Beginning in September, The Record will reduce its print frequency to put more resources into digital communications.
The Record staff will produce 39 issues a year as opposed to the current 48. This will be achieved by omitting print production on the first Thursday of each month. As has been the practice for decades, The Record will also omit print editions the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s.
“The delivery method is changing; we’re not reducing our coverage. The Record is not going away,” said Marnie McAllister, editor. “While our staff will be producing fewer print editions, we will be putting more time and resources into digital production — content you will find on our website and social media.”
If you like The Record delivered directly to you, even in the weeks without a print edition, McAllister urged readers to subscribe to the email newsletter, which will continue to be distributed 50 weeks a year.
The newsletter offers a sampling of the latest Catholic news, including local, national and world news. And it arrives on Thursdays, when the newspaper traditionally arrived in homes, before a variety of factors began affecting the delivery date over the past few years. The print edition now typically reaches homes on Saturdays in Jefferson County and Mondays outside that county.
The Record is the 146-year-old communications organ of the Archdiocese of Louisville. It is mailed to every household registered in a parish, it’s available online at theRecordnewspaper.org and is active on Instagram and Facebook. Print editions are also available digitally.
“We’re meeting people where they are in today’s digital world,” said Kanobia Russell-Blackmon, chief communications officer for the Archdiocese of Louisville.
“The way people consume their news has changed and continues to evolve,” she said. “People are receiving news digitally through social media and through other digital means.
“We want to evangelize and get people the news they need to know. You can receive an inspirational message or news right on the digital platform you choose to use — your tablet or your phone, instead of waiting a week to get your inspiration.”
The Record has laid the foundation for this transition over the last two years, expanding its digital footprint with the addition of the digital newsletter and video offerings to enhance its storytelling.
This shift comes as postage costs for print delivery have steadily increased. In July, the United States Postal Service increased the rate for periodicals by about 10 percent. That is the latest in a series of increases that have come about twice a year, most years since 2021.
McAllister said she expects the shift to be a positive change for Catholics in central Kentucky.
“For those who rely on print and maybe aren’t comfortable online, we’ll still be coming to your home most weeks of the year,” she said. “For those who engage on the digital platform, we look forward to telling the Catholic story in new ways.
“When we bring you a story about a family of music ministers, we want to share the beautiful music they make,” she said. “We can’t do that in print as effectively as we can digitally, with a video to accompany the story.
“Readers can look forward to more content that captures the sights and sounds of the Catholic church in central Kentucky,” McAllister added, noting that when this story is posted online today, Aug. 21, it will be accompanied by a video showing the newspaper on the press.
“We are excited by the possibilities, and we hope our readers will be, too,” she said. “If you haven’t checked out our website, subscribed to our free email newsletter or followed us on our social media, we invite you to give it a try.”
