Back to Exponent Menu Printer Friendly Page   EDITORIAL Friday, January 30, 2004 Catholic publications ‘speak truth to power’ nationwide, up north Across the United States and Canada, editors and staffers at Catholic newspapers will celebrate February as Catholic Press Month. Here in northeastern Ohio, the staff of the Catholic Exponent, the newspaper for the six-county Diocese of Youngstown, will likewise mark that event in low-key but upbeat fashion. It is not that we are not pleased to be part of this annual event. It is, rather, that the small staff which puts together the Catholic Exponent 26 times each year does not have much time for celebration in between issues. As soon as one issue goes to press, we begin work at once on the next one. Although we are the second largest religious newspaper in Ohio in terms of circulation, reaching slightly more than 40,000 households and an estimated 90,000 readers per issue, there are only a handful of staffers involved in putting together each issue. The Catholic religious press is not well known to most Americans. It is, however, a major operation across the United States and Canada, with five national newspapers, some 170 weekly or biweekly diocesan newspapers, and close to 240 magazines employing hundreds of professionally-trained journalists. These publications reach an estimated 28 million readers each week. Most of the publications belong to the Catholic Press Association, a national organization based in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. Catholic News Service (CNS), an international newsgathering organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., offers news and photos from around the globe instantaneously to each subscribing member publication through a daily news report carried over the Internet. The Catholic Exponent has exclusive rights to this material in the six counties of our diocese. Diocesan newspapers across the country, in turn, provide local coverage of interest to Catholics in their area unavailable in any other venue. The Catholic Exponent is an independent corporation affiliated with the Diocese of Youngstown. Like other Catholic diocesan newspapers nationwide, our role is that of an advocacy press; we exist to support and spread the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Exponent motto, “A Catholic Window on the World,” tells our readers in the pews that we provide news, news analysis, commentary and adult faith formation materials to help them make sense of the complexities of modern life from a Catholic perspective. We stand firmly behind ecumenical efforts with our neighbors of other faith backgrounds across the six counties of the diocese as well. Because the Catholic Church in northeastern Ohio takes seriously its role to serve those most in need among us, the Exponent reminds its readers early and often of their responsibility to live the Gospel daily in the marketplace. In 2003, the Diocese of Youngstown celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding in 1943. The Exponent marked its 60th anniversary Jan. 7, 2004. In an era when rising postage and ever-spiraling printing costs have driven many religious publications into reduced publication or even into demise, we are fortunate that the unqualified support of Bishop Thomas Tobin, the priests and religious of this diocese, and our loyal readership in the pews has made it possible to maintain the Exponent as a strong Catholic voice for social justice and Gospel values in northeastern Ohio. In a society as secular as ours, America needs a strong religious press among its various faith backgrounds to “speak truth to power” at every turn. Along with Catholic publications nationwide and in Canada, the Catholic Exponent is pleased to be a “voice for the voiceless” during Catholic Press Month … and for the rest of the year as well. — Lou Jacquet/Editor   Back to Exponent Menu Printer Friendly Page   Other Articles of 2004   Democrats’ consideration of modified abortion stance welcome   Coach’s dismissal gives some insight into America’s psyche   Arafat’s death an opening, but Middle East peace remains elusive   The presidential campaign: ‘A pox on both their houses’?   150,000 and more put aside scandals, embrace beacon of hope   When Catholic schools close, parents must shoulder some of the blame   Jews, Christians respect one another across great divide of faith   Latest ‘civil war’ pits defenders of marriage against courts   Civility in short supply as nation faces a barroom brawl   Catholic publications ‘speak truth to power’ nationwide, up north   Past Articles From 2003