BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Eighty-three years after its debut in Denver, and 15 years after its purchase by the Legionaries of Christ, the National Catholic Register is being acquired by the world’s largest religious media network, the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). The acquisition, finalized at the end of January, marks the third time in the newspaper’s history that a new owner has stepped forward to preserve and expand the newspaper’s service to the Church.
Under the terms of the transaction, no cash will be exchanged between the parties. EWTN will take over the ongoing operational expenses of the Register and will assume the paper’s future subscription liabilities.
“I am very pleased and excited that the Register will now be a part of the EWTN family,” said Michael Warsaw, the network’s president and chief executive officer. “All of us at EWTN have great respect for the Register and the role it has played throughout its history. It’s a tremendous legacy that deserves to not only be preserved, but also to grow and to flourish. I believe that EWTN will be able to provide the stability that the Register needs at this time as well as to give it a platform for its growth in the years ahead. We’re proud to be able to step in and carry on both the Register’s name and its tradition of faithful Catholic reporting on the issues of the day.”
The need for the providential intervention by EWTN was precipitated by what Legionary Father Owen Kearns, the Register’s publisher and editor in chief, described as a “perfect storm.” That storm, not dissimilar to what has hit most print publications, was intensified by rising publishing and mailing costs, and the negative impact on Register donations from the downturn in the economy, all of which overwhelmed the Legion’s ability to continue to subsidize the costs of producing the newspaper and managing its website.
As of Feb. 1, EWTN will take full control and ownership of the Register.
Recent management changes at the Register had resulted in cost reductions exceeding $1 million annually. Senior Register staff said that this, coupled with continued donor support, a new marketing and advertising team, and additional changes have resulted in a recovery that promises to be timely and beneficial to the change in ownership.
Due in part to the fallout from revelations regarding the congregation’s founder, the Legion of Christ did not have the resources to bring the previous turnaround efforts to fruition, said the Register spokesman.
EWTN and the Register began exploring the possibility of an acquisition in November. A meeting, which was held in early December, was described by the spokesman as “open and enthusiastic.” Details of the transfer were worked out after that.
The acquisition of the Register is the latest in EWTN’s efforts to expand their operation in the global Catholic digital and multimedia market. At the start of 2010, the Irondale, Ala.-based organization entered into a partnership with Catholic News Agency (CNA). CNA is a Denver-based independent Catholic news media outlet with bureaus in North and South America and Europe. Under that agreement, EWTN and CNA are sharing news resources and have created a joint news service found at EWTNNews.com. That arrangement was recently expanded to include a new original Spanish-language news service, EWTN Noticias, launched in January 2011.
EWTN Global Catholic Network provides multimedia services to more than 140 countries and territories. The network transmits nine separate television channels in several languages to audiences around the world. It also operates multiple radio services including a network of hundreds of AM and FM stations, a Sirius satellite radio channel, and a global shortwave radio service. EWTN’s main website draws more than 20 million unique visitors annually.
Register’s History
EWTN will become the Register’s fourth owner. The National Catholic Register grew out of the Archdiocese of Denver’s Register, which began in 1924 and whose first national edition appeared on Nov. 8, 1927. Under the leadership of Msgr. Matthew Smith, the Register System of Newspapers was developed, eventually producing 35 diocesan editions, reaching its highpoint in the 1950s with a combined national and diocesan circulation of more than 700,000.
In 1970, California businessman Patrick Frawley purchased the declining newspaper and later moved it to Los Angeles. Its emphasis shifted to in-depth commentary on religion and culture. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s it attracted young, promising writers such as George Weigel, who went on to author Pope John Paul II’s biography, William McGurn, who went on to The Wall Street Journal, Robert Moynihan, who publishes Inside the Vatican, Phil Lawler, director of Catholic Culture, and Greg Erlandson, publisher of Our Sunday Visitor.
In 1995, a group of investors, along with the Legionaries of Christ, saved the newspaper from imminent closure and moved it to Connecticut, where it remained until late last year.
“When the Legion took it over, they did things with resources and personnel that we couldn’t do,” said Fran Maier, the Register’s editor between 1979 and 1993, and now chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver. “During its affiliation with the Legion, it played an important role in Catholic journalism.”
