THE CATHOLIC JOURNALISTCATHOLIC PRESS ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA VOLUME 63 NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2011l l l

CATHOLIC PRESS MONTH Two photos were chosen to reflect the theme, “100 Years of Reporting the Good News,” mark-ing the centennial year of the Catholic Press Association and Feb-ruary’s celebration of Catholic Press month. Learn more about these photos and how you can use them.More on Page 4

The History of the

CPA

Pages 1 and 7

Effective Leadership

Page 3

YOUR FAITH. YOUR LIFE. YOUR COMMUNITY.Christopher Gunty talks about his experience as CPA president and how nearly 30 years of involvement in Catholic publications has left him nourished and sus-tained by the faith-filled community of people he works with everyday. More on Page 8

Message from the

Pope

Pages 4 and 6

Attempts at forming an association go back as far as 1889By Jim DoyleCPA Executive Director 1958-1988

The history of the CPA

There was clearly some kind of destiny at work, some innate drive motivating Catholic publishers and editors in America as early as the late 19th century, for the Catholic Press Association to be established. They thought about it, talked about it, met together, tried once and failed, tried and failed several times again, kept on trying and finally got it done. We know that some Catholic newspaper edi-tors met together at least as far back as 1889 and tried to get an association going. But long before that, we can imagine, editors of immi-grant Catholic newspapers must have got in touch with one another, occasionally maybe even met and had a drink or two together, exchanged good news and some gripes, grumbled about their problems -- lack of support from their bish-

ops and people in the chancery and Catholics in the pews, how much it cost to get their papers into readers’ hands — all the usual stuff. The more things change the more they stay the same. John England, a young priest who had been an editor in his native Ireland, came to America early in the 1800s, and in September of 1820 became the first Catholic bishop of Charleston, South Carolina. He attempted to explain Cathol-icism to his fellow citizens in the local daily papers, but that didn’t work; Charleston was the heart of the Anglican religion in the new nation. So he started his own newspaper, The United States Catholic Miscellany, way back in June, 1822. It was, it appears, the first Catholic publi-cation in America. He published that paper, on and off — often with his sister Johanna’s finan-cial help — until his death in 1842, but the paper lasted until the outbreak of the Civil War. The first real effort to establish an asso-

ciation of Catholic editors and publishers that we know of was the result of a gathering in Baltimore, in November 1889, of representatives of some devotional, fraternal, ethnic and benevo-lent societies in a Catholic Lay Congress, which was coincident with a meeting of the U. S. bish-ops marking the centenary of the founding of the American hierarchy. There were some misgivings by some bishops about such a lay congress, but after an interven-tion by Archbishop John Ireland of St. Paul-Minneapolis, the host, Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, gave his approval, agreeing that, properly supervised, a lay congress could do no harm. Sadly, there has never been another Catholic Lay Congress in America. So much for that idea. Members of the Catholic press were overlooked

Continued on Page 5

Keeping the Faith

Page 2

President’s Report

Page 2

Straight from our office within a stone’s throw from Heinz Field, home of the Steelers, and PNC Park, home of the Pirates, here are our top 10 reasons for coming to Pittsburgh for our Catho-lic Media Convention, June 22-24

Reason No. 10: You like food, we’ve got food (for the body and brain) Our hotel is within easy walking distance of Primanti Brothers’ restaurant, home of the world famous concoction where the fries and coleslaw are placed right on the sand-wich. It’s hard to stay thin in Pittsburgh. At the same time, we’ll have seminars that will feed your brain – everything from examining the role of Pius XII in World War II and the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, to discerning our future together.

Reason No. nine: You like baseball, we’ve got base-ball Count them: not one, but two games are on our sched-ule. The team might not be so good, but we’ve got tickets for Tuesday night with the Pirates versus the Orioles, and a Saturday night special with the Red Sox complete with a Catholic media tail-gate party before the game.

Our team may be on the lousy side, but we’ve got the most beautiful park in the major leagues.

Reason No. eight: You like politicians, we’ve got politicians We’ve invited the two Catholic senators from Pennsylvania – and our Catholic governor – to address us together on how their faith influences their public life. I’m hoping that all three will be with us, and they will be available for your questions in a free-wheeling panel discussion.

Reason No. seven: You like bishops, we’ve got bishops For the second year in a row, we plan on a special session with members of the hierarchy to discuss the role of Catholic media in the life of the Church. As in New Orleans, we will have the opportunity to engage in a solid dialogue.

Reason No. six: Master camps, master camps, master camps! We’ve got master camps on advertising, we’ve got master camps on multime-dia journalism complete with a road trip to a story you can bring home with you. We’ve got master camps for periodicals, mas-ter camps for leadership training, master camps for social communications, master camps for design.

We’ve got master camps mastered.

Reason No. five: You like the good old stuff, we’ve got the good old stuff There will be more than enough opportunities to meet your long-time Catholic media friends and make new Catholic media friends. From an incredible river boat trip to kick off the conven-tion, through roundtable discussions, to the grand finale of the awards banquet you’ll be spend-ing welcome time with the best friends anyone could ask for – our fel-low Catholic communi-cators.

Reason No. 4: You want business help, we’ve got business help Our list of seminars cov-ers the gamut of our busi-ness concerns – building rate cards for our advertis-ing, coping with whatever the post office is going to send our way next, ways to make money the old fashioned way, using focus groups and surveys to build a reader profile, to creating synergy between print and website advertising.

Reason No. 3: You want editorial focus, we’ve got editorial focus Seminars on the art of editorial writing to the art of getting a book published

will address the practical, along with a discussion on how editors and communi-cation directors actually can get along. We also have the lay president of the Canon and Civil Law Society of America and a how-to in presenting and defending the teachings of the Church in the public arena.

Reason No. 2: You want talking heads, we’ve got talking heads We’ll be discussing with top journalists the role of the Church in the public arena, discussing our own future as we reflect back on the past, and even try to answer that great ques-tion – can we work for the Church and still manage to save our souls?

And a drum roll please: Reason No. one: You like our anniversary, we’ve got our anniversary It is the 100th anniversary of the Catholic Press Asso-ciation and you have to be a part of that celebration. We will have Mass celebrated by Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., at our own Saint Paul Cathedral. This will be followed by a reception and dinner at the Carnegie Museum, a reflec-tion by Cardinal John Foley on the role of the Catholic press, and a performance by Pittsburgh’s own Mendels-sohn Choir. You can’t miss that. I’ll see you in Pittsburgh in June. It’s going to be an anniversary celebration to remember.

Top 10 reasons to attend the CMCBy Robert LockwoodLocal Planning Committee ChairPittsburgh CatholicPittsburgh, Pa.

