_____SPECIAL REPORT_________________________________________
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A Message from Father Fessio and Phil Lawler
 

Dear CWR Reader,

With this issue, Catholic World Report completes its 11th year of publication. We’re proud of what this magazine has accomplished; we think we’ve established a track record for lively, accurate, and fearless reporting and analysis. We hope to continue publishing for another 11 years—and much more—while bringing CWR to an ever wider audience of readers.

We’re writing this message in an effort to win your support for that effort.

Over the years, CWR has covered an enormous variety of topics: from Kosovo to East Timor, and from the persecution of Christians to the bowdlerization of liturgical language. But there’s one topic we haven’t covered. We’ve never given our readers much information about the process of publishing Catholic World Report.

Well, let’s change that.

Just a few weeks ago, the Ignatius Press staff held a special meeting to consider the long-term marketing plans for our flagship magazine. At that meeting we realized that we face some serious problems. And we also realized that we should enlist the help of our readers.

We won’t sugar-coat the story. That’s not the CWR style. The truth is that for CWR—in fact, for all Catholic publications—the future is uncertain.

Even for the very best Catholic magazines, the problem is a simple matter of supply and demand. There are too many attractive Catholic publications, and not enough Catholic readers.

At CWR, we don’t mind competition; we relish it. We know that there are many other fine publications competing for your attention. We read those magazines, too; and we enjoy them. We are confident that CWR can thrive, even in a crowded market.

What worries us, however—just as it worries the publishers of every other Catholic magazine and newspaper—is the shrinking size of that market. While the number of Catholics in the US continues to grow, the number of Catholic readers has been steadily falling for years. It’s a demographic problem, really: young Catholics are not subscribing to Catholic publications, to replace their aging parents and grandparents. And there’s no sign of an end to that trend; if anything, it’s accelerating.

For any business, a shrinking market is a very serious problem. But CWR is not just an “ordinary” business; we aren’t merely trying to sell a product. We look upon the magazine as an apostolate; we’re trying not only to give people the latest news of world events, but actually to help them see the world through the eyes of the Catholic faith—and ultimately to bring them closer to God.

In light of that editorial purpose, we have decided how CWR should respond to the shrinking market of Catholic readers: We won’t accept it! We are determined to reach out to more readers, marketing CWR more aggressively, and doing our utmost to make sure that our magazine gets into the hands of the readers who need it most—the readers who are not already subscribing to Catholic publications!

We have already taken a few steps to broaden our audience. You may have noticed that this month’s cover carries more information about the stories inside the magazine—to catch the eye of someone who spots CWR on a newsstand or a coffee table. We are adding regular columnists (the Wall Street Journal’s brilliant Peggy Noonan makes her CWR debut this month) who can bring new zest to our pages. We’ll soon announce a cooperative agreement with another outstanding Christian publication, designed to strengthen our coverage of American cultural trends. And we’re planning a public-relations offensive, to ensure that secular publications are aware of the ground-breaking stories published in CWR.

Will you help us to bring the distinctively Catholic perspective of CWR to a wider reading audience? Here’s what you can do:

1. In our January issue, we’ll be sending out a first-ever readers’ survey, so that we can learn more about you, our readers—what you like and dislike, what other changes you’d like to see in the magazine. Please take just a few moments to complete and return that survey.
2. Please think about friends and relatives who might profit from CWR—people for whom you could purchase a gift subscription. You can use the bind-in card in this issue. Or you can call toll-free 1-800-651-1531 to order by credit card.
3. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to Catholic World Report, to support our efforts. Unlike some publications, we have no large foundation to fund our efforts. Your gift will help us get the word out about CWR.
4. Most important, please pray for our continued success.