It was a sad day at the St. Peter’s Abbey on April 28 as the community said goodbye to the Prairie Messenger newspaper and the St. Peter’s Press.
The Press hosted a wine and cheese goodbye giving members of the community a chance to come and speak with staff and have a last look around at the operation that has printed the 114 year old newspaper.
International News Editor, Abbot Peter Novecosky, says that costs to keep a newspaper running have gotten too high to keep the small, faith-based newspaper afloat. Novecosky says they are anticipating a several hundred thousand dollar loss with the closure of the paper.
“We’ve run out of funding,” he says. “That is probably a result of changing patterns of consuming news.”
Subscriptions are down and advertising is going elsewhere, says Novecosky, and that is impacting the Prairie Messenger quite heavily.
Aging staff and machinery also need to be replaced but there is no funding to do that either.
Novecosky has been involved with the Press in some capacity for the last 50 years. Spreading the messages of Pope Francis has been a highlight for Novecosky.
“I’m always amazed at the good words he has to spread everyday in his homilies and his writings. He has a very positive approach.”
Being the international editor of the Messenger, Novecosky says he has enjoyed choosing what articles to share with people.
“It’s always good to have that opportunity to be the gatekeeper and present things on the positive things in terms of life and what people are experiencing.”
While the small yet mighty Messenger may have been based out of the small yet mighty Muenster, it has made its round across the country, says Novecosky, with many people commenting on his travels to religious retreats and events about the content and the impact it has had on their lives.
“As the letters to the editors indicate, just in the last few months as well since we’ve announced the closing, so many people have said that the Prairie Messenger has influenced them in terms of inspiration, education, and has been a positive influence on their lives.”
That is the evidence for Novecosky of the wide reaching impact that the Messenger has had beyond their community of Muenster.
Novecosky suspects the reason for that is that they chose to go outside the dioceses of Saskatoon and speaks about social justice issues and international stories.
The loss of the Messenger also means that many around the country are going to be feeling the loss as well, with many asking what they are going to do now.
The Messenger’s Associate Editor Maureen Weber has worked with the publication since 1994. The more she worked for the paper, she told the gathered crowd at the goodbye celebration, the more surprised she got at the work of the Prairie Messenger.
“Daily surprises have become a way of life, and even the negative ones are welcome, because it means people are awake and engaged.”
The Prairie Messenger will continue publication with May 9 being the final issue.