Under the Legion’s direction, the paper restored the emphasis on the news, made the print edition more colorful and greatly expanded it, adding numerous features such as the Vatican page and the family-friendly Culture of Life section.
When rising costs forced a reduction in frequency from weekly to biweekly, the Register expanded its Web presence with NCRegister.com, with daily breaking news, exclusive online content and free commentary by popular Catholic bloggers. In November, in a further effort to cut costs, the editorial offices were relocated from Connecticut to the Legionaries’ Center for Higher Studies in Thornwood, N.Y.
“The Register is a perfect addition to our teaching apostolate,” noted Warsaw. “We live in an age where there is so much distortion and misrepresentation of the Church’s teaching by forces who oppose her message, particularly in the secular news media. Being sure that the Church’s voice is heard clearly and accurately has always been the core of EWTN’s mission,” he said. “Continuing the tradition of the Register gives us another means to carry out our mission of service to the Church.”
“The service and the history of the paper are too important to simply abandon,” said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, where the newspaper originated. “The Church needs more tools of faithful communication, not fewer.”
Archbishop Chaput said that he doesn’t feel that the Register’s basic mission of “reporting the news and analyzing trends that are important for Catholics, from a Catholic perspective,” will change. “The means of accomplishing that mission may change quite a lot over time, but the Register’s fidelity to the Church will not.”
Father Kearns described the acquisition by EWTN as “a natural and a happy fit.” “EWTN has earned a reputation of fidelity to the magisterium, which has always characterized the Register,” he said. “This represents a continuity of fidelity to the Church and support of the bishops. The Register’s mission is to equip its readers to engage the secular culture with competence and confidence, and EWTN intends to continue, strengthen and develop that mission.”
Register senior writer Tim Drake is based in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
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Praise Be Jesus!
This is great news! I was afraid that the NCR would not survive 2011 with the way the economy is, but now that it is owned by EWTN, I am much more confident that the NCR will thrive. God always provides!
Good news for both EWTN and NCR! Glad to see that NCR will live on and excited about what the future will bring.
Now all EWTN has to do is buy the National Catholic Reporter and shut it down…
Can they buy the National Catholic Reporter as well? Please.
This really is excellent news! I can’t wait to see how both organizations benefit from this partnership!
Congratulations to all at EWTN and The Register! This is a great combination, and may God continue to bless and prosper your efforts to spread the Good News thoughout the world.
Please correct me if I’m wrong (the comments so far seem to be positive regarding the purchase), but I’ve heard (mostly through conversation) that EWTN is a liberal, modernest Catholic network since about 2000. So I’ve avoiding watching EWTN. What am I missing?
Most of those in the know seem to agree that the day of the print newspaper is rapidly drawing to a close. I hope that this acquisition does not put too much of a drain on EWTN’s financial resources.
Hooray! I was afraid of the Register’s future also, but now with EWTN taking charge, we know that we will still be getting an “orthodox” paper, plus maybe some more columnists.
Think I will donate some extra to EWTN this month! Great story.
Will the Legion still be involved? It would be said to lose Fr. Owen Kearns. :(
“I’ve heard (mostly through conversation) that EWTN is a liberal, modernest Catholic network since about 2000. So I’ve avoiding watching EWTN.”
Why not watch EWTN and find out for yourself?
I’ve never heard that EWTN was liberal. We don’t have satalite but I listen to EWTN radio all the time. Liberals hate EWTN.
@Tim, you are missing a lot by not watching EWTN! I assure you that they are not liberal or modernist in the least! For example, you will see that they use a lot of Latin in their masses and the only reason the priest faces the people is they were ordered to do it that way by their bishop. They’re not perfect but I like them much better than CatholicTV.com which I think is very modernist. I think NCR will be in very good hands.
This is indeed great news. I may resubscribe now that the Legion is no longer in charge.
I was very concerned about the dearth of reporting on the scandal with their founder and unsubscribed due to the lack of integrity and inability to report honestly on the problems.
I will wait to see if the Legions influence is truly gone or if the Register continues to black-out the story.