Page 2 The Catholic Journalist January 2011

Thoughts presidential

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Timothy M. WalterExecutive Directortwalter@catholicpress.org

By Penny WiegertCPA President

Penny Wiegert

Letters, Christmas cards brings blessings that lingerBy Father James Stephen Behrens, OCSOCommentary

Keeping the faith

Fr. James Stephen Behrens

As members of the Catho-lic press we tell stories all the time. But sometimes we forget to tell stories about ourselves. And sometimes we forget that the work we do and the way we do it can help our colleagues. I know I have used many, many ideas from the great reporters, editors and photographers that are my friends in the Catholic Press in these last 25 years because they remembered to share their successes. I could probably blame humility for not shar-ing mine, but alas, it is prob-ably just plain oversight or procrastination. I was reminded of this while I attended the Commu-nications Committee meeting of the United States Confer-ence of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. last month. Ellen McCloskey and I were chatting while we waited in the short line for lunch. I happened to be sharing with her a “good news” story that took place at my office because it someone related to our conversation. When I fin-ished the story Ellen piped up quickly to ask “Have you shared that in the Journal-ist … you should, that could help someone,” she said. So here goes. And thanks to Ellen for the reminder.

*** When we conducted our last readership survey,

one of the subjects people indicated they like to read about most was news from and about the pope. So as we prepared, to redesign the paper, we incorporated a specific column featur-ing the pope into our Faith Forum pages. It features a nice friendly CNS photo of Pope Benedict XVI and is titled “The Pope On …” and then the headline features whatever the topic the pope happens to be addressing. It features the words posted by Catholic News Service from the pope’s Angelus, his special audiences and/or special meetings with reli-gious groups or dignitaries or relevant excerpts from his documents. Basically, we put in whatever is cur-rent and fits. Obviously we did this to satisfy the readers’ prefer-ences and it gave us a way to use some of the vast amount of material that CNS provides, and we pay for, that previously had not been used.

Another piece of vital background to this story is that I used to read our diocesan newspaper before I ever became a Catholic. My mother-in-law always bought subscriptions for her seven children whether they wanted them or not. I appreciated the publica-tion not so much because it was free, but because it was interesting and included things I couldn’t read about anywhere else. As a news-paper person, I appreciated the amount of content and the quality of the writing. As a Catholic-wanna-be, I appreciated the education it provided about the Catholic faith. It also introduced me to other publications such as Catholic Digest, Our Sunday Visitor and Ligou-rian Magazine, all of whom used to advertise in The Observer. Little did I know that I would one day work for The Observer and ulti-mately become its editor! However, all those things came to pass and because of my affection for the paper, one of the goals I set for myself when I became editor of The Observer was to help preserve its future. I wanted to make sure the newspaper that had not only given me and my family an income since 1986, but also gave my life great purpose and sense of service, would continue to reach and teach long after I moved on. I talked to the people at

the Catholic Foundation in my diocese and worked with them in establishing an endowment account. I decid-ed to ask our former bishop, The Most Rev. Arthur J. O’Neill, if I could put the endowment in his name and announce its creation on his 90th birthday. He was the bishop who hired me and served as the editor before he was named bishop so it only seemed natural to honor him in this way. Bishop O’Neill agreed, and with the blessing of my current bishop and pub-lisher, Bishop Thomas G. Doran, the endowment was established. We seeded the account with $1,000 and invited peo-ple to contribute to it on the occasion of Bishop O’Neill’s birthday. Now back to the story.Just before Christmas, I received a phone call from

one of our retired priests. He too was once editor of the paper. He wanted to call and find out where we got the information about the pope. Holding my breath, thinking there was a com-plaint coming, I told him that it is part of our news package from Catholic News Service. “Well it’s the best thing in the paper,” he said. “I like the other stuff but if you only put in the pope stuff, I would be happy,” he continued. I laughed and thanked him thinking how easy my job would be if that’s all I did was “put in the pope stuff.” Then he asked me if it costs us anything. “Yes, it most certainly does,” I said. “How much?” he asked. Long story short … he was a little surprised by the answer. It illustrated to

him how much things have changed in the last 40 some years. “I would like to help make sure you keep putting that in the paper,” he said. After I suppressed the com-pulsion to do a happy dance on my desk, I told him about the endowment and that he could contribute to that, get a tax advantage and it would help not just today, but in years to come. He thanked me and hung up. When I returned to the office after the Christmas holiday, there was receipt on my desk indicating that the good priest had depos-ited $1,000 into our account. Thanks to our readers, to the people who started The Observer 76 years ago, and to Catholic News Service and many others … I have this good news to share. Happy New Year.

Published: January 18, 2007 in The Georgia Bulletin

We are well into the New Year now. Our Christmas decorations have been taken down and put away for another year. We are back to ordinary time, and the monastery is adorned with the trappings of ordinary life. In some ways, Christmas seems long ago. Some Yule things linger, though. During the Christmas season we decorated our refectory windows with the Christmas cards that come in to us from places near and far. They looked quite beautiful, strung along the stained glass windows. The light of day shone through the glass and enhanced the cards with a lovely soft light. It was a gallery of blessings wished and good tidings sent. At any given time of the

day a monk or two or three could be seen making their way along the cards, reading them and smil-ing. Many of the cards had notes and photographs. We felt a warm connection with a lot of people. It is said that letter writ-ing has come upon hard times. I suppose there are many reasons for that. Many of us lead busy lives. There is also the ease of a telephone call or an e-mail. More and more people

are sending text messages via cell phones. It seems that we communicate more, but there is little to hang in our windows — in and out of season. There is an evanescence to media messages. They come and go so fast, and because of that speed, little, if any, thought goes into the composition of modern-day communica-tions. I confess I did not send out cards this year. I nor-mally enjoy doing so but even here, October through Christmas was a busy time. I had to set aside the writ-ing of my cards. Maybe I will get an earlier start on them next time around.I kept the ones that came in and am taking my time responding to those who wrote them. My writing will all be out of season, but I think that is OK. I think of the cards that adorned our refectory win-dows. They are gone now — I do not know if we keep them or discard them. But the wishes are yet there,

as are the blessings. Those tidings are never out of sea-son — indeed, they make something good and warm of every season, for I believe that the wishes come true and the blessings arrive. They come to be in ordinary time and in ordinary ways — long after the paper on which they were written is taken down from the sunlit windows of a December afternoon. I like to think that there are wishes coming true, and blessings arriving, all over the world today. We live from them, and it is a beau-tiful thing to send them to those we love at Christmas, be they near or far. Our windows are unadorned now, save for the light that shines through them. It is a rainy day today — but something about the windows in our refectory refracts light beautifully, no matter what the weather. I was writing a letter a little while ago to a friend in New Jersey who did not hear from me at Christmas.

