Publication of a paper version of Anglican/Episcopal World magazine, published quarterly by the Anglican Communion office in London, has been suspended in favour of an e-mail distribution model, said Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Communion.
“It has been suspended for financial reasons. Distribution costs have been going up. We mail 11,000 copies four times per year,” said Mr. Kearon, adding that the magazine has recently run an annual deficit of £70,000 ($140,500 Cdn), not including staff costs. No staff were laid off as a result of the suspension.
Acknowledging that it is an important communication tool for the worldwide Anglican church and its 70 million members in 160 countries, he said, “I am genuinely sorry to be suspending it, but we had to look at whether that level of expenditure was justified.”
The magazine has in recent years carried a note to readers urging them to visit the Communion’s Web site (www.anglicancommunion.org) and subscribe to the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS), noting that “as a quarterly magazine format, Anglican World is not able to grasp the scope of the often fast-flowing items that are easily accessible to ACNS.” As a full-color, glossy magazine, Anglican World has been published since 1993.
Anglican/Episcopal World was mailed free to all 800 bishops of the Anglican Communion and members of the international Anglican Consultative Council. Some free copies and some paid subscriptions also went to national church offices, seminaries, other institutions and individuals.
A new electronic publication called Anglican World News & Notes will be sent by e-mail to the two-thirds of the current distribution list that has Internet and e-mail access, with the rest mailed, he said.The first issue was e-mailed on Feb. 5.
People do download stories from the Web site, he added. “We see it as the main vehicle for getting stories out,” he said.