The Christian Science Monitor celebrates 100 years as a newspaper at its stall on the Cape Town Book Fair. A winner of hundreds of awards for outstanding journalism, the Monitor continues to practise one of its founding principles, adherence to solution-oriented journalism.
”To injure no man, but to bless all mankind” is the Monitor‘s motto, which appears on the masthead of each edition.
Although some might dismiss this as a naive guideline for journalists, the paper has upheld its motto unabashed through the past century.
From bureaus around the globe, Monitor journalists uncover the human element in news stories, which enable its readers to empathise with the victims of disasters or other situations. For example, a Monitor reporter in Iraq followed the lives of an Iraqi family since the US invasion. The political nature of news from places like Iraq continues to hold prime spot, but Monitor readers worldwide also get a real handle on the humanitarian aspects of news stories.
Articles from the international edition of the Monitor are syndicated and used by newspapers in many countries, with several in South Africa among these.
A striking and unique feature of the paper is that it was founded by a woman 100 years ago. The full liberation of women lay in the future, but Mary Baker Eddy realised in 1908 the need for a fair and honest international newspaper to contribute to the healing dynamics of a turbulent world society.
At stall p15 — at the fair — you can read the Monitor online, as well as in print format. The concept of a ”treeless edition” in PDF format is not unique, but is in line with the paper’s awareness of contributing to lessening the huge use of paper in an ecologically challenged society.
A growing concern among journalists worldwide in recent decades is that the electronic media will inevitably erode the attraction of the print media. Acknowledging this, the promoters of the book fair also challenge it through a varied assembly of all communication media displaying the inherent attraction of both the printed word and its translation into electronic media. For some of those perspectives — and if you are weary of mixed-value journalism — visit the Monitor‘s stall for constructive insights delivered daily by mail or email.