CSM Changes

Via Josh Marshall, I learn that the Christian Science Monitor, one of the best newspapers in the United States, will become a web-focused weekly:

"The Christian Science Monitor, which turns 100 years old this year, is announcing on Tuesday, Oct. 28, that it will cease daily publication next April. The newspaper will shift to a weekly print format while increasing its emphasis on its Web site, says its editor, John Yemma.

"In doing so, the Monitor will become by far the most prominent newspaper to scale back its print edition substantially.

"The Monitor, an independent publication funded by the Christian Science Church, is currently posting net losses of $18.9 million a year on $12.5 million in revenue, say Monitor executives. Cutting print frequency from its current five times a week to once a week is expected to slice those losses to $10.5 million within five years, said a spokesman. The Monitor's current circulation is 56,000. The high-water mark for Monitor circulation was 223,000, a figure the paper hit in 1970."

I'm hoping this means that the web content won't suffer, since that's what I use anyway, and is probably the future of the news business. I'm also glad to see this:

"Yemma stated a desire to protect the Monitor's international coverage—the daily has staffers in nine bureaus outside the U.S. and freelancers covering other major regions—which he described as the paper's 'crown jewels.'"