Article August 10, 2009 Issue

THE GLOBAL REACH OF NEWS—AND PRAYER

A seasoned newspaper editor talks with the Sentinel about journalism in our time.

Kim Shippey with contributions from Marshall Ingwerson

Sentinel Senior Writer Kim Shippey chatted recently with Marshall Ingwerson, who has reported The Christian Science Monitor from bureaus in Moscow, Washington, Miami, and Los Angeles. Ingwerson is now managing editor of the newspaper.

The challenges facing the news media seem to grow tougher with each passing year—each tale of woe in political, economic, and social spheres. Public opinion is now shaped by thousands of different voices, with as many different focuses and points of view. Now that the Monitor is reporting on the world scene almost around the clock, every day of the week, you must have some tough editorial chocies to make.

We have a lot more choices to make. And most of the structure of the news business is gone—the structure of once-a-day deadlines, space in the paper, the familiar roles of journalists, sources, and readers. It's fluid now. But we also have a much greater ability to respond to the news and deliver it quickly. When we meet the right need at the right moment, a story can have tremendous global reach.

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