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Weekly Paper Sees Its Run Come To End

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN

mbearden@tampatrib.com

Published: November 15, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - For 40 years, Catholics in the Diocese of St. Petersburg turned to the weekly edition of the Florida Catholic to keep up with news that affected their faith lives.

Now the paper is a victim of the times. Its last issue has been put to bed.

"Readership has significantly reduced in numbers over the years, and for younger Catholics especially, the manner in which they access news is radically different," Bishop Robert Lynch wrote in his final column for the paper, which ceased publication with the Oct. 24 to Nov. 4 issue.

But the diocese, which covers Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties, isn't abandoning its faithful readers.

In January, it will introduce Gathered, a four-color magazine that will be mailed free to its 140,000 registered households every few months. Plans are to eventually publish it six times a year.

In addition, the diocese intends to improve and expand its Web site, www.dosp.org, which is becoming its most efficient communications tool.

"The printed word is somewhat in decline while the electronic word is in ascendency," the bishop said. "I myself get most of my news of the world, state and local off the Internet. Television, radio and cable take me places where I used to rely solely on the printed word."

Although he will no longer write his column, Lynch is embracing the new era by launching his own blog, For His Friends, on the Web site this week.

The decision to move from a weekly newspaper to the magazine came after a yearlong review by the Diocesan Pastoral Council. Members determined that the Florida Catholic cost the diocese and its parishes about $350,000 a year beyond the subscription revenue.

And it was only reaching about 30,000 - just under one-fourth - of the registered households, said Frank Murphy, director of communications.

He said the estimated annual cost of publishing Gathered is $280,000 a year - but the benefit will be in its staying power.

"Newspapers are picked up, read and then go in the recycling container," he said. "Yet the average hand-off rate on a magazine like this is three to seven people. Plus, we see it having a longer shelf life on coffee tables."

Why invest in a publication at all? Murphy said the diocese is committed to reaching people who can't or don't choose to do their reading on the Internet. There are no plans to trim the half-dozen people on the newspaper staff, who are making the transition to writing for the magazine and Web site.

St. Petersburg is the first diocese to make this change. Florida Catholic's other five editions - Miami, Venice, Orlando, Pensacola-Tallahassee and Palm Beach - will continue publishing weekly papers.

Lynch urged parishioners who prefer a newspaper to consider subscribing to either the Orlando or Venice editions. While they will not provide local news, both will be dedicated to national, international and catechetical material geared to Catholics.

He's also asking readers to give this new mode of communication a chance to succeed.

"Change is always challenging and usually difficult," Lynch acknowledged in his column. "It is an experiment at heart and, like most experiments, it may take us in strange and unforeseen directions."

Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613.

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