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''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a
nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
by
Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (née Baker; July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author, who in 1879 founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, the ''Mother Church'' of the Christian Science movement. She also founded ''The C ...
, founder of the
new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...
Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...
, Church of Christ, Scientist. Since its founding, the newspaper has been based in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. Over its existence, seven ''Monitor'' journalists have been awarded the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
, including Edmund Stevens (1950), John Hughes (1968), Howard James (1968), Robert Cahn (1969), Richard Strout (1978), David S. Rohde (1996), and Clay Bennett (2002)."Pulitzer Prizes"
at ''The Christian Science Monitor'' official website


History


20th century

The ''Monitor'' was founded in 1908 in part as a response by
Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (née Baker; July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author, who in 1879 founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, the ''Mother Church'' of the Christian Science movement. She also founded ''The C ...
to the journalism of her day, which relentlessly covered the sensations and scandals surrounding her new religion with varying accuracy. In addition,
Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born , ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and a newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in the U.S. Democ ...
'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 Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...
" in the paper's name, over initial opposition by some of her advisors who thought the religious reference might repel a secular audience. Eddy also saw a vital need to counteract the fear often spread by media reporting:
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.
Eddy declared that ''The Monitor''s mission should be "to spread undivided the Science that operates unspent" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 353:16). 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 Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
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. The shortwave service ceased operations on June 28, 1997. 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 The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
for a series of reports on Islamic fundamentalism. That same year, the program was cancelled, and ''The Monitor'' created a daily television program ''World Monitor'', anchored by former NBC correspondent John Hart, which was initially shown on the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
. In 1991, ''World Monitor'' moved to the Monitor Channel, a 24-hour news and information channel launched on May 1, 1991, with programming from its Boston TV station WQTV. The only religious programming on the channel was a five-minute Christian Science program early each morning. In 1992, after eleven months on the air, the service was shut down amid huge financial losses. Programming from the Monitor Channel was also carried nationally via the WWOR EMI Service, a nationally oriented feed of WWOR-TV, a
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
–based television station launched in 1990 to comply with the syndication exclusivity laws put into place the year prior.


21st century

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 part of its business model. ''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 Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...
edition in 2001. It was also an early pioneer of RSS feeds. In 2005, Richard Bergenheim, a Christian Science practitioner, was named editor. Shortly before his death in 2008, Bergenheim was replaced by veteran ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' editor and former ''Monitor'' reporter John Yemma. In 2006, Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter on an assignment for ''The Monitor'', was kidnapped in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
. Although Carroll was a freelancer, the paper worked tirelessly for her release, and hired her as a staff writer shortly after her abduction to ensure that she had financial benefits. She was released safely after 82 days. Beginning in August 2006, the ''Monitor'' published an account of Carroll's kidnapping and subsequent release, with first-person reporting from Carroll and others involved. In October 2008, citing net losses of US$18.9 million per year versus US$12.5 million in annual revenue, ''The Monitor'' announced that it would cease printing daily and instead print weekly editions. The last daily print edition was published on March 27, 2009. The weekly magazine follows on from ''The Monitor'' London edition, also a weekly, which launched in 1960, and the weekly World Edition, which replaced the London edition in 1974. Mark Sappenfield became the editor in March 2017.


Reporting

''The Christian Science Monitor'' is not primarily a religious-themed paper and does not evangelize, though each issue of the paper does usually contain a single religious themed article in the ''Home Forum'' section, generally related to a topic from the day's news. The paper reports on issues including natural disasters, disease and mental health issues, homelessness, terrorism, and death. The paper's editorials have advocated against government interference in an individual's right to choose their own form of healthcare. They also support the
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
, and the paper has opposed efforts to teach fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible in science classrooms. 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. During the 27 years while
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
was in prison in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
after having been convicted of sabotage, among other charges, ''The Christian Science Monitor'' was one of the newspapers he was allowed to read. Five months after his release, Mandela visited
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and stopped by ''The Monitor'' offices, telling the staff "The ''Monitor'' continues to give me hope and confidence for the world's future" and thanking them for their "unwavering coverage of apartheid". Mandela called ''The Monitor'' "one of the more important voices covering events in South Africa". During the era of
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
, a term first coined by ''The Monitor'', the paper was one of the earliest critics of U.S. Senator
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...
.


