzer for National Reporting<ref name=NatlRept />: to Robert Cahn for his inquiry into the future of [[United States of America|U.S.]] national parks and the methods that may help to preserve them.
* 1978 Pulitzer Special Citations and Awards, Journalism<ref name=SpecCit />: to Richard Strout for distinguished commentary from Washington over many years as staff correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor and contributor to The New Republic.
* 1978 Pulitzer Special Citations and Awards, Journalism<ref name=SpecCit />: to Richard Strout for distinguished commentary from Washington over many years as staff correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor and contributor to The New Republic.
* 1996 Pulitzer for International Reporting<ref name=IntlRept />: to David Rohde for his persistent on-site reporting of [[Srebrenica massacre|the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims]] in the [[Srebrenica genocide]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1996|title=The Pulitzer Prizes; 1996 winners|work=Pulitzer|access-date=April 19, 2010|archive-date=September 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905015826/http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1996|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1996 Pulitzer for International Reporting<ref name=IntlRept />: to David Rohde for his persistent on-site reporting of the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in the [[Srebrenica genocide]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1996|title=The Pulitzer Prizes; 1996 winners|work=Pulitzer|access-date=April 19, 2010|archive-date=September 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905015826/http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1996|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2002 Pulitzer for Editorial Cartooning<ref name=Cartoon />: to Clay Bennett<ref name=CSMcartoons />
* 2002 Pulitzer for Editorial Cartooning<ref name=Cartoon />: to Clay Bennett<ref name=CSMcartoons />
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The paper's circulation has ranged widely, from a peak of over 223,000 in 1970, to just under 56,000 shortly before the suspension of the daily print edition in 2009.<ref name="Fine">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910234126/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|archive-date=September 10, 2013|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|title=The Christian Science Monitor to Become a Weekly|first=Jon|last=Fine|date=October 28, 2008}}</ref> Partially in response to declining circulation and the struggle to earn 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 chief editor [[Kay Fanning]] (an [[American Society of Newspaper Editors|ASNE]] president and former editor of the ''[[Anchorage Daily News]]''), managing editor David Anable, associate editor David Winder, and several other newsroom staff. Those developments also presaged administrative moves to scale back the print newspaper in favor of expansions into radio, a magazine, shortwave broadcasting, and television. Expenses, however, rapidly outpaced revenues, contradicting predictions by church directors.<ref name="MtN"/>{{Rp|page=150}} On the brink of bankruptcy, the board was forced to close the broadcast programs in 1992.<ref name="MtN"/>{{Rp|pages=163–166}}
== Circulation and format ==
The paper's circulation has ranged widely, from a peak of over 223,000 in 1970, to just under 56,000 shortly before the suspension of the daily print edition in 2009.<ref name="Fine">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910234126/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|archive-date=September 10, 2013|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|title=The Christian Science Monitor to Become a Weekly|first=Jon|last=Fine|date=October 28, 2008}}</ref> By late 2011, ''The Monitor'' was receiving an average of about 22 million hits per month on its website, slightly below the ''Los Angeles Times''.<ref name="Collins">{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Keith S. |title=The Christian Science Monitor: Its History, Mission, and People |date=2012 |publisher=Nebbadoon Press |isbn=978-1-891331-27-5}}</ref> In 2017, the ''Monitor'' put up a paywall on its content, and in 2018, there were approximately 10,000 subscriptions to the ''Monitor Daily'' email service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/05/the-christian-science-monitors-new-paid-daily-product-is-aiming-for-10000-subscribers-in-a-year/|title=The Christian Science Monitor's new paid, daily product is aiming for 10,000 subscribers in a year|website=Nieman Lab|access-date=2019-08-23|archive-date=August 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822074301/https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/05/the-christian-science-monitors-new-paid-daily-product-is-aiming-for-10000-subscribers-in-a-year/|url-status=live}}</ref> As of September 2023, the number of hits had fallen to one million per month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.similarweb.com/website/csmonitor.com/#overview|website=similarweb.com|title=csmonitor.com {{!}} Overview|access-date=September 12, 2023}}</ref>


