NORTH CAROLINA: The Disciple becomes Episcopal Life's newest printing partner
Episcopal News Service. February 13, 2008 [021308-04]
Lisa B. Hamilton, Correspondent for Episcopal Life Media in Provinces I and IV
The March issue of The North Carolina Disciple will mark the beginning of a partnership between the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and Episcopal Life Monthly. Printed and distributed by Episcopal Life, both publications will be circulated to about 18,000 households.
According to Sonja Bennett, communications coordinator for the Diocese of North Carolina, the decision was not made lightly. "Before we entered into this partnership, we crunched the numbers and compared the cost of self publishing through various local vendors and publishing through Episcopal Life," she said. "After figuring in postage and costs to ship the paper from the printer to the mailhouse, we found that there wasn't much of a difference and more importantly, the benefits of having most stages of production and mailing 'under one roof' far outweighed what we first believed were the advantages of self publishing. Not to mention the end Episcopal Life product is one that is aesthetically and editorially more superior. It's worth every dime spent."
North Carolina Bishop Michael Curry said it is "the kind of marriage our readership has been longing for -- the news and events of our diocese and those of our national church rolled into one dynamic publication.
"When we participated in the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) special edition last August, the response from readers across our diocese was overwhelming. For me, this is a 'natural' move which takes our flagship diocesan publication to a higher level."
Episcopal Life Media Director Bob Williams described the new printing partnership as "a gift to the whole Episcopal Church in strengthening the exchange of both local and church-wide news and mission coverage.
"We also look forward to bringing more news of North Carolina to the regular reporting of Episcopal Life Online," he added.
For more information about printing partnerships, contact Lawrence W. Moore, general manager, at lmoore@episcopalchurch.org, 215-641-4545 or 212-716-6104. Episcopal Life, the monthly newspaper for Episcopalians, has an average paid circulation of 220,000.