I have more cards to go, too. I will respond as best I can, and take to heart as I do so the memory of the cards in our refectory. A light shone through every word that was writ-ten on those cards. We were able to read them because of it. A light shines through every day, in and out of sea-son. It is the Light we cele-brated a few weeks ago, and it is the Light that shines this day, bringing with it blessings and the ability we “are” to be of good will to each other — to love each other, to be light to each other, rain or shine. The cards are gone, but we are here. In this ordi-nary time, and on this ordinary day, may we better learn to be a living card, a living blessing to each other. After all, that is what we wished for not very long ago. Life is all about knowing the beauty of Christmas as it lives when the cards are gone and there is yet a won-drous light shining through

our windows. Father James Stephen Behrens, OCSO, is a monk at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Ga. His books are available at the monastery Web store at www.trappist.net.

January 2011 The Catholic Journalist Page 3

Executive director’s report

By Owen Phelps, Ph.D.

Effective leadership

Owen Phelps, Ph.D.

New year resolution: More discipline

Tim Walter

Planning for the 100-year anniversary celebration of the Catholic Press Associa-tion is moving at a frantic pace, as you can imagine. Here are some of the reasons why I hope you are able to beg, borrow and cajole your way to Pittsburgh this com-ing June. o Five Master Camps on Wednesday, June 22nd – all hands on and skill develop-ment • How to use social media to drive traffic to you website • Adobe InDesign training • Magazine circulation solutions • Advertising sales train- ing • Multi-media journalism – print, audio and pho- tography hands-on class o Catholic Press Leader-ship Institute training pro-gram o 25 to 30 progressive workshops

o Bishop’s panel discus-sion – continuation of 2010 discussion o CPA print/media research study presentation • Three evening events • Wed: Welcome to Pitts- burgh river boat ride • Thru: Centennial Celebration at Carnegie Museum • Fri: Catholic Press Awards Banquet o Saturday community

volunteer day o Two baseball game opportunities o Networking, discussion groups and the exchange of information found only at our annual meeting

As you can see from the agenda, we are working hard at providing tangible training programs combined with discussion groups and the opportunity to discuss the business of the Catholic press with colleagues in our industry. All involved in planning the program understand that it is impor-tant that each attendee walk away with skills that will immediately impact their office work. On top of the educational opportunities, we will have completed the first national readership study in many, many years. The purpose again is to develop a con-crete way to explain the

value of our print products as the foundation of a total communication plan to those who think that the job can be done entirely online. There will be involvement from bishops at this year’s conference again as they are finding the dialogue with communicators to be of value and we don’t intend to disappoint them. And lastly, you will see that there is always a little room for some fun and com-munity involvement. So, please follow the updates at www.catholicpress.org as we continue to post the sched-ule. Bob Lockwood and his team are working overtime to bring you a once-in-a-life-time event. Now just for the fun of it I thought I’d bring in some perspective on what our country was like in 1911 when our association was formed. Here are some facts to put things in perspective.

In 1911: Jan: First photo taken from an airplane in the U.S. Jan: First time a plane landed on a shipFeb: First old-age home opens in Prescott, AZFeb: First successful pilot-ing of a hydroplaneMarch: First International Women’s DayApril: First non-stop Lon-don-to-Paris flightMay: First running of the Indianapolis 500June: NAACP incorporates in New York Oct: First public elevator in London’s Earl’s Court Metro StationNov: New York receives 1st Marconi wireless trans-mission from ItalyNov: Audience throws vegetables at actors for first recorded time in U.S.Dec: South Pole reached first time, by Norwegian Roald Amundsen

U.S. Population.....93,863,000New Births........... 2,813,000Average Income... $983/yearDOW Average.................... 82New Home (Median Price).............$2,625New Car (Average Cost).............$1,130Milk (Quart)........................8¢Bread (Loaf)........................5¢Steak (Pound)...................20¢Stamp..................................2¢ The staff at the CPA office and I hope your year is off to a wonderful start and we hope your plans for 2011 will include a few of the educational opportunities offered by the association. As always, I look forward to your comments and sug-gestions and you can reach me in the office by phone or email at 312.380.6789 ot twalter@catholicpress.org.

Tim WalterCPA Executive Director

Maybe you’re on track with all of your New Year resolutions, feel like you are on a roll, and are looking for more challenges. Or maybe you’ve already blown all of your New Year resolutions and are badly in need of a new one. Either way, we’ve got one to add to your list: Disci-pline. In 2011, resolve to exer-cise a little more discipline with yourself. I know that sounds like “bad medicine” to many folks. But if you’re one of them, relax, because I’m one of you. In fact, I can think of only two words that I like less than “discipline.” They are “authority” and “routine.” I was one of those kids who had issues with author-ity dating back to first grade. It’s not that I resist good leaders or mentors. Instead, I’m constantly look-ing for them. But I don’t like bullies. So leaders who flaunt their titles and throw around their “position power” will have their hands full with me. As regards routine, I don’t even like driving to work the same way two days in a row. When I worked just three blocks from home, it was a struggle to maintain variety. And I’d rather go into the office early than to arrive at the same time every day. Despite these biases, it’s important that there be some discipline in my life. More is better. And the same is true for everyone

else. If we can’t provide most of the discipline needed in our lives, it will come from other sources. Deadlines, dreaded circumstances and bully bosses will drive our lives. If you’d rather be work-ing for yourself more often, here’s how to get started right away. This week set aside at least a half hour — more is better, much more is much better — and decide what your mission is in life. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Think of it as a newborn: nurture it and watch it grow. Next lean back and imagine what life would be like if you ever achieve your mission. That’s your vision. Now decide to adopt a few values — no more than six — that will drive your behavior. Put them in order, most important first. Next develop a few impor-tant goals you want to achieve in the year ahead. Write them down. Write it all down.

Make a weekly appoint-ment with yourself to quickly review your mis-sion, vision, values and long-term goals, and then to adopt a few short-term goals for the coming week. Figure out what has to be done to achieve those goals — and schedule those steps in your calendar (this is really important). Finally, each day before you leave work — or any time before your turn in — review your day and plan tomorrow. Make sure to allocate a realistic amount of time for each task, and what you can’t realistically get done tomorrow be sure schedule at another specific time later in the week. At the end of the week, start over. When you miss a day — or even a week — don’t give up. Get back on track. When a crisis arises, deal with it, adjust and return to the process. Your 2011 will be a lot more productive than your 2010 — and quite possibly a lot more fun too. Owen Phelps is author of The Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus, published by Our Sunday Visitor. He is Director of the Yeshua Catholic Interna-tional Leadership Institute, on the faculty of Cardinal Stritch University’s College of Business & Management, and serves as communi-cations consultant to the Rockford Diocese. To sub-scribe to his free newsletter, The Catholic Leader, or to contact him, visit www.YeshuaLeader.com.

