IN A YEAR WHEN THE NEWS has been filled with growing uncertainty about the economy, concern about international affairs, and intensifying political debate, The Christian Science Monitor has touched more readers with its thoughtful, balanced journalism than at any point in its history.
Having launched its multiplatform strategy less than two years ago, the Monitor's online edition, CSMonitor.com, has experienced remarkable growth. More than seven million visitors came to the site and viewed over 24 million pages in June. This is a page view increase of nearly 300 percent from the prior year. In addition, new readers are coming to the weekly print edition of the Monitor, which has grown its subscription base by more than 60 percent since the conversion from daily to weekly distribution. And the Daily News Briefing, a three-page summary of the day's news that was launched in April 2009, has attracted more than 3,000 subscribers.
The Monitor is widely recognized as an innovative leader in new media. Folio, the magazine for magazine management, put the Monitor on its June cover in an article that urged other publications to see what the "Christian Science Monitor can teach you." That same month, OMMA, the magazine of online media, marketing, and advertising, ranked us No. 14 out of the "100 most important online publishers."
On the Web, we write about news as it happens, analyzing everything from Middle East peace talks to questions about food safety to the politics surrounding midterm elections in the United States. We work hard to get Monitor articles in places people go for breaking news — sites like Google News and Yahoo, for instance — because we know that people trying to understand current events and wading through the divisive opinions that pour onto the Web find Monitor articles helpful.
Recent issues of our weekly, meanwhile, have dug deeply into problems the world is grappling with — from the difficult relationship between Islam and the West to the ongoing impact of the recession. Our in-depth reports provide the basis for understanding these problems and point out how people are trying to solve them.
Publishing and editorial personnel work together to ensure the Monitor is present in as many media as people get their news today — in print, online, via e-mail, social media like Facebook and Twitter, and on e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook. That has meant learning new forms of journalistic storytelling, new technologies, and new marketing practices.
Why is reach so important? Because the Monitor's mission is "to bless all mankind." But reach is only the beginning. More important is engagement with our readers so that they value the Monitor prespective and "the calm, strong currents" (Science and Health, p. 99) of Christian Science that imbue it.
Have you ever wondered why Mary Baker Eddy chose the following verse from the Gospel of Mark as the editorial page motto for the Monitor: "First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear"? She knew that not every person who came into contact with the Christ would recognize Truth or value it. But gradually, as a seed grows by itself, Truth would become a greater part of that individual's thought.
A reader who clicks on a Monitor article on Google or Facebook may be indifferent to the journalistic organization behind that article. But even such a seemingly random encounter is important. A reader might follow a link to a related article on our website. If they like what they read — our balance, our love of humanity, the power of hope — they might become engaged in other ways. They could sign up for one of our free newsletters, bookmark our homepage, or subscribe to the print weekly. Creating these opportunities for closer reader engagement — and having them become paying customers — is critical to the Monitor achieving financial sustainability. If you are not currently a Monitor subscriber to our print weekly or Daily News Briefing, we urge you to try these new editions.
Technology and reader preferences are always evolving. In following Mrs. Eddy's directive that her publications stay "abreast of the times," the Monitor has embraced today's new media. But we are always careful to stay true to our values — "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind." We'll always look for ways to introduce Monitor journalism to people who have never heard of us. We'll always serve readers who know and value what we confidently stand for. 
