Christian newspaper announces it is to close
-15/12/05
The trustees and executive of CP
Christian newspaper announces it is to close
-15/12/05
The trustees and executive of CPO, publishers of the Christian Herald newspaper, have anounced that the newspaper is to close.
It will cease publishing at the end of January 2006.
Despite a range of initiatives in recent years to improve the paperís financial health, the newspaper cites a combination of “rising costs, the ongoing decline in reading amongst the UK Christian community, the changing nature of the news trade and the overall decline in advertising revenues in the newspaper industry” as reasons for the decision.
The decision will be announced to the primarily Evangelical readership in the newspaper tomorrow.
Regular contributors to the newspaper have already been informed of the decision by letter.
ìIíve been associated with Christian Herald in various roles over the past 20 years and itís been one of the toughest decisions Iíve ever been involved in,î said CPO managing director Paul Slide.
ìChristian Herald has had an extraordinary ministry over the past 130-plus years and has been a major part of many peopleís lives. However, the pace of change in the world and the Church has accelerated in recent years, and we now sense that its lifespan has reached a natural end. Itís a very hard decision but we believe itís the right one.î
Sadly, the posts of deputy editor and advertisement manager will be made redundant when the paper closes, and other staff will be redeployed around the company.
ìWe believe Christian Herald has fulfilled a unique role in informing the Christian world and will be sorely missed,î said editor Russ Bravo, also development director of CPO.
ìIt has provided a breadth of reporting, analysis and coverage that denominational publications have not been able to match, and our international content has given consistent insight into Godís Church around the world.î
The newspaper was launched back in Glasgow in July 1874 by Anglican minister and evangelist Rev Michael Baxter, as a means of reporting the extraordinary events surrounding the Moody and Sankey missions. It started life as The Signs of Our Times and at its circulation peak around 1900 was selling at least 250,000 copies a week and was the largest-selling religious periodical in the world. A US edition was launched in 1878 and was published weekly until closure in 1992.
Christian Herald published a range of sermons, Bible studies and theological books by Baxterís wife Elizabeth and popular preachers of the time, and sermons by Charles Spurgeon, De Witt Talmage and R A Torrey were regular features. Baxterís philanthropy saw soup kitchens, work amongst the homeless and many other social action projects established, as well as fund-raising for missions at home and overseas.
Plans are being worked on for the unique Christian Herald archive, dating from the first preserved issue of 2 July 1874, to be digitised.
This, say the publishers, will ensure the preservation of a “priceless body of heritage material for future generations, and unlock the contents by, in time, making them accessible for researchers, historians, Bible college students and others.”
CPO also plans to launch Inspire, a new free monthly magazine, from March next year. This will go direct to churches and individuals, offering a positive mix of good news stories of God at work through individuals, growing churches and Christian ministries.
Christian newspaper announces it is to close
-15/12/05
The trustees and executive of CPO, publishers of the Christian Herald newspaper, have anounced that the newspaper is to close.
It will cease publishing at the end of January 2006.
Despite a range of initiatives in recent years to improve the paper’s financial health, the newspaper cites a combination of “rising costs, the ongoing decline in reading amongst the UK Christian community, the changing nature of the news trade and the overall decline in advertising revenues in the newspaper industry” as reasons for the decision.
The decision will be announced to the primarily Evangelical readership in the newspaper tomorrow.
Regular contributors to the newspaper have already been informed of the decision by letter.
‘I’ve been associated with Christian Herald in various roles over the past 20 years and it’s been one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever been involved in,’ said CPO managing director Paul Slide.
‘Christian Herald has had an extraordinary ministry over the past 130-plus years and has been a major part of many people’s lives. However, the pace of change in the world and the Church has accelerated in recent years, and we now sense that its lifespan has reached a natural end. It’s a very hard decision but we believe it’s the right one.’
Sadly, the posts of deputy editor and advertisement manager will be made redundant when the paper closes, and other staff will be redeployed around the company.
‘We believe Christian Herald has fulfilled a unique role in informing the Christian world and will be sorely missed,’ said editor Russ Bravo, also development director of CPO.
‘It has provided a breadth of reporting, analysis and coverage that denominational publications have not been able to match, and our international content has given consistent insight into God’s Church around the world.’
The newspaper was launched back in Glasgow in July 1874 by Anglican minister and evangelist Rev Michael Baxter, as a means of reporting the extraordinary events surrounding the Moody and Sankey missions. It started life as The Signs of Our Times and at its circulation peak around 1900 was selling at least 250,000 copies a week and was the largest-selling religious periodical in the world. A US edition was launched in 1878 and was published weekly until closure in 1992.
Christian Herald published a range of sermons, Bible studies and theological books by Baxter’s wife Elizabeth and popular preachers of the time, and sermons by Charles Spurgeon, De Witt Talmage and R A Torrey were regular features. Baxter’s philanthropy saw soup kitchens, work amongst the homeless and many other social action projects established, as well as fund-raising for missions at home and overseas.
Plans are being worked on for the unique Christian Herald archive, dating from the first preserved issue of 2 July 1874, to be digitised.
This, say the publishers, will ensure the preservation of a “priceless body of heritage material for future generations, and unlock the contents by, in time, making them accessible for researchers, historians, Bible college students and others.”
CPO also plans to launch Inspire, a new free monthly magazine, from March next year. This will go direct to churches and individuals, offering a positive mix of good news stories of God at work through individuals, growing churches and Christian ministries.