Last fall, journalists from around the world — including many Catholic Press Association members — gathered in Rome to learn how to more accu-rately report on the Catholic Church. The Sept. 6-12 “Church Up Close” seminar, sponsored by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, aimed to deepen Catholic and secular journalists’ understanding the issues within the Church and, hence, strengthen their coverage of Catholic matters. The seminar was first pre-sented in 2008, and it will be offered again September

2012. I was fortunate to be among the 30 journalists at the September seminar. While a majority of us were from Catholic news outlets, there were a handful of reporters from secular news organizations, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the National Post of Canada and the BBC News Website. Participants came from the United States, Canada, Romania, Singapore, Costa Rica, Australia, India, Ger-many and South Africa.Given the coverage over the past year of Pope Benedict and the clergy sex abuse scandal, it was rather timely that the theme of this year’s seminar was “Covering Catholicism in the Age of Benedict XVI.” Indeed, Msgr.

Charles Scicluna, promoter of justice of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led a fascinating session on canonical trials in the Church and the procedures for delicta graviora (graver crimes), including clerical sex abuse. Of course, clerical abuse is one of many complex topics journalists must understand properly in order to cover the Church accurately. Partici-pants heard from Franciscan Father David Jaeger on Cath-olic-Jewish relations, espe-cially in light of controversy over Pope Pius XII and his efforts to save Jews during World War II. U.S. Cardinal James Stafford spoke to par-ticipants on “Catholic identity and public life,” while Ghana-

By Sarah HayesPresentation editorOur Sunday VisitorHuntington, Ind.

John Thavis of Catholic News Service and Patricia Thomas of The Associated Press address were among seminar participants.

Continued on Page 7

‘Church Up Close’ seminar

Page 4 The Catholic Journalist January 2011

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Two photos were chosen to reflect the theme, “100 Years Reporting the Good News,” marking the centennial year of the Catholic Press Association and February’s celebration of Catholic Press Month. One shows fingers tapping away on an old typewriter. The other shows a modern journalist photographing a papal event. One old, one new: both display an image of professionalism. As the CPA marks a significant milestone, it’s important to acknowledge that professionals make the Catholic press viable, credible and worthy of an important place in church communications. The myriad of easy ways to disseminate a message today is mindboggling, especially when most of us can still recall Teletype feeds and transmitting pictures via telephone wire. Now anyone with a mobile device can be a potential expert or reporter on any given topic. Nevertheless, in today’s easy access to a load of informa-tion, if I have an absolutely need-to-know medical ques-tion, I take it right my personal doctor, not to Google. I have established a relationship with Dr. Steven. He’s knows me, I know him. I trust his knowledge, his judg-ment and his skill. I imagine many Catholics see Catholic media as their need-to-know source on the church in today’s world.Readers of Catholic media, have a special relationship with

us. They know us. We know them. They trust us. We’ve built up those connections for more than a century.Whether in print, on the Web, on mobile or on the latest and greatest digital gizmo, let’s together renew our com-mitment to Catholic readers. Let’s commit to good report-ing, good editing, good photography, good design and good business practices. In the ever-changing world of media, these journalism basics remain constant. For myself, I’m going to aim to make my recommenda-tions to others concrete, not just philosophical. With that in mind, here are some suggested goals for journalists: • Tell the untold stories • Seek out voices that are not heard • Tell the truth with compassion

• Answer the question on the reader’s mind • Report with clarity

For more information on Catholic Press Month visit www.CatholicPress.org.

Centennial year goal: Back to basicsBy Nancy WiechecCPA Vice PresidentCatholic News ServiceWasington, D.C.

Pontifical Council for Social Communications45th World Day of Communications

“Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age.” June 5, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On the occasion of the 45th World Day of Social Com-munications, I would like to share some reflections that are motivated by a phenome-non characteristic of our age: the emergence of the inter-net as a network for commu-nication. It is an ever more commonly held opinion that, just as the Industrial Revolu-tion in its day brought about a profound transformation in society by the modifica-tions it introduced into the cycles of production and the lives of workers, so today the radical changes taking place in communications are guiding significant cultural and social developments. The new technologies are not only changing the way we communicate, but communi-cation itself, so much so that it could be said that we are living through a period of vast cultural transformation. This means of spreading information and knowledge

is giving birth to a new way of learning and thinking, with unprecedented oppor-tunities for establishing relationships and building fellowship. New horizons are now open that were until recen-tly unimaginable; they stir our wonder at the possibi-lities offered by these new media and, at the same time, urgently demand a serious reflection on the significance of communica-tion in the digital age. This is particularly evident when we are confronted with the extraordinary potential of the internet and the com-plexity of its uses. As with every other fruit of human ingenuity, the new commu-nications technologies must be placed at the service of the integral good of the individual and of the whole of humanity. If used wisely, they can contribute to the satisfaction of the desire for meaning, truth and unity which remain the most pro-found aspirations of each human being. In the digital world,

transmitting information increasingly means making it known within a social network where knowledge is shared in the context of personal exchanges. The clear distinction between the producer and consumer of information is relativized and communication appears not only as an exchange of data, but also as a form of sharing. This dynamic has contributed to a new appre-ciation of communication itself, which is seen first of all as dialogue, exchange, solidarity and the creation of positive relations. On the other hand, this is contra-sted with the limits typical of digital communication: the one-sidedness of the interaction, the tendency to communicate only some parts of one’s interior world, the risk of constructing a false image of oneself, which can become a form of self-indulgence. Young people in particular are experiencing this change in communication, with all the anxieties, challenges and creativity typical of

those open with enthusiasm and curiosity to new expe-riences in life. Their ever greater involvement in the public digital forum, crea-ted by the so-called social networks, helps to establish new forms of interpersonal relations, influences self-awareness and therefore inevitably poses questions not only of how to act pro-perly, but also about the authenticity of one’s own being. Entering cyberspace

can be a sign of an authen-tic search for personal encounters with others, provided that attention is paid to avoiding dangers such as enclosing oneself in a sort of parallel existence, or excessive exposure to the virtual world. In the search for sharing, for “friends”, there is the challenge to be authentic and faithful, and not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile for oneself.

