Keen-eyed readers will notice a small change on our cover this month. In the top right corner, where it would normally say “April 2021,” it reads “April/May 2021.” That’s because we have reduced our print frequency from 10 to eight issues per year. Every other issue will now be a two-month issue: your next magazine will be the June issue, then July/August, then September, then October/November and so on.

The move to eight issues is to save on costs. The loss of revenue due to the pandemic has compelled us to take a red pencil to our expenses — and printing and postage are among our biggest bills.

More on Broadview:

• This former residential school is now a centre for reconciliation
• The heartbreaking and deeply Christian task of presiding over fentanyl funerals
• More older women are drinking too much. A new sobriety movement aims to help.

Rest assured, you’ll receive all the issues you paid for with your current 10-issue subscription. But the next time you renew your subscription (and I sincerely hope you will!), you’ll sign up for eight issues, and the annual subscription price will remain the same. How can we ask subscribers to pay the same amount for two fewer issues? There are a few ways to think about this.

First, subscription rates don’t cover all the costs of running a small media organization. That’s why we also need advertising, donations and grants. If we relied solely on subscription revenue to produce this award-winning publication, the magazine would cost $84 per year.

Second, our pricing is similar to other high-quality Canadian magazines: The Walrus charges $29.75 for an eight-issue subscription; Canadian Geographic charges $28.50 for six issues; and Cottage Life is $29.95 for six issues. I believe we deliver as much value as these titles. And as a small team — working independently and without the economies of scale that a big media company can provide — I also think we consistently punch above our weight.

Finally, to be a sustainable publication for the future, we need to keep investing in our digital presence. In 2020, our digital team of two people posted fresh content daily, managed four social media platforms, sent out a weekly e-newsletter, hosted our monthly Broadview Online Reading Club, created a stunning video about Yazidi refugees, built an online tool for finding livestream worship services and much more. Their efforts resulted in hundreds of thousands of people discovering Broadview. Our hope is for new online visitors to become print subscribers and donors.

You, too, can help us reach more people in 2021. Hop online at Broadview.org, follow us on social media and sign up for our e-newsletter — then share our content with your friends and invite them to follow us, too. If you’re able to do so, consider giving a gift subscription or donating to our Friends Fund. Let’s work together to grow this community that cares deeply about spirituality, social justice and ethical living.

This editor’s letter first appeared in Broadview’s April/May 2021 issue with the title “Tough decisions.”

We hope you found this Broadview article engaging. 

Our team is working hard to bring you more independent, award-winning journalism. But Broadview is a nonprofit and these are tough times for magazines. Please consider supporting our work. There are a number of ways to do so:

• Subscribe to our magazine and you’ll receive intelligent, timely stories and perspectives delivered to your home 10 times a year. 

• Donate to our Friends Fund.

• Give the gift of Broadview to someone special in your life and make a difference!

Thank you for being such wonderful readers.

Jocelyn Bell

Editor/Publisher