Michigan Area Reporter is in your mail
2/23/2010
Click here to reach the March online
edition of the Michigan Area Reporter.
The first edition of the Michigan Area Reporter, the official newspaper of the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences, was mailed Feb. 16 to the churches and clergy of the Michigan Area. Each church will receive three complimentary copies of the publication, while each clergy member will also receive a complimentary copy.
The Michigan Area Reporter, an edition of the United Methodist Reporter, will publish monthly. Section A of the publication will feature news and features from the Michigan Area, while Section B and additional supplements of the publication will highlight news from the denomination and the faith community around the world.
The West Michigan and Detroit Conference web sites will partner with the Michigan Area Reporter to provide additional feature material each month. The March features include an interview with Mike Slaughter and Steve Sjogren, leaders on the road with the upcoming Bishop's Days on Evangelism.
The Michigan Area Reporter is under the direction of the Michigan Area Communications Task Force, which features representation from the Detroit and West Michigan Conference as well as the office of Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton. RJ Walters, former sports editor of the Hillsdale Daily News, is the editor of the newspaper.
Now that the first issue has been printed, individuals and churches are encouraged to subscribe to the Reporter.
Individuals can subscribe to the paper in one of two ways:
• Option 1 is a subscription to receive 12 issues of the Michigan Area Reporter delivered to their home. The cost for this option is $12.00 per year.
• Option 2 is a subscription to receive 12 issues of the Michigan Area Reporter and 40 issues of the United Methodist Reporter delivered to their home. The cost for this option is $32.00 per year.
Churches can choose to have bundles of the Michigan Area Reporter delivered to their church each month in quantities of 10, 25, or 50 copies. The cost annually for 10 copies is $32.00, $92.00 for 25 copies, and $150.00 for 50 copies. Churches must prepay for this option. If a church desires more copies, quantity and pricing can be negotiated.
In 2010, churches will receive three complimentary copies each month, while all clergy will also receive a complimentary copy. Beginning in 2011, each church will only receive one complimentary copy, and clergy will have to subscribe in order to receive the Reporter.
A subscription form for the Michigan Area Reporter for individuals and churches can be downloaded here. The Michigan Area Reporter can also be viewed for free online on the West Michigan Conference website.Local churches are encouraged to submit story ideas (stories of hope, inspiration, growth, innovative ministry, strategic programming, etc.) to RJ Walters, the Reporter's editor, (see details left), or to Mark Doyal, West Michigan Communications Director, 517-336-0860.
The Detroit and West Michigan Conferences announced a partnership with UMR Communications (www.umportal.org) in October 2009 to produce a new Michigan Area newspaper. With tightening budgets and the diminishing readership of the Michigan Christian Advocate, the conferences chose to discontinue their funding of the Advocate in order to pursue a more extensive, cost-effective and more widely distributed print publication for the Michigan Area.