The new technologies allow people to meet each other beyond the confines of space and of their own culture, creating in this way an enti-rely new world of potential friendships. This is a great opportunity, but it also requi-res greater attention to and awareness of possible risks. Who is my “neighbour” in this new world? Does the danger exist that we may be

January 2011 The Catholic Journalist Page 5

afl ad

Cardinal John Foley was at his humorous best in help-ing members of the Arch-diocese of St. Paul and Min-neapolis laugh and applaud Jan. 6 as they marked the 100th anniversary of The Catholic Spirit and its prede-cessor, the Catholic Bulletin, and got a taste of Catholic media’s future. Intended to be a celebra-tion of the community that made the news as well as the newspaper’s history, “The Great Catholic Get-Together of 2011” was held in a reclaimed turn-of-the-cen-tury parks division garage in Minneapolis. The event drew Catholics from across the 12-county Minnesota archdiocese who viewed a score of posters of pages from the Bulletin and the Spirit through the past century, got a hands-on opportunity to use iPads, smartphones and laptop computers to engage with The Catholic Spirit, and viewed the latest update in its digital products. Catholic Press Association President Penny Wiegert and Executive Director Tim Walter were on hand to rep-resent the CPA.

Praise from archbishop-publisher The “mix-and-mingle” style informal portion of the evening was followed by

a formal program led by St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt, publisher of The Catholic Spirit. The archbishop said his newspaper “has been and continues to be a tool to bring the faithful into closer relationship with Jesus Christ. “The Catholic Spirit is at its best when it unpacks the news of the day through the lens of the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

He added, “The hope is that in each story, column or editorial, the reader encoun-ters Jesus, is strengthened by His presence and brings the fruits of this encounter to those around Him.”

Cardinal mixes humor and history Cardinal Foley, who until 2008 led Vatican commu-nications, had the crowd of some 275 reeling with anecdotes from his years as

CPA President Penny Wiegert and Executive Director Tim Walter joined in the 100th an-niversary celebration of the Catholic Spirit Newspaper Thursday, Jan. 6 in Minneapolis. Pictured at the celebration are front left Catholic Spirit Associate Publisher and General Manager Robert Zyskowski; President Wiegert; Pro Gran Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and keynote speaker at the event, Cardinal John P. Foley; Publisher of the Catholic Spirit Archbishop John C. Nienstedt; and Tim Walter.

editor of The Catholic Stan-dard and Times of Philadel-phia. An early proponent of special supplements for diocesan newspapers, he recalled being asked by his own publisher, Cardinal John Krol, if he would have a special supplement for the Second Coming of the Lord.“I responded, ‘yes.’ When he asked what advertising I would get for the issue, I responded, ‘Going out of

business sales!’” Now grandmaster of the Order of the Holy Sepul-chre of Jerusalem, Cardinal Foley recalled the editors of the St. Paul archdiocesan newspaper he has known and touched on its 100-year history He noted that the newspa-per established by the leg-endary Archbishop John Ire-land in 1911 flourished until the mid-1990s when circula-tion fell to about 26,000.

“Reborn as The Catholic Spirit in 1996, your newspa-per has gotten into the habit of winning the general excel-lence award of the Catholic Press Association,” and he congratulated everyone involved with The Catholic Spirit – the archbishop-pub-lisher, staff, subscribers and supporters – on “100 years of dynamic, stimulating, infor-mative and inspiring Catho-lic journalism in America’s heartland.”

Dianne Towalski/The Catholic Spirit

By Bob ZyskowskiThe Catholic SpiritSt. Paul, Minn.

Craig Berry/The Catholic Spirit

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Goal: Increase collaboration between Catholic bish-ops and Catholic media organizations. The interest for increased collaboration was clear in the dialogue held with the bishop’s panel at the 2010 CMC and in follow-up dialogues.*

Process: Create a study group to identify recommenda-tions and best practices for better collaboration. The first step is for the CPA to make a proposal to the USCCB Communications Committee. The proposal should do the following:

• Invite the USCCB to collaborate with CPA. • Launch a study group that would develop recom-

mendations and best practices • Clarify the relationship of the USCCB and the

CPA regarding the completed document (co-sponsor, endorse, support?)

Draft Proposal Language The USCCB Communications Committee has indicated that it welcomes the recent dialogue regarding greater collaboration between the bishops and Catholic media. Responding to the strong desire for increased collaboration with bishops that was expressed by Catholic media at the 2010 Catholic Media Convention, and the ongoing interest expressed by the USCCB Communications Committee in this collaboration, the Catholic Press Association proposes the creation of a study group to identify recommendations and best prac-tices for increased collaboration. Specifically, the CPA requests that the USCCB Communications Committee 1) approve this process; 2) provide assistance in the cre-ation of the document; and 3) co-sponsor the completed document with the CPA.

TimelineDec. 3 2010 CPA delivers proposal to USCCB Communications Committee.

Jan. 12-13, 2011 USCCB Communications committee reviews CPA pro-posal and indicates its level of agreement. February 2011 Study group is created by CPA. Members include USCCB staff, CPA leadership, members of Catholic media, aca-demics and bishops. Study group develops format and identifies some key issues for dialogues, led by bishops on diocesan or regional levels, to be held in March-May 2011. March-May 2011 Select bishops hold conversations with Catholic media at locations throughout the U.S. Goal of the conversa-tions is to identify recommendations and best practices for increased collaboration that can be submitted to the study group. June 2011 2011 CMC •Results of the spring conversations with bishops are presented •Bishops’ panel engages participants in dialogue about the findings June-Aug. 2011Study group creates document with recommendations and best practices for increased collaboration to be sub-mitted to USCCB Communications Committee.

August 2011 USCCB Communications Committee reviews study group document and gives final approval.*In a July 2010 Webinar dialogue between Catholic media and Bishop Zavala, 35 of 50 participating sites said they want to collaborate more with the bishops.

CPA proposal to USCCB Communications Committee

One faith, many stories, 100 years

communion and which impels us to communicate with inte-grity and honesty. I invite young people above all to make good use of their presence in the digital world. I repeat my invitation to them for the next World Youth Day in Madrid, where the new technologies are contributing greatly to the preparations. Through the intercession of their patron Saint Francis de Sales, I pray that God may grant communications workers the capacity always to carry out their work conscientiously and professionally. To all, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican, 24 January 2011, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales.