Circulation

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. 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 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. On the brink of bankruptcy, the board was forced to close the broadcast programs in 1992. 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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. 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. , the number of hits had fallen to 1 million per month.


Notable editors and staff (past and present)

* Willis J. Abbot, editor and author * Clay Bennett,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning cartoonist * Richard Bergenheim, editor * Erwin Canham, editor and author * Jill Carroll, reporter, kidnapped for 82 days in 2006 * William Henry Chamberlin, reporter, author * Grover Clark,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
correspondent * John K. Cooley, longtime contributing editor * Roscoe Drummond, longtime reporter and editor * Kay Fanning, editor, first woman to edit an American national newspaper *
John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...
, longtime columnist and author * Roland R. Harrison, editor * Joseph C. Harsch, CBE, longtime reporter * Sir Harold Hobson, longtime drama critic * Mary J. Hornaday, vice president of the Overseas Press Club * John Hughes,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winner, editor, author * Reuben H. Markham, longtime reporter, author * Luix Overbea, journalist, founding member of National Association of Black Journalists * Scott Peterson, longtime reporter and author * Cora Rigby, first woman at a major paper to head a Washington, D.C. news bureau and Women's National Press Club co-founder * David S. Rohde, Pulitzer Prize winner * Mark Sappenfield, editor * Richard Strout, Pulitzer Prize winner * Godfrey Sperling, columnist * Nate White, Gerald Loeb Newspaper Award winner * Colin Woodard, correspondent * Paul Wohl, political commentator


Awards

Staff of ''The Monitor'' have been recipients of seven
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
s for their work on ''The Monitor'': *
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
, Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting: Edmund Stevens, for his series of 43 articles written over a three-year residence in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
entitled, "This Is Russia Uncensored". *
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
, Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting: R. John Hughes, For his thorough reporting of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
's attempted
Transition to the New Order Transition or transitional may refer to: Mathematics, science, and technology Biology * Transition (genetics), a point mutation that changes a purine nucleotide to another purine (A ↔ G) or a pyrimidine nucleotide to another pyrimidine (C ↔ ...
in 1965 and the purge that followed in 1965–66. * 1968, Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting: Howard James, for his series of articles, ''Crisis in the Courts''. * 1969, Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting: Robert Cahn, for his inquiry into the future of the United States'
national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
and the methods that may help to preserve them. *
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
, Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards, Journalism: Richard Strout, for distinguished commentary from Washington, D.C. over many years as staff correspondent for ''The Christian Science Monitor'' and as a contributor to ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
''. * 1996, Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting: David Rohde, for his persistent on-site reporting of the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in the Srebrenica genocide. * 2002,
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) *Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-prof ...
: Clay Bennett


In popular culture

In
Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...
's 1932 dystopian novel '' Brave New World'',
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
is replaced by a pseudo-religion focused on a deified Henry Ford, and ''The Monitor'', while still being published, changes its name to "The ''Fordian'' Science Monitor".


References


Further reading

* Canham, Erwin D. (1958)
''Commitment to Freedom: The Story of the Christian Science Monitor''
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. * Merrill, John C. and Fisher, Harold A. (1980).
The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers
'. Hastings House. pp. 96–103. * Christian Science Publishing Society (1988). ''The First 80 Years: The Christian Science Monitor''. Boston, MA: CSPS. * * Strout, Lawrence N. (1999). ''Covering McCarthyism: how the 'Christian Science Monitor' handled Joseph R. McCarthy, 1950-1954''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. * * Collins, Keith S. (2012). ''The Christian Science Monitor: Its History, Mission, and People''. Nebbadoon Press. *


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Science Monitor, The 1908 establishments in Massachusetts Christian newspapers Christian Science Christian Science in Massachusetts International newspapers National newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Boston Newspapers established in 1908 Online newspapers with defunct print editions Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers Weekly newspapers published in Massachusetts The Christian Science Monitor