America Media: A Religious Media Case on the U.S. Market

The Person and the Challenges Volume 10 (2020) Number 1, p. 125–137 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15633/pch.3613 Leszek Gęsiak ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2816-7542 Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow, Poland America Media: A Religious Media Case on the U.S. Market Abstract In the whole world, independently of the country, we observe the process of media concentration. More and more huge consortia and media groups are being created. This often causes small, individual, autonomous titles, portals, radio or television stations to be displaced. This process of media evolution also affects religious media. An example of this could be the America Media consortium, with headquarters in New York. It belongs to the Jesuits, the Catholic order, and it is administered and developed by the same order. This descriptive study presents the process of the evolutionary transformation of America weekly magazine, which is over 100-years old, into a multi-dimensional media platform with a global scope. The new and modern media consortium is developing the wonderful history of the printed Catholic magazine. It is present in all the most important media areas: magazine, radio, television and internet. According to global trends, a key factor in America Media is the social media through which they bring a large number of readers, listeners and viewers. Most popular are radio podcasts and TV interviews available via Facebook and the YouTube channel. This evolutionary process is presented in the context of variety of Catholic American media. The specific elements of the mission of the Catholic consortium, the adopted development strategy, possible perspectives of this media complex in the near future, and existing difficulties are also discussed in this paper. The study was largely based on a visit made to America Media headquarters in October 2018. Keywords America, Catholic press, Church, consortium, Facebook, Internet, Jesuits, magazine, mass-media, podcasts, social media, USA, YouTube. 126 The Person and the Challenges Volume 10 (2020) Number 1, p. 125 –137 1. Introduction: Catholic media in the face of technological changes in the modern media The process of media evolution in the world is ongoing. The latest technological achievements, the development of social media, the dynamic enhancement of forms of information spread, and especially the immediacy of the message, make the image of institutions dealing with both information and journalism, continually open to new forms of expression. The constant introduction of innovations and adaptation to the rapidly changing needs of the media market demand that many entities that deal with information and social media respond to these new challenges. Of course, this process also applies to religious media, independent of the location in the world. The best example of this is the reform of the media system of the Holy See, which was started several years ago by Pope Francis. The purpose of the current process of changes in the Vatican media is not only to reduce the very high costs of maintaining this type of institution. This process also aims to adapt the Vatican media to the technological requirements of the modern world and to the excessive expectations of the potential audience.1 The same applies to other media entities that identify themselves with a particular religion or denomination, or with a specific philosophical outlook. In the era of electronic media, it is obvious that a printed weekly or even a well-written text on a website is not enough for the proper transmission of information and communication with a media audience. World trends tend to indicate the multidimensionality of each medium, where the written word, photo, sound, film and many other additional effects will be integrated and subordinated to one common program and technological vision. The trends in the organization of contemporary media described above have their specific justification. The actions undertaken are largely due to market conditions and ever-increasing competition. This means that it is necessary for broadcasters and producers to constantly „fight” for readers, viewers or listeners. In a very specific way, this applies to religious media. Very often the marketing and promotional element should be subordinated there to the promotion of a particular system of values and religious beliefs. In the case of Catholic 1 Cf. L. Gęsiak, Reform of the Vatican media, a difficult search for a new path, “The Person and the Challenges” 7 (2017) 2, pp. 5–22. Leszek Gęsiak America Media: A Religious Media Case on the U.S. Market 127 media, they are obviously linked with their missionary dimension, which is the spreading of faith.2 An interesting example of the evolution occurring in the media is the America Media consortium. It belongs to the Catholic religious order of the Jesuits3 and it is administered and developed by the same order. The headquarters of America Media is located in New York.4 The main sources of information for this study, which is descriptive, are interviews made both with people managing the America Media consortium as well as with those responsible for particular departments: Maurice Timothy Reidy ‒ Deputy Editor in Chief, Edward Schmidt SJ ‒ Senior Editor, Zac Davies ‒ Associate Editor for Digital Strategy, Eloise Blondiau ‒ Producer, Olga Segura ‒ Associate Editor, Leopold Stuebner SJ ‒ Associate Editor, Ashley McKinless ‒ Associate Editor, America’s podcast for young Catholics, Emma Winters ‒ The Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. Postgraduate Media Fellowship Program of America Media.5 None of these interviews were published, however, the entire documentation is in the author’s private archive. 2. America Media case: the history of the consortium The history of the America Media consortium is long and its beginnings are related to its flagship product, America Magazine. It was founded by the Jesuits 2 Paul VI, Inter Mirifica. Decree on the Media of Social Communication, point 3, http://www. vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19631204_intermirifica_en.html (17.01.2020). 3 Jesuit (Society of Jesus) is a religious congregation of the Catholic Church founded in 1540 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. 4 On visiting the headquarters of the consortium in the office building on 1212 Avenue of the Americas, in the centre of Manhattan, one gets the irresistible impression that one is dealing with one of the leaders on the media market. The confirmation of this observation is that other media giants’ headquarters are located just nearby. For example, the headquarter of the News Corporation (to which 21st Century Fox belongs) is located literally on the other side of the same street, whilst NBC NEWS is located in the nearby Rockefeller Centre. But there is something special. “America Media hit Marvel [Architects, a New York design firm], with a requirement for its new offices in Midtown Manhattan that the arch (...truncated)