By late 2011, ''The Monitor'' was receiving an average of about 22 million hits per month on its website, slightly below the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.<ref name="Collins">{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Keith S. |title=The Christian Science Monitor: Its History, Mission, and People |date=2012 |publisher=Nebbadoon Press |isbn=978-1-891331-27-5}}</ref> In 2017, the ''Monitor'' put up a paywall on its content, and in 2018, there were approximately 10,000 subscriptions to the ''Monitor Daily'' email service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/05/the-christian-science-monitors-new-paid-daily-product-is-aiming-for-10000-subscribers-in-a-year/|title=The Christian Science Monitor's new paid, daily product is aiming for 10,000 subscribers in a year|website=Nieman Lab|access-date=2019-08-23|archive-date=August 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822074301/https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/05/the-christian-science-monitors-new-paid-daily-product-is-aiming-for-10000-subscribers-in-a-year/|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|September 2023}} the number of hits had fallen to 1 million per month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.similarweb.com/website/csmonitor.com/#overview|website=similarweb.com|title=csmonitor.com {{!}} Overview|access-date=September 12, 2023}}</ref>
In October 2008, citing net losses of $US18.9 million per year versus $US12.5 million in annual revenue, ''The Monitor'' announced that it would cease printing daily and instead print weekly editions starting in April 2009.<ref name="fine">{{cite web |last=Fine |first=Jon |date=October 28, 2008 |title=The Christian Science Monitor to Become a Weekly |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310234601/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |access-date=January 31, 2013 |work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="clifford">{{cite news |last=Clifford |first=Stephanie |date=October 28, 2008 |title=Christian Science Paper to End Daily Print Edition |page=B8 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/media/29paper.html?bl&ex=1225425600&en=63df0ce22e52f090&ei=5087%0A |url-status=live |access-date=October 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417082329/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/media/29paper.html?bl&ex=1225425600&en=63df0ce22e52f090&ei=5087%0A |archive-date=April 17, 2009 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The last daily print edition was published on March 27, 2009.


== History ==
The print edition continued to struggle for readership, and, in 2004, faced a renewed mandate from the church to earn a profit. Subsequently, ''The Monitor'' began relying more on the Internet as an integral part of its business model. ''The Monitor'' was one of the first newspapers to put its text online in 1996, and was also one of the first to launch a [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] edition in 2001. It was also an early pioneer of [[RSS (file format)|RSS]] feeds.<ref>{{Cite conference |last=Gill |first=K. E |year=2005 |title=Blogging, RSS and the information landscape: A look at online news |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/kegill/pub/gill_www2005_rss.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020041234/http://faculty.washington.edu/kegill/pub/gill_www2005_rss.pdf |archive-date=October 20, 2012 |access-date=January 30, 2013 |book-title=WWW 2005 Workshop on the Weblogging Ecosystem |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>


The Monitor was founded in 1908 in part as a response by Mary Baker Eddy to the journalism of her day, which relentlessly covered the sensations and scandals surrounding her new religion with varying accuracy. In addition, [[Joseph Pulitzer]]'s ''[[New York World]]'' was consistently critical of Eddy, and this, along with a derogatory article in ''[[McClure's]]'', furthered Eddy's decision to found her own media outlet. Eddy also required the inclusion of "[[Christian Science]]" in the paper's name, over initial opposition by some of her advisors who thought the religious reference might repel a secular audience.
In the 1980's and 1990's, the newspaper experimented with radio and TV broadcasts but could not sustain the costs in the long run.