 

Page 6 The Catholic Journalist January 2011

PRESS RELEASEIrondale, AL (EWTN) EWTN Global Catholic Network has signed a let-ter of intent to acquire the National Catholic Register, the nation’s leading Catholic newspaper. “I am very pleased and excited that the Register will now be a part of the EWTN family,” said Michael P. Warsaw, the Network’s president and chief execu-tive officer. “All of us at EWTN have great respect for the Register and the role

it has played throughout its history. It’s a tremendous legacy that deserves to not only be preserved, but also to grow and to flourish. “I believe that EWTN will be able to provide the stability that the Register needs at this time as well as to give it a platform for its growth in the years ahead. We’re proud to be able to step in and carry on both the Register’s name and its tradition of faithful Catholic reporting on the issues of the day,” noted

Warsaw. Under the terms of the transaction, no cash will be exchanged between the par-ties. EWTN will take over the ongoing operational expenses of the Register and will assume the paper’s future subscription liabili-ties. The acquisition of the Register is the latest in EWTN’s efforts to expand its news presence in the global Catholic digital and multimedia market. At the start of 2010, EWTN

entered into a partner-ship with the Catholic News Agency (CNA), a Denver-based independent Catholic news media out-let with bureaus in North and South America and Europe. Under that agree-ment, EWTN and CNA are sharing news resources and have created a joint news service found at www.ewtnnews.com. That arrangement was recently expanded to include a new original Spanish-language news service, EWTN Noti-

cias, (www.ewtnnoticias.com) launched in January 2011. EWTN Global Catholic Network provides mul-timedia services to more than 140 countries and territories. The Network transmits nine separate television channels in sev-eral languages to audiences around the world. It also operates multiple radio ser-vices including a network of hundreds of AM and FM stations, a Sirius satellite radio channel, and a global

shortwave radio service. EWTN’s main website, www.ewtn.com, draws more than 20 million unique visitors annually. The National Catho-lic Register grew out of Denver’s Catholic Register, which began on Aug. 11, 1905. Under the leadership of Msgr. Matthew Smith, the Register System of Newspa-pers was developed, with the first national edition appear-ing on Nov. 8, 1927. It was acquired by the Legion of Christ in 1995.

WASHINGTON — Today’s model of “consuming” jour-nalism bears little resemblance to the old-time model of perusing the newspaper for 20 or 30 minutes at a time at the breakfast table and after work, the head of a journal-ism think tank told members of the U.S. bishops’ Commit-tee on Communications Jan. 12. CPA president Penny Wiegert, by virtue of her office, is a member of this committee and was present for the meeting and presentation. Wiegert said this “informa-tion is incredibily valuable to our members as they help their publications move forward and strive to thrive in the media evolution.” Therefore she has asked Helen Osman, secretary of com-munications for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to assist in bringing the presentation to the Cath-olic Media Convention in Pittsburgh, June 22-24. “Most of what we knew about how people get news is obsolete now,” said Tom Rosenstiel, founder and director of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, in a presentation to the committee on “News in Our Digital Lives.”

But he said the Catholic Church might have a jump on others in building the “brand loyalty” needed to attract and retain readers today, because it is a membership orga-nization with a built-in audience. “You guys are networked in,” Rosenstiel said. “You can tell their stories, provide their perspective. It is a tremen-dous opportunity.” But he recommended that church leaders learn to “speak all the different formats” and to “understand the potential each medium has and exploit that.” Rosenstiel told the committee that the vast majority of people today get their news from multiple platforms but said they are “not aimless wanderers.” Most visit two to five websites daily, and about a third visit each site sev-eral times a day, he said. More than half of those responding to a Pew survey said they get their news from non-news institutions that they follow through social networking websites, he said, while less than a quarter get their news from news organiza-tions on social networking sites. “We have moved from the ‘trust me’ era of news, to the ‘show me’ era of news,” Rosenstiel said, adding that the “me” in the equation has changed from the journalist in the former case to the reader in the latter case. “The product has to show me why I should trust it,” he said.

Journalism has shifted from being a lecture to being a dialogue, and readers have “become their own editors,” he added. The key for newspapers, Rosenstiel said, is to build brand loyalty by providing unique content and asking read-ers, “How can I answer your questions?” With a quarter of cell phone users and 60 percent of smartphone users now accessing news from their phone, Rosenstiel said “news gathering from your pocket will become more important” in the next few years. “We’re very close to the point where people are going to have the Internet in their pocket and in their car,” he said. He also showed charts and graphs demonstrating the steep decline in newspaper circulation, classified advertis-ing and retail advertising. “Seventy percent of the classified advertising that existed in 2000 is gone and it’s not going to come back,” Rosenstiel said. “People no longer need newspapers as an intermedi-ary to sell goods and services.” Websites such as Craigslist — seen by newspapers as a “revenue thief” — instead became a “revenue killer” because they were not able to find a way to charge for their services, he said. The promise of the Internet in terms of advertising has been its reported ability to target goods to a specific audi-ence, he said. “But they have not achieved this promise.”

Journalism expert sees opportunity for church in new digital landscapeBy Nancy Frazier O’BrienCatholic News ServiceWashington, D.C.

Continued from Page 4

EWTN acquires National Catholic RegisterWorld’s largest Catholic media network acquires 83-year-old newspaper

less present to those whom we encounter in our everyday life? Is there is a risk of being more distracted becau-se our attention is fragmen-ted and absorbed in a world “other” than the one in which we live? Do we have time to reflect critically on our choices and to foster human relationships which are truly deep and lasting? It is impor-tant always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives. In the digital age too, eve-ryone is confronted by the need for authenticity and reflection. Besides, the dyna-mic inherent in the social networks demonstrates that a person is always involved in what he or she communi-cates. When people exchange information, they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals. It follows that there exists a Christian

way of being present in the digital world: this takes the form of a communication which is honest and open, responsible and respectful of others. To proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to wit-ness consistently, in one’s own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences and judgments that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically. Furthermore, it is also true in the digital world that a message can-not be proclaimed without a consistent witness on the part of the one who proclai-ms it. In these new circum-stances and with these new forms of expression, Chri-stians are once again called to offer a response to anyo-ne who asks for a reason for the hope that is within them (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). The task of witnessing to the Gospel in the digital

era calls for everyone to be particularly attentive to the aspects of that message which can challenge some of the ways of thinking typi-cal of the web. First of all, we must be aware that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its “popularity” or from the amount of attention it receives. We must make it known in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable or diluting it. It must become daily nou-rishment and not a fleeting attraction. The truth of the Gospel is not something to be consumed or used super-ficially; rather it is a gift that calls for a free response. Even when it is proclaimed in the virtual space of the web, the Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters, those with whom we share our daily lives. Direct human relations always remain fundamental for the transmission of the faith! I would like then to invi-

te Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of rela-tionships which the digital era has made possible. This is not simply to satisfy the desire to be present, but because this network is an integral part of human life. The web is contributing to the development of new and more complex intellectual and spiritual horizons, new forms of shared awa-reness. In this field too we are called to proclaim our faith that Christ is God, the Saviour of humanity and of history, the one in whom all things find their fulfil-ment (cf. Eph 1:10). The proclamation of the Gospel requires a communication which is at once respectful and sensitive, which stimu-lates the heart and moves the conscience; one which reflects the example of the risen Jesus when He joined the disciples on the way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35). By His approach to them, His dialogue with them, His

way of gently drawing forth what was in their heart, they were led gradually to an understanding of the mystery. In the final analysis, the truth of Christ is the full and authentic response to that human desire for rela-tionship, communion and meaning which is reflected in the immense popularity of social networks. Believers who bear witness to their most profound convictions greatly help prevent the web from becoming an instru-ment which depersonalizes people, attempts to mani-pulate them emotionally or allows those who are powerful to monopolize the opinions of others. On the contrary, believers encou-rage everyone to keep alive the eternal human que-stions which testify to our desire for transcendence and our longing for authentic forms of life, truly worthy of being lived. It is precisely this uniquely human spiri-tual yearning which inspires our quest for truth and for

Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age

Pontifical Council for Social Communications - Via della Conciliazione 5 - 00120 Vatican City Phone +39 0669891800 email pccs@vatican.va - web http://www.pccs.va

January 2011 The Catholic Journalist Page 7

in the original invitations to the lay congress, it seems, but had them by August that year. L. W. Reilly, an editor in Columbus, Ohio, did a mailing inviting Catholic press peo-ple to the Congress, and Maurice Francis Egan, an instruc-tor at the University of Notre Dame and a former newspa-perman, urged editors to come. The Congress, he said, was the chance for editors and staff people to “cultivate fellow feeling.” And, he warned, if Catholic editors failed to unite there would soon be no Catholic publications at all. Catholic editors and business managers from 26 Catholic publications did arrive and did meet at the Hotel Rennert in Baltimore that fall. They cultivated that fellow feel-ing Maurice Egan talked about, surely had some social time together, very likely did some complaining but also inspired each other a lot, agreed to meet again and set a date for the next meeting the following May in Cincinnati, Ohio. They did indeed meet again the following year, but attendance dropped off a little from the big meeting in Baltimore: Staff members from only 14 papers attended. Officers from the previous November meeting in Baltimore ran the show -- Father F. W. Graham from the Catholic Tribune in Dubuque, Iowa, the chairman, and Conde’ B. Pallen, a layman from The Church Progress, secretary. The meeting was held at The Dennison House in Cincinnati.Those pioneers voted to establish a permanent association, which they called The Catholic Press Association of the United States, and set a dues schedule: $5 per year per publication, payable in advance! They agreed the new asso-ciation would hold a meeting the first Wednesday of each May. And that’s about all we know about what happened

that time. This incipient association gathered next in New York on May 6, 1891, in Xavier Hall of the College of the Jesu-its, and people from more than 40 publications came. Delegates approved incorporation of the new association — although we don’t know if that ever really happened — plus hiring news correspondents in Rome, Paris, Lon-don and Berlin. They also agreed to start an advertising sales bureau and a purchasing agency to effect savings by quantity buying. It transpired, however, that several editors wouldn’t or didn’t pay for the news service — great idea that it was — so that failed, and there is no record of more activity and no record of a meeting in 1892. These early Catholic press stalwarts met once more, though — this time in Chicago, where there was a World’s Fair (Columbian Exposition) going on that year. They gathered at the Art Palace, on a Wednesday, but in Sep-tember — the 6th — with 35 papers represented, and Father A. P. Doyle was elected president. That’s about it for this early CPA, which apparently never met again, possibly because there was a national financial crisis in full swing and an incipient Catholic lay movement had lost its momentum. Yes, the more things change the more they stay the same. In the last years of the 19th century and the new years of the 20th, there were articles, and some talk, about the importance of the Catholic press and its unity, but no meetings or association activity until 1908. That year, Dr. Thomas A. Hart, of the Catholic Tele-graph in Cincinnati, at a National Catholic Educational Association Convention, angered by the NCEA’s failure even to offer a resolution of support for the Catholic press,

met with other editors at the convention and organized a new society, The American Catholic Press Association — to promote “educational, literary, news and business interests of the papers concerned and … a close fraternity among Catholic editors.” The ACPA met again that year, September 12 in Buffalo, with only 11 papers represented, although several others sent letters of support. Resolutions were adopted — one urging advertisers to consider the Catholic press, another asking for laity and hierarchy support, and one encour-aging Catholic writers — but the ACPA failed to gain momentum and, like others before it, disappeared.The good news was, however, that 1911, and the real Catholic Press Association, were not far away! Next: First steps in Columbus

Jim Doyle was the executive director of the Catholic Press Association from 1958 to 1988, and was named a Knight of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II in 1984. He and his wife, Ethel, live in Lake Mary, Florida. He writes a column for Catholic New York, and is a judge in the CPA’s annual Book Awards. He has written two books: Two Voices (Liguori Publications) with their son Brian Doyle, and Tales From a Real Life (St. Mary’s Press). We are hugely indebted to Sister Mary Lonan Reilly, OSF, and her book A History of the Catholic Press Associa-tion, 1911-1968 (Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, NJ, 1971) and the sources she cited, notably Pioneer Catholic Journalism, by Paul J. Folk; American Catholicism, by John Tracy Ellis, and Catholic Journalism: A Study of Its Development in the United States 1789-1930, by Appolonaris Baumgar-ten, OFM Cap. We thank each one.

Continued from Page 1

Th e history of the CPA

On December 24, 2010, The Leaven, the newspa-per of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, published a 32-page spe-cial issue, “A Day in the Life of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.” Nine photographers visited 86 sites, drove 1,541 miles and took 3,634 photos to show the unity and diversity of local Catholics and their parishes, schools, hos-pitals, senior residences and religious commu-nities. Other events included a men’s spiri-tuality meeting, a food bank, a job counseling center, a family meal, bringing in the cattle, a quilting bee, a basketball game, several choir prac-tices, penance services, a firefighter responding to a call — and much more! Twenty-three pages of color photos followed Managing Editor Anita McSorley’s one-page introduction. This special issue covered events on December 15 from 12:01 a.m. (nurses looking after a newborn baby) to 9 p.m. (an archdiocesan seminarian praying at a parish church in Over-land Park, Kan. — icy driving conditions ended

the “day” a little early.) Thorough captions added all the details needed to recognize each photo as part of the mosaic that is the Church there. Several pages of ads preceded a final page that included photos of the photographers and

A day in the life of the Archdiocese of Kansas CityBy Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.St. Anthony MessengerCincinnati, Ohio

Elizabeth Lev explaining the symbols on an early Christian sarcophagus during a tour of the Vatican Museums.