@Tim, EWTN never is and never has been a liberal modernist network. Some mad trads may hate it, but they hate everything, including Pope Benedict XVI.
Tim, I regularly watch EWTN and do not find any part of your comment to be true. Please watch some of the programs for yourself. You cannot rely on hearsay only. You are definitely missing wonderful, inspiring programs, and factual news broadcasting! God Bless.
I dunno where you’re getting your information, Tim, but to me, accusing EWTN being “liberal and modernist” makes about as much sense as accusing Rush Limbaugh of being a Communist, Sarah Palin of being a double agent for NOW and Emily’s List, and the governor of Alabama (who stated at his inauguration that he regards only Christians as his “brothers and sisters”) of being a syncretist pagan. In other words, it makes no sense whatsoever. I listen to EWTN radio quite frequently and have NEVER heard anything out of line with the faith, or that could in any way be construed as wrongly “modernist.” I think this is great news that they are picking up the Register.
Tim - what you are obviously missing is that you have not watched EWTN…
“Please correct me if I’m wrong (the comments so far seem to be positive regarding the purchase), but I’ve heard (mostly through conversation) that EWTN is a liberal, modernest Catholic network since about 2000. So I’ve avoiding watching EWTN. What am I missing?”
Tim - what you are missing is that you should watch EWTN and judge for yourself!
EWTN was part of my returning to the Catholic Church.
This is wonderful news! You should have seen the big smile crossed my face as I read about this.
“I’ve heard (mostly through conversation) that EWTN is a liberal, modernest Catholic network since about 2000. So I’ve avoiding watching EWTN. What am I missing?”
My liberal, modernist Catholic morning radio show ;)
To “Tim the Commenter”: What world do you live in? Whoever you were listening to is greatly mistaken. Why not watch EWTN (or access some of its programs via your computer) to find out for yourself.
Posted by Tim on Wednesday, Jan 19, 2011 4:57 PM (EST):
Please correct me if I’m wrong (the comments so far seem to be positive regarding the purchase), but I’ve heard (mostly through conversation) that EWTN is a liberal, modernest Catholic network since about 2000. So I’ve avoiding watching EWTN. What am I missing?
Tim, your missing a lot, forget the gossip, EWTN is a blessing and you should judge for yourself.
Oddly, just days before this acquisition announcement, there were reports
that the NCRegister was being purchased by the Neo-Catechumenal Way that
was also purchasing the magazine Faith and Family Life. And then came
this announcement! The Archdiocese of Denver is certainly involved here
somewhere where coincidentally The Way has a very high profile and active support from Archbishop Chaput. Maybe this all is just interesting coincidence! I would hate to see the NCR get involved in still another highly controversial movement and worse, EWTN, become ensared.
Tim,
I’m not sure who you have been talking to, but EWTN is hardly “liberal.” They have the best, most orthodox shows, hosts and guests. Their website is probably the best, most comprehensive Catholic site on the internet. I’m a very faithful Catholic and want real, strong, authentic Catholic teaching and have never been steered wrong with EWTN. Go to the website, watch some TV shows, listen to some of the radio shows, and judge for yourself.
It is great news, indeed. We need to be careful, though, that now that we are achieving concentration in these media outlets, it has become easier for Caesar to shut us down.
To all the staff at the Register and especially Fr Owen Kearns, thank you for your fidelity and perseverance over the years. Your love for the truth and dedication to excelence is so very evident in the product you were able to create. The paper lives on!!!
Referencing the following quote: EWTN is a liberal, modernest Catholic network since about 2000.
I would suggest that the writer listen and watch EWTN rather than rely on hearsay. I am positive that EWTN will be found to be in line with the Magisterium of the Church. As a long-time reader of NCR, I look forward to continuing to read NCR with EWTN control.
@ Tim who posted on Wednesday, Jan 19, 2011 4:57 PM.
You say “I heard…EWTN is a liberal, modernest Catholic network since about 2000. So I’ve avoiding watching EWTN. What am I missing?”
Don’t you think you should discern the matter on your own rather than relying on what you hear from others?