Eddy also saw a vital need to counteract the fear often spread by media reporting:
== Responsible coverage ==


<blockquote>Looking over the newspapers of the day, one naturally reflects that it is dangerous to live, so loaded with disease seems the very air. These descriptions carry fears to many minds, to be depicted in some future time upon the body. A periodical of our own will counteract to some extent this public nuisance; for through our paper, at the price at which we shall issue it, we shall be able to reach many homes with healing, purifying thought.<ref>Mary Baker Eddy, ''Miscellaneous Writings'' 7:17–24</ref></blockquote>
The Monitor is a mainstream newspaper paper known for coverage of international issues, and it generally reports objectively on most matters; in fact, the Media Bias Checker classifies The Monitor as "least biased", which is its best rating.<ref name=Objective />


Eddy declared that ''The Monitor''{{'}}s mission should be "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind".
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.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/02/carroll.hostage/|title=Carroll Reunites with family|work=CNN World|date=April 2, 2006|access-date=January 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912215403/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/02/carroll.hostage/|archive-date=September 12, 2013|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Beginning in August 2006, the ''Monitor'' published an account<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/carroll/index.html|title=Hostage: The Jill Carroll Story|author=Jill Carroll|work=Christian Science Monitor|date=August 14, 2006|access-date=January 30, 2013|archive-date=March 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314055805/http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/carroll/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of Carroll's kidnapping and subsequent release, with first-person reporting from Carroll and others involved.


In 1997, the ''[[Washington Report on Middle East Affairs]]'', a publication critical of United States policy in the Middle East, praised ''The Monitor'' for its objective and informative coverage of Islam and the Middle East.<ref name="curtiss">{{cite news|title=As U.S. Media Ownership Shrinks, Who Covers Islam?|url=http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/190-washington-report-archives-1994-1999/december-1997/2775-media-watch-as-us-media-ownership-shrinks-who-covers-islam-.html|author=Richard Curtiss|work=Washington Report on Middle East Affairs|date=December 1997|access-date=January 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427111113/http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/190-washington-report-archives-1994-1999/december-1997/2775-media-watch-as-us-media-ownership-shrinks-who-covers-islam-.html|archive-date=April 27, 2013|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
In 1997, the ''[[Washington Report on Middle East Affairs]]'', a publication critical of United States policy in the Middle East, praised ''The Monitor'' for its objective and informative coverage of Islam and the Middle East.<ref name="curtiss">{{cite news|title=As U.S. Media Ownership Shrinks, Who Covers Islam?|url=http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/190-washington-report-archives-1994-1999/december-1997/2775-media-watch-as-us-media-ownership-shrinks-who-covers-islam-.html|author=Richard Curtiss|work=Washington Report on Middle East Affairs|date=December 1997|access-date=January 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427111113/http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/190-washington-report-archives-1994-1999/december-1997/2775-media-watch-as-us-media-ownership-shrinks-who-covers-islam-.html|archive-date=April 27, 2013|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>


During the 27 years while [[Nelson Mandela]] was in prison in [[South Africa]] after having been convicted of sabotage, among other charges, ''The Christian Science Monitor'' was one of the newspapers he was allowed to read.<ref name="mandelaaljazeera">{{cite web |last1=Malek |first1=Alia |title=If you were there, you remember Mandela's 1990 tour of the US |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/12/if-you-were-thereyouremembermandelas1990touroftheus.html |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=April 13, 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809034833/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/12/if-you-were-thereyouremembermandelas1990touroftheus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Five months after his release, Mandela visited Boston and stopped by ''The Monitor'' offices, telling the staff "The ''Monitor'' continues to give me hope and confidence for the world's future"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yemma |first1=John |title=Nelson Mandela at the Monitor: A memorable visitor on a quiet Sunday |journal=Christian Science Monitor |date=December 6, 2013 |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/From-the-Editor/2013/1206/Nelson-Mandela-at-the-Monitor-A-memorable-visitor-on-a-quiet-Sunday |access-date=April 13, 2020 |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212131044/https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/From-the-Editor/2013/1206/Nelson-Mandela-at-the-Monitor-A-memorable-visitor-on-a-quiet-Sunday |url-status=live }}</ref> and thanking them for their "unwavering coverage of apartheid".<ref name="mandelaaljazeera" /> Mandela called ''The Monitor'' "one of the more important voices covering events in South Africa".<ref>{{cite web |title=From the Collections: Mandela visits the Monitor |date=March 2, 2020 |url=https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/from-the-collections-mandela-visits-the-monitor/ |publisher=Mary Baker Eddy Library |access-date=April 13, 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809054217/https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/from-the-collections-mandela-visits-the-monitor/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
During the years [[Nelson Mandela]] was emprisoned (1962-1987) in [[South Africa]] after having been convicted of sabotage, among other charges, ''The Christian Science Monitor'' was one of the newspapers he was allowed to read.<ref name="mandelaaljazeera">{{cite web |last1=Malek |first1=Alia |title=If you were there, you remember Mandela's 1990 tour of the US |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/12/if-you-were-thereyouremembermandelas1990touroftheus.html |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=April 13, 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809034833/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/12/if-you-were-thereyouremembermandelas1990touroftheus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Five months after his release, Mandela visited Boston and stopped by ''The Monitor'' offices, telling the staff "The ''Monitor'' continues to give me hope and confidence for the world's future"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yemma |first1=John |title=Nelson Mandela at the Monitor: A memorable visitor on a quiet Sunday |journal=Christian Science Monitor |date=December 6, 2013 |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/From-the-Editor/2013/1206/Nelson-Mandela-at-the-Monitor-A-memorable-visitor-on-a-quiet-Sunday |access-date=April 13, 2020 |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212131044/https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/From-the-Editor/2013/1206/Nelson-Mandela-at-the-Monitor-A-memorable-visitor-on-a-quiet-Sunday |url-status=live }}</ref> and thanking them for their "unwavering coverage of apartheid".<ref name="mandelaaljazeera" /> Mandela called ''The Monitor'' "one of the more important voices covering events in South Africa".<ref>{{cite web |title=From the Collections: Mandela visits the Monitor |date=March 2, 2020 |url=https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/from-the-collections-mandela-visits-the-monitor/ |publisher=Mary Baker Eddy Library |access-date=April 13, 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809054217/https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/from-the-collections-mandela-visits-the-monitor/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
During the era of [[McCarthyism]], a term first coined by ''The Monitor'',<ref>{{OED|McCarthyism, n.}}; citing ''Christian Science Monitor'', March 28, 1950, p. 20.</ref> the paper was one of the earliest critics of U.S. Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]].<ref>Strout, Lawrence N. (1999). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jelmqLDGbFUC Covering McCarthyism: how the 'Christian Science Monitor' handled Joseph R. McCarthy, 1950-1954]''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. "Introduction".</ref>
 
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.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/02/carroll.hostage/|title=Carroll Reunites with family|work=[[CNN]] World|date=April 2, 2006|access-date=January 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912215403/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/02/carroll.hostage/|archive-date=September 12, 2013|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Beginning in August 2006, the ''Monitor'' published an account<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/carroll/index.html|title=Hostage: The Jill Carroll Story|author=Jill Carroll|work=Christian Science Monitor|date=August 14, 2006|access-date=January 30, 2013|archive-date=March 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314055805/http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/carroll/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of Carroll's kidnapping and subsequent release, with first-person reporting from Carroll and others involved.
 
