Dear Friend,
Mrs. Eddy clearly saw the need to create a radically different kind of news source. While other papers were printing sensational, biased, divisive articles, she founded the Monitor to “spread undivided the Science that operates unspent.”
Sadly, much of today’s news is still full of division and drama – and leaves readers utterly spent. In fact, “news avoidance” is a big trend today.
But as Christian Scientists, we know avoidance isn’t the path to healing.
In fact, at the Monitor, we’re increasingly seeing that framing a news event in the context of a specific value or quality-–like respect, resilience, or compassion–connects that news to a universal law of God. It uplifts the event or trend. And readers can identify with news items no matter where in the world they happen, because universal values are relatable in a universal way.
As you may have seen in previous emails from Monitor editors and staff, we’ve created a “News and Values” page that allows for a deep dive on articles that highlight these values. It’s reading that promotes healing.
While this link between news and values may be obvious to Christian Scientists, others see it too. In a recent opinion article for The Washington Post, author and journalist Amanda Ripley wrote:
There aren’t many major news outlets systematically creating news for humans yet, but one that I admire (and now subscribe to) is the Christian Science Monitor. Each issue features reporting from around the globe, vivid photos, brutal realities — right alongside hope, agency and dignity. Stories include a brief explainer called “Why we wrote this,” treating readers like respected partner. It’s a kind of low-ego, high-curiosity journalism that I’ve started trying to emulate in my own work.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading the Monitor in this new, values-based way. And we hope you’ll share it with others. If you aren’t a subscriber, please consider bringing the Monitor into your home. If you would like to bring the Monitor into your life but find you can’t afford it, we have benevolence available so you won’t miss an issue. |