It’s real easy to broadbrush an organization, especially with a lot of hearsay and inuendo. If you are going to take digs at EWTN, please point out a specific matter which contradicts something in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, since it is largely there for catechetics and apologetics.
While we are on the subject, perhaps it would be good for you to review sections 2477-2479.
Great news, and may the growth of the NCR continue to spread the true light of our glorious faith.
As Soon as I read this yesterday, I called a good friend who doesn’t have a computer. We both watch EWTN and subscribe to the Register. We are very excited and look forward to continued watching and reading.
Great news indeed! I have long relied on NCR, Our Sunday Visitor and most especially EWTN for the “truth.”
Now if we can just get some honesty in the secular press instead of the liberal propaganda, the world might become a better place.
EWTN was in part responsible for my return to the Catholic Church after 31 years as a devout evangelical. When I heard fr. Corapi, I thought “Gee, this kind is like a Christian “
After seeing the testimonies of evangelical pastors come home on the Journey Home, I was really blown away and the wheels were starting to spin and the old prejudices soon melted away as Jesus called me home to the family with Mary holding her arms out in a great welcome!
My wife and I were able to share our testimony 3 years later on The Journey Home. I am not a liberal Catholic, I love Jesus in the THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, His mother, the rosary, confession, the popes, the teachings of the Church. I accept and follow all the teachings of the Church, including the “hard ones” by God’s grace. I love the smell of incense! I get choked up(not from the incense) telling people about the powerful grace of God I have found in this Church that I maligned for so long.
EWTN was in part responsible for this allowing the Holy Spirit to work through the preachers and teachers that feature.
No, EWTN is not modernist liberal. In the name of Jesus I pray against the demons that seek to divide the body of Christ. St, Michael the Archangel pray for us….
Russ Rentler, M.D.
http://www.crossedthetiber.com
Praise be to God! NCR will become a beacon of light. A conservative orthodox catholic newspaper is needed. With EWTN at the helm, I am sure NCR will tranforn in little or no time.
To all the staff at the Register and especially Fr Owen Kearns, thank you for your fidelity and perseverance over the years. Your love for the truth and dedication to excelence is so very evident in the product you were able to create.My prayers forever
Elsa Salazar
How can this be characterized as a “purchase” if no money changed hands?
Wonderful news. I will be a new subscriber!
The grandest news of the new year thus far. EWTN and NCR, together, and with other orthodox outlets, will help continue the return of America to the authentic, the real, the one, the holy, the apostolic Catholic Church.
Praise God!!
@ Marquis
Nat Catholic Register is already orthodox. You may be confusing them with National Catholic Reporter a fairly liberal Catholic paper, that in general publishes articles that fail to follow the teachings of the faith.
From what I am able to remember, most of the commentary centered around a book called EWTN: A Network Gone Wrong. I also remember surfing to a program once many years ago that, if memory serves, promoted female priests. I can’t recall the program, unfortunately.
From the responses, I shall take a look at EWTN again. Thank you all for your comments! God Bless!
Praise Jesus! Thank you God for so many good things like the acquisition of this wonderful newspaper for the propagation of the faith! However, I will only *officially* subscribe (paid of course) to this newspaper once I see and read the official ownership and logo of EWTN. I would also like to suggest if the Holy Spirit will be kind enough to change the name of this newspaper to another name——so that Roman Catholics who have disdain towards the evil and immoral abuses committed by Fr. Maciel will not be remembered or associated with this holy venture! These are just my humble suggestions.
More importantly, I will only do a paid subscription and encourage my fellow parishioners to do the same if I read more articles that are conservative and orthodox in view! I mean teach what the Church teaches without the bias of modernism and liberalistic ideology (like that other so-called “Catholic” “indepdendent” newspaper called the Catholic Reporter.
I look forward to subscribing by print and online! But please put the official EWTN logo up on here and maybe change the name a little bit! Let the most Holy Spirit come down from Heaven and I will pray that a Papal Blessing from the Holy Father will even come the way for the fruition of this wonderful newspaper and the EWTN network! Long live the Successor of Saint Peter! Totus Tuus, Mariae Domina!
