Our first century
A mandate to 'lighten' still drives the Monitor at the dawn of its second 100 years.
By David T. Cook | Washington Bureau Chieffrom the November 25, 2008 edition
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Washington - One hundred years ago today, the first issue of The Christian Science Monitor thundered off presses in Boston's Back Bay.
So began a remarkable chapter in American journalism: a newspaper published by a church, aimed at a general rather than a denominational audience, and promising coverage that was global in scope and constructive in character.
It is a story rich in courage, devotion, and experimentation. In its first century, the Monitor would win seven Pulitzer Prizes for news coverage and cartooning, see three of its correspondents taken captive while on assignment, start two magazines, multiple radio programs and a cable-TV news channel, cycle through 14 editors, and print stories from a diverse group of writers – including Winston Churchill and Ralph Nader. All of this was done to deliver to families and political leaders journalism that illuminated the world's challenges in an effort to help humanity.
The Monitor's launch was mission-driven rather than market-driven. In the summer of 1908, Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of the Christian Science religion, ordered the startled officials of her church to "start a daily newspaper at once." Just over 100 days later, a professional news organization was in operation.
Mrs. Eddy was an inveterate clipper of newspaper articles and had written for several papers. She also knew the ugly side of the press firsthand, having been savaged by a journalistic and legal attack mounted by Joseph Pulitzer's sensational New York World.
Once the World's assault ended, Mrs. Eddy's response was an ambitious effort to reform journalism by example.
Mrs. Eddy showed intense interest in many details surrounding the launch of her paper, weighing in on such details as newsprint quality and type style. But the 87-year-old founder's focus was on the values Monitor journalism was to express. In the lead editorial she wrote for the paper's 12-page first edition, Mrs. Eddy said the Monitor was "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind."
Journalism leavened with compassion and concern for all humanity – those are the standards that have guided generations of Monitor workers.
"One of the Monitor's great achievements has been to maintain a century-long reputation for fairness and balance when many other media organizations are accused of bias and lack of objectivity," says John Hughes, Monitor editor from 1970-79.
"The Monitor's singular achievement," says Paul Van Slambrouck, Monitor editor from 2001-05, "is that it has continued to cover the world as if it really matters. Although it has been challenged by the same forces that have downsized the industry as a whole, the Monitor has never shrunk its vision or grown parochial. Its founding mandate speaks of all mankind, and it seems to me that the Monitor has never wavered in its pursuit of that calling."
While there has been a steadfast effort by successive generations of Monitor workers to carry on the values Mrs. Eddy established, she did not want the Monitor to be a well-preserved historical artifact. She called for all her periodicals to be kept abreast of the times and was herself keenly interested in the latest technology.
The Monitor embraced new distribution methods and was often found on the leading edge of technology. This included using jet planes and satellites to speed delivery of the paper. In 1920, the Monitor joined several other papers to work on developing worldwide news distribution by radio. Former editor Erwin D. Canham took to the airwaves in 1950 with "Starring the Editors," one of the first weekend news-talk programs on TV. And in 1995, the Monitor began posting stories on the Internet, becoming one of the first news organizations to do so.
There have been continual changes in the physical form of the paper (see accompanying timeline) as well as its design and content that reflected the distinct qualifications of the current editorial team and the unique times in which they operated. Last month, the Monitor announced it would be the first newspaper with a national audience to shift from a daily print format to an online publication that is updated continuously.
While its launch in 1908 was greeted by other newspapers with profound skepticism, the Monitor eventually won respect from journalistic peers including those seven Pulitzers (a delicious irony given Mrs. Eddy's dealings with Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper). Three Monitor editors were elected by their professional peers as president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors – Mr. Canham, Mr. Hughes, and Katherine W. Fanning, the first woman to hold the title.
From the beginning, the Monitor has been the very public face of the Christian Science Church, a connection that Mrs. Eddy was vehement it should not hide. The Christian Science Board of Directors appoints the Monitor editor and approves the Monitor's editorials. Before the inaugural edition was printed, the Monitor's first editor, Archibald McLellan, tried to persuade the founder to change the paper's name, fearing a negative impact on sales. "God gave me this name and it remains," was her response.
Despite forthrightly proclaiming its link to a sometimes-controversial church, the Monitor has earned its stripes in academic, political, and diplomatic circles. When it was not yet 10 years old, its second editor, Frederick Dixon, met frequently with President Woodrow Wilson. Monitor editors Roscoe Drummond and Canham were notable for their access to subsequent American presidents. And Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton, as well as five vice presidents and countless other government officials, were guests at Monitor-sponsored Washington newsmaker breakfasts Godfrey Sperling Jr. launched in 1966. Some 3,600 such gatherings have been held so far.
While in many ways a remarkable journalistic success, the paper has almost always required a subsidy from church coffers. This phenomenon caused considerable concern among top officials of the Monitor's parent organization. Given its cost and prominence, it is not surprising that the Monitor has twice been at the center of major battles within the Christian Science Church.
Controversy aside, the Monitor inspired fierce love and devotion from its workers. One sign: In 100 years, the Monitor has never missed a scheduled day of production, a remarkable feat in the newspaper industry, where protracted strikes are common.
The Monitor's achievements and reputation were built by hundreds of unsung individuals. Some were editorial workers. Some labored with equal dedication on the production and publishing staffs. Staff members' families made sacrifices, too. One Monitor wife said she viewed the difference between her husband's very modest salary and what he could have made elsewhere as "our gift to the Monitor."
The following recounting of notable moments in the Monitor's history only hints at the love and loyalty that Monitor staff – and their families – brought to the work.
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