MonitoRadio 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. ''The Monitor'' later launched an international broadcast over [[shortwave]] radio, called the World Service of the ''Christian Science Monitor''. Weekdays were news-led, but weekend schedules were exclusively dedicated to religious programming. That service ceased operations on June 28, 1997.<ref name="MtN">{{cite book |last=Bridge |first=Susan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__h9qS3s8nIC&q=monitoring+the+news |title=Monitoring the News |publisher=M. E. Sharpe |year=1998 |isbn=0-7656-0315-2 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407115223/https://books.google.com/books?id=__h9qS3s8nIC&q=monitoring+the+news |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 1986, ''The Monitor'' started producing a current affairs television series, ''The Christian Science Monitor Reports,'' which was distributed via syndication to television stations across the United States. In 1988, the Christian Science Monitor Reports won a [[Peabody Award]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Peabody Awards "Islam in Turmoil" |url=http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/details.php?id=515 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611122935/http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/details.php?id=515 |archive-date=June 11, 2010 |access-date=April 10, 2009 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> for a series of reports on Islamic fundamentalism. That same year, the program was canceled and ''The Monitor'' created a daily television program, ''World Monitor'', anchored by former NBC correspondent [[John Hart (journalist)|John Hart]], which was initially shown on the [[Discovery Channel]]. In 1991, ''World Monitor'' moved to the [[Monitor Channel]], a 24-hour news and information channel.<ref name="MtN" /> The channel launched on May 1, 1991, with programming from its Boston TV station, [[WBPX-TV|WQTV]].<ref name="bc">{{cite journal |date=December 31, 1990 |title=Monitoring the 'Monitor' |url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1990/BC-1990-12-30.pdf |journal=Broadcasting |volume=119 |issue=27 |page=64 |access-date=April 6, 2017}}</ref> The only religious programming on the channel was a five-minute Christian Science program early each morning.<ref>{{cite news |last=Faison |first=Seth Jr. |date=April 6, 1992 |title=New Deadline for Monitor Channel |page=D7 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/06/business/the-media-business-new-deadline-for-monitor-channel.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402222416/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/06/business/the-media-business-new-deadline-for-monitor-channel.html |archive-date=April 2, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 1992, after eleven months on the air, the service was shut down amid huge financial losses.<ref>{{cite news |last=Franklin |first=James L. |date=April 24, 1994 |title=Monitor Channel is missed |page=28 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8276321.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025081210/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8276321.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> Programming from the Monitor Channel was also carried nationally via the [[WWOR EMI Service]], a nationally oriented feed of [[WWOR-TV]], a [[New Jersey]]-based television station launched in 1990 due to the [[Syndication exclusivity|SyndEx]] laws put into place the year prior.
 
The print edition continued to struggle for readership, and, in 2004, faced a renewed mandate from the church to earn a profit. Subsequently, ''The Monitor'' began relying more on the Internet as an integral part of its business model. ''The Monitor'' was one of the first newspapers to put its text online in 1996, and was also one of the first to launch a [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] edition in 2001. It was also an early pioneer of [[RSS (file format)|RSS]] feeds.<ref>{{Cite conference |last=Gill |first=K. E |year=2005 |title=Blogging, RSS and the information landscape: A look at online news |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/kegill/pub/gill_www2005_rss.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020041234/http://faculty.washington.edu/kegill/pub/gill_www2005_rss.pdf |archive-date=October 20, 2012 |access-date=January 30, 2013 |book-title=WWW 2005 Workshop on the Weblogging Ecosystem |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
 
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]].<ref name="yemma">{{cite web |last=Cook |first=David |date=June 9, 2008 |title=John Yemma named Monitor editor |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0609/p25s08-usgn.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503181725/http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0609/p25s08-usgn.html |archive-date=May 3, 2009 |access-date=January 30, 2013 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
 
In October 2008, citing net losses of $US18.9 million per year versus $US12.5 million in annual revenue, ''The Monitor'' announced that it would cease printing daily and instead print weekly editions starting in April 2009.<ref name="fine">{{cite web |last=Fine |first=Jon |date=October 28, 2008 |title=The Christian Science Monitor to Become a Weekly |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310234601/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |access-date=January 31, 2013 |work=[[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="clifford">{{cite news |last=Clifford |first=Stephanie |date=October 28, 2008 |title=Christian Science Paper to End Daily Print Edition |page=B8 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/media/29paper.html?bl&ex=1225425600&en=63df0ce22e52f090&ei=5087%0A |url-status=live |access-date=October 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417082329/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/media/29paper.html?bl&ex=1225425600&en=63df0ce22e52f090&ei=5087%0A |archive-date=April 17, 2009 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The last daily print edition was published on March 27, 2009.{{Sfn|Fuller|2011|pp=60–61}}


The weekly magazine follows on from ''The Monitor''{{'s}} London edition, also a weekly, which launched in 1960 and the weekly World Edition, which replaced the London edition in 1974.<ref>{{cite journal |date=November 25, 2008 |title=Monitor Timeline |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1125/p99s01-usgn.html |url-status=live |journal=The Christian Science Monitor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831153439/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2008/1125/p99s01-usgn.html |archive-date=August 31, 2022 |access-date=April 10, 2009}}</ref> Mark Sappenfield became the editor in March 2017.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cook |first=David T. |date=December 16, 2013 |title=New editor named to lead The Christian Science Monitor |newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/2017/0306/New-editor-at-The-Christian-Science-Monitor |url-status=live |access-date=August 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803005017/https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/2017/0306/New-editor-at-The-Christian-Science-Monitor |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
During the era of [[McCarthyism]], a term first coined by ''The Monitor'',<ref>citing ''Christian Science Monitor'', March 28, 1950, p. 20.</ref> the paper was one of the earliest critics of U.S. Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]].<ref>Strout, Lawrence N. (1999). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jelmqLDGbFUC Covering McCarthyism: how the 'Christian Science Monitor' handled Joseph R. McCarthy, 1950-1954]''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. "Introduction".</ref>


== Provenance ==
== Provenance ==

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The global headquarters of The Christian Science Monitor on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston

The Christian Science Monitor, sometimes called simply The Monitor, is a nonprofit, mainstream, Pulitzer Prize winning news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format and also a weekly print edition.[1] Based in Boston, Massachusetts, it was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper by Mary Baker Eddy, who also founded Christian Science. She state that The Monitor's mission should be "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind", and she later wrote:

Looking over the newspapers of the day, one naturally reflects that it is dangerous to live, so loaded with disease seems the very air. These descriptions carry fears to many minds, to be depicted in some future time upon the body. A periodical of our own will counteract to some extent this public nuisance; for through our paper, at the price at which we shall issue it, we shall be able to reach many homes with healing, purifying thought.[2]

As a result, the newspaper as a policy reports on positive news as well as emergencies, and it always includes one religious editorial. Eddy required the use of "Christian Science" in the paper's name over the opposition if some of her advisors, who thought the religious reference might repel a secular audience.

The Monitor has won more than a dozen Overseas Press Club awards, and its staff have won seven Pulitzer Prizes, including

  • 1950 Pulitzer for International Reporting[3]: to Edmund Stevens for his series of 43 articles written over a three-year residence in Moscow entitled, "This Is Russia Uncensored."
  • 1967 Pulitzer for International Reporting[3]: to R. John Hughes for his thorough reporting of the attempted Communist coup in Indonesia in 1965 and the purge that followed in 1965-66.
  • 1968 Pulitzer for National Reporting[4]: to Howard James for his series of articles, Crisis in the Courts.
  • 1969 Pulitzer for National Reporting[4]: to Robert Cahn for his inquiry into the future of U.S. national parks and the methods that may help to preserve them.
  • 1978 Pulitzer Special Citations and Awards, Journalism[5]: to Richard Strout for distinguished commentary from Washington over many years as staff correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor and contributor to The New Republic.
  • 1996 Pulitzer for International Reporting[3]: to David Rohde for his persistent on-site reporting of the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in the Srebrenica genocide.[6]
  • 2002 Pulitzer for Editorial Cartooning[7]: to Clay Bennett[8]

Circulation and format

The paper's circulation has ranged widely, from a peak of over 223,000 in 1970, to just under 56,000 shortly before the suspension of the daily print edition in 2009.[9] By late 2011, The Monitor was receiving an average of about 22 million hits per month on its website, slightly below the Los Angeles Times.[10] In 2017, the Monitor put up a paywall on its content, and in 2018, there were approximately 10,000 subscriptions to the Monitor Daily email service.[11] As of September 2023, the number of hits had fallen to one million per month.[12]

In October 2008, citing net losses of $US18.9 million per year versus $US12.5 million in annual revenue, The Monitor announced that it would cease printing daily and instead print weekly editions starting in April 2009.[13][14] The last daily print edition was published on March 27, 2009.