EWTN is why I upgraded my cable lineup so I can watch the station whenever instead of relying on Boston Catholic TV picking up the shows, or having the station switch over for Protestant evangelicalism programming.
So happy to hear of this. We need this paper, and its Catholic writers (like Tim Drake!) to continue this important work.
It is so much better than the rival Catholic Newspaper, and we all know its name.
When I heard the news, I was shocked. I asked myself why all of the positive news about NCR and was worried about NCR diluting the message propagated through EWTN. After reading the blogs here, I understand now that I was confusing the National Catholic Register with the National Catholic Reporter. It was because of the National Catholic Reporter and John Allen that I delayed my return to the Church. It was only after watching Father Corapi and EWTN that I finally returned home. Thank you, EWTN. May God continue sending us his truth through EWTN and the National Catholic Register.
Andrew, I used to really love EWTN and the network was instrumental in the early years of my entering the Christian faith back in the late 90’s and early 21st century. Although I still watch the network fairly regularly, I have been concerned for the last few years that they have become somewhat turned-in on a “catholic culture” which at first seems holy and attractive, but does not seem to have the same openness, and seems to be losing touch with the poverty of spirit necessary, I think, to preserve a well-rounded Catholic perspective. That there is so much emphasis on $ and on living the well-to-do successful life in America as a Catholic, seems to leave out those of us who are struggling, suffering, or having a difficult time while still being faithful to the Church and Christ’s teachings. It does seem to me that this focus on the modern spirit of being a success in a worldly fashion, usually after time, leads individuals and groups into error. $$$ and this same kind of spirit, in my opinion, may well have been a catalyst for the disasters that befell the Legion of Christ. It does seem the group here in my city has really no time or heart for anyone who struggles in the world. The heresy which promotes a “prosperity gospel” seems to be an incubator for self-love, judgment of the poor, and what amounts to, in fact, a turning away from the true Cross of Jesus, which involves real suffering and denying the seductions of wealth and power. The fact that EWTN is taking over a Legion of Christ publication, just leaves me a little more concerned about the direction of the network and what seems to be a pull toward a narrower interest focused on worldly success and a natural progression, therefore, to unwittingly foster a disdain for the poor.
Will keep watching and reading and hoping and praying that the love of mammon does not gain souls that have started such a good work. Satan seems to like to work in that manner and I’m thinking about the parable of the sower in the three synoptic gospels. In the third example Jesus says, “these are they that hear the word, and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word.” I wonder. Sure does seem evident in the group of Legionaries in my city. In the end it seems to me to be a kind of pseudo-faith, more like that of a fundamentalist Protestant denomination (you know the prosperity gospel pushers) than the Catholic faith which defends the Truth always and does not see position and power as anything of merit when seeking to gain the one true goal of Heaven.
@LLoyd
“I would also like to suggest if the Holy Spirit will be kind enough to change the name of this newspaper to another name.These are just my humble suggestions.”
What humility you have!
Great news! And yes, EWTN should buy the National Catholic Reporter and shut it down :)
Father Owen Kearns and the Legion have been shocked at the abuses of Fr. Maciel and have been in a difficult situation trying to distance themselves from a founder they all believed in. Nobody should take it out on the many good holy priests who joined what appeared to be a great order under a false assumption! The Pope has said he wants the Legion to continue their good work. Why all this disunity within the orthodox wing of the Church? Now that everybody knows that Father Maciel wasn’t what he appeared to be, why can’t Catholics be charitable to the Legion and admire those who chose to stay and are undergoing all this persecution which is not their fault? The Legion is struggling enough as it is, let’s all work together as Christians are supposed to!!!
What will happen to the magazine “Catholic Faith and Family”?
It is also put out by the Legion of Christ publishing arm.
Is EWTN taking it over, too?
I love this news. I liked the Register and even published an article in it once, but eventually I was turned off by its connection with the Legionaries of Christ, even though (come to think of it) I never saw anything in its pages that showed the connection. I think this very good paper will become even better under ETWN ownership.
Praise the Lord, Alhamdu Lillha!! Glad to see the Legionaries of Christ out of this Newspