Secondary Text: The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is an international news corporation, which delivers news worldwide through various different mediums. It was founded by Mary Baker Eddy (The founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist) in 1908. The print circulation was at 67,703 as of 2009. The Monitor publishes a newspaper every week with a focus on international events.

The Monitor claims to be a secular paper, and states that it doesn’t in anyway promote the Christian Science Church’s doctrine. This being said, a religious article is published in each issue at the request of Eddy. In addition to this, Eddy also wanted “Christian Science” to be included in the name of the paper, although some people feared it might scare off a secular audience. Eddy stated that the mission of the Monitor was, “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.”

The establishment of the Monitor was partially a response by Eddy to the journalism of her time, which continually covered scandals and biased opinions surrounding her new religion. The Monitor has struggled since the 1960s to expand its network and make a profit. The manager of the Christian Science Publishing Society and directors of the church began to plan closures and cutbacks, which led to large protest resignations in 1989 by newspaper staff and those high up in the newspaper. As a result of this, members of the administration decided to work on exploring options of a glossy magazine, and TV and radio emissions in lieu of the paper newspaper.

The Monitor continued to face many problems, as many still did not buy the printed newspaper. In 2004 the newspaper received a mandate from the church to turn in a profit. As a result of this the Monitor began to rely on the Internet more, and its website is now one of the leading new sources that is read today.