ian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, addressed the challenge of poverty in Third World countries. Dur-ing a trip to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (which, by the way, is painted a cheerful yellow), we learned about the myths and realties of the Holy Office. During working lunches, we heard from experts on the topics of the struggle of Christian minorities in troubled lands, the history of the Church in Africa and how the Church is embracing the digital age, an important topic during Benedict XVI’s pontificate. Those of us on hand for the seminar also had the opportu-

nity to hear from Vaticanisti (reporters who specialize in covering the Vatican) John Thavis of Catholic News Ser-vice and Patricia Thomas of The Associated Press on the challenges of reporting on the Holy See. While the class sessions were a vital part of the seminar, no trip to Rome would be complete without experiencing firsthand the Catholic treasures of the Eternal City, particularly St. Peter’s Basilica. To that end, participants benefited from a tour of the Vatican Muse-ums and St. Peter’s Basilica led by Duquesne University art professor Elizabeth Lev and a visit to the Scavi, the necropolis underneath the current basilica that houses the bones of St. Peter. A highlight was the Sept. 8

general audience in Pope Paul VI Hall, during which Pope Benedict acknowledged our group, saying, “I am pleased to greet the par-ticipants in the Communica-tions Seminar sponsored by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and I offer prayerful good wishes for their work.” At the end of the seminar, one of my fellow participants commented that he felt he had been on a weeklong retreat. Several of us nod-ded in agreement. While the focus of the seminar was on the Church and its engage-ment with the world on several issues, the wisdom of her teachings, passed down throughout the ages, could not help but shine through. It was a most edifying — and spiritually uplifting — week.

Continued from Page 3

a description of their assignments that day. Don Wolf’s 18-hour day enabled him to photograph people at 15 sites. The issue is available as a slideshow and as a downloadable pdf in the special issue section at www.theleaven.com.

This special issue is available as a slideshow and as a downloadable pdf at www.theleaven.com.

‘Church Up Close’

information from coast to coast and across the border, and we enjoyed a great annual Catholic Media Convention recently in Toronto, sponsored by several members of the CPA and Catholic Academy based in that city. Over the years, one of the most useful books on my desk, after the AP and CNS stylebooks, is the CPA directory. As a resource book of experts in the field, it’s invalu-able. Whatever challenge your publication is facing, chances are at least one of your colleagues around the country has already met it head on and found a solution – or found what doesn’t work, and learned

from mistakes. Our CPA community shares that knowledge, at conventions, by phone, in the Catholic Journalist, by e-mail and in online forums. We also belong to a glob-al community of Catholic journalists. Although the CPA’s involvement in UCIP – the International Catho-lic Union of the Press – has decreased in recent years due to economic and politi-cal factors, many of our members, especially young journalists, have benefited from exposure to the UCIP University programs (assisted by grants from the Catholic Journalism Scholarship Fund). Our association has long been strengthened by friend-

Page 8 The Catholic Journalist January 2011

Catholic Press AssociationCele� ating 100 yea� of reporting the Good News

Chris Gunty

Christopher Gunty served on the CPA board from 1988 to 1999 and was president, 1996-98. He served in various capacities at The Chi-cago Catholic; was founding editor/associate publisher of The Catholic

Christopher Gunty Sun, Phoenix, Ariz.; was associate publisher of The Florida Catholic group of newspapers; and is now CEO of The Cathedral Foundation and editor/associate publisher of The Catholic Review, Baltimore, Md.

When The Florida Catho-lic underwent a redesign in the early part of this decade, the staff (with the help of a consultant) came up with a new tagline for the newspaper: “Your Faith. Your Life. Your Com-munity.” As we mark the centenary of the birth of the Catholic Press Association, that phrase could describe our association as well. This community of faith-filled people has sustained and nourished me for near-ly 30 years of involvement in Catholic publications, including the 11 years I spent on the board of direc-tors. It’s a community with many faces, so I’d like to take my opportunity in this forum’s “Wayback Machine” to look at this from four perspectives: local, regional, national/continental and global. At the local level, Catho-lic journalists have two communities with which they gather (and by Catho-lic journalists, I don’t just mean the writers and edi-tors; we also include the business staff and all the support people who make Catholic journalism pos-sible). The first community is your co-workers. The people with whom you gather each day for the mission of publishing a Catholic magazine, book, newsletter, website or newspaper each bring their own gifts to the effort. As Paul writes in the First Letter to the Cor-inthians, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not

need you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I do not need you’” (1Cor 12:21). We need all the gifts and forms of service that are part of every staff. Some come to a Catholic publication for a job, many stay because it becomes more than an avo-cation, but a vocation. Your readers comprise your second local commu-nity; they’re the ones to whom you minister each time your publication vis-its their home, in print or electronically. And they are your “local” community even if yours is a publica-tion with national distribu-tion. As CPA members, we are fortunate to have four geographic regions in which to form community. I’ve moved around a bit in three decades of my career, and I have done the CPA equivalent of baseball’s “hitting for the cycle”: I’ve worked in all four of the CPA regions, so I’ve had a chance to experience the distinctive flavor of each zone. During my term as vice president, President Tony Spence asked me to fill in for him at the Eastern Regional meeting, held that year in Toronto, Ontario. I remarked at the size of the gathering that year, nearly 100 folks from publications all up and down the east coast. I was thrilled to see so many people there. That year, the whole of the Western Regional meeting had fewer than 20 people and would have filled the front three tables at the East’s luncheon. However, the

Western gather-ing was good in its own way. As a small-

er confer-ence, people got to know each other better in two days of valuable networking. Each for-mat had its strengths. During my time as veep or president, I attended regional meetings in places as diverse as Boise, Idaho; Lexington, Ky.; and Lake Placid, N.Y., among others. I enjoyed and valued the exchanges of ideas at these meetings. For a few years, the regional meetings were on hiatus. Part of it was economics; editors and managers who had to choose just one conference a year chose the annual meeting and fall regional meeting attendance suf-fered. We also had a hard time finding local host publications. In the last few years, the regionals have been revived with several publications in an area cohosting, with logistical and other sup-port from the CPA office in Chicago. These efforts and the columns in the Catholic Journalist by regional rep-resentatives foster regional community. Our continental commu-

nity acknowl-edges that we are the Catholic Press Asso-ciation of the United States and Canada. We benefit from exchanges of

Your faith. Your life. Your community.

ships and associations with colleagues from abroad. We bring all these connec-tions we make – global, con-tinental, regional – back to our newsroom or business office. “Social networking” for the Catholic press began a century ago when a group of U.S. Catholic journal-ists gathered in Colum-bus, Ohio, and formed the Catholic Press Association. Every time we build on that network, every time we help a colleague, we make our community stronger. That helps our staffs and the local community that matters most: the readers of each of our publications. Celebrate the CPA at 100: It’s your association. Your colleagues. Your Community.

By Christopher GuntyCPA President 1996-1998