The print edition continued to struggle for readership, and, in 2004, faced a renewed mandate from the church to earn a profit. Subsequently, The Monitor began relying more on the Internet as an integral part of its business model. The Monitor was one of the first newspapers to put its text online in 1996, and was also one of the first to launch a PDF edition in 2001. It was also an early pioneer of RSS feeds.[15]

In the 1980's and 1990's, the newspaper experimented with radio and TV broadcasts but could not sustain the costs in the long run.

Responsible coverage

The Monitor is a mainstream newspaper paper known for coverage of international issues, and it generally reports objectively on most matters; in fact, the Media Bias Checker classifies The Monitor as "least biased", which is its best rating.[16]

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.[17] Beginning in August 2006, the Monitor published an account[18] of Carroll's kidnapping and subsequent release, with first-person reporting from Carroll and others involved.

In 1997, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, a publication critical of United States policy in the Middle East, praised The Monitor for its objective and informative coverage of Islam and the Middle East.[19]

During the years Nelson Mandela was emprisoned (1962-1987) in South Africa after having been convicted of sabotage, among other charges, The Christian Science Monitor was one of the newspapers he was allowed to read.[20] Five months after his release, Mandela visited Boston and stopped by The Monitor offices, telling the staff "The Monitor continues to give me hope and confidence for the world's future"[21] and thanking them for their "unwavering coverage of apartheid".[20] Mandela called The Monitor "one of the more important voices covering events in South Africa".[22]

During the era of McCarthyism, a term first coined by The Monitor,[23] the paper was one of the earliest critics of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy.[24]

Provenance

Some content on this page may previously have appeared on Wikipedia.

Notes

  1. ↑ About The Christian Science Monitor online, last access 9/20/2023
  2. ↑ Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings 7:17–24
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 International Reporting awards of Pulitzer Prizes over the years
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 National Reporting awards of Pulitzer Prizes over the years
  5. ↑ Special Citations and Awards of Pulitzer Prizes over the years
  6. ↑ The Pulitzer Prizes; 1996 winners. Pulitzer.
  7. ↑ Editorial Cartooning awards of Pulitzer Prizes over the years
  8. ↑ Clay Bennett's Pulitzer Prize winning cartoons from the Christian Science Monitor website, last access 9/20/2023
  9. ↑ Fine, Jon (October 28, 2008). The Christian Science Monitor to Become a Weekly. Bloomberg Businessweek.
  10. ↑ (2012) The Christian Science Monitor: Its History, Mission, and People. Nebbadoon Press. ISBN 978-1-891331-27-5. 
  11. ↑ The Christian Science Monitor's new paid, daily product is aiming for 10,000 subscribers in a year.
  12. ↑ csmonitor.com | Overview.
  13. ↑ Fine, Jon (October 28, 2008). The Christian Science Monitor to Become a Weekly. Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
  14. ↑ Clifford, Stephanie. Christian Science Paper to End Daily Print Edition, The New York Times, October 28, 2008, p. B8.
  15. ↑ Gill, K. E (2005). Blogging, RSS and the information landscape: A look at online news. {{{booktitle}}}.
  16. ↑ The Media Bias Fact Check] website, when accessed on 9/20/2023, classified the Christian Science Monitor as "least biased", a rare high rating for any newspaper.
  17. ↑ Carroll Reunites with family, CNN World, April 2, 2006.
  18. ↑ Jill Carroll (August 14, 2006). Hostage: The Jill Carroll Story. Christian Science Monitor.
  19. ↑ Richard Curtiss. As U.S. Media Ownership Shrinks, Who Covers Islam?, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 1997.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 If you were there, you remember Mandela's 1990 tour of the US.
  21. ↑ (December 6, 2013) "Nelson Mandela at the Monitor: A memorable visitor on a quiet Sunday". Christian Science Monitor.
  22. ↑ From the Collections: Mandela visits the Monitor. Mary Baker Eddy Library (March 2, 2020).
  23. ↑ citing Christian Science Monitor, March 28, 1950, p. 20.
  24. ↑ Strout, Lawrence N. (1999). Covering McCarthyism: how the 'Christian Science Monitor' handled Joseph R. McCarthy, 1950-1954. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. "Introduction".
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