ELCA Publisher Discontinues 'Sunday/Monday WOMAN'

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced it will discontinue publication of Sunday/Monday WOMAN, a non-denominational, consumer magazine it launched in September 2000.
Publication of the magazine had become a larger project than the company was able to sustain financially, said the Rev. Marvin L. Roloff, president and chief executive officer of the Minneapolis-based publisher. Augsburg Fortress sustained an operating loss of $4.22 million for the first nine months of 2001, but began to show operating profits late in the year after it reorganized the company, reduced staff and put in place tight spending controls. The decision to terminate the magazine was expected.
"Augsburg Fortress remains committed to serving Sunday/Monday WOMAN readers," Roloff said in a statement. "We are committed to finding new and viable means of ministry to this segment of the church and society."
The magazine was intended to serve women 30 to 50 years of age. Sunday/Monday WOMAN subscribers are being notified of the decision and will receive an appropriate subscription refund, Roloff said.
Augsburg Fortress invested approximately $1.7 million in the development and operation of Sunday/Monday WOMAN from 1999 to 2001, he said. Forecasts for 2002 and 2003 showed additional investments would be needed before reaching the forecast break-even point in 2004 or 2005, Roloff said. The company had projected such expenses, which are consistent with industry averages for the launch of a new magazine, he said.
The circulation for Sunday/Monday WOMAN was 30,000 to 40,000 copies per issue, with paid subscriptions totaling 10,000, Roloff said.
"This was consistent with the goals for this phase of the magazine's introduction and well on its way to the break-even point of approximately 40,000 paid subscriptions per issue," he said.
Sunday/Monday WOMAN editor-in-chief, Carol Throntveit "has chosen to pursue options outside the publishing house," Roloff said. All others who worked on the magazine had other responsibilities with Augsburg Fortress and are expected to remain with the publisher.
Despite Augsburg Fortress' financial difficulties that led to its decision to cease publication, the magazine did have some success with readers and magazine critics. It won five awards at the annual Minnesota Publishing Excellence Awards in November. In the "Special Interest Magazines Under 50,000 circulation" category, Sunday/Monday WOMAN received a gold award for Best Single Cover, silver awards for Best Regular Column/Department and for Overall Design, and bronze awards for Overall Excellence and for Best Feature Article.
Though Augsburg Fortress will no longer publish Sunday/Monday WOMAN, many of its popular features are being considered as product 'spin-offs' and may be released as adult study resources, Roloff said.
When the magazine's launch was first announced, Women of the ELCA, the church's women's organization, raised questions about Augsburg Fortress' decision to publish Sunday/Monday WOMAN. Women of the ELCA produces Lutheran Woman Today, which is also published by Augsburg Fortress.
In 1999, Catherine I.H. Braasch, executive director, Women of the ELCA, said the women's organization was concerned that the new magazine was competing "for the publishing house's attention to research, growth and development of Lutheran Woman Today, as well as to customer service."
That same year, the executive board of Women of the ELCA asked presidents of the 64 synodical women's organizations of the church, including the executive director and president of Women of the ELCA, to write letters of protest to Augsburg Fortress about the new magazine. Augsburg Fortress received a few letters expressing concerns about the new publication, Roloff told the Augsburg Fortress board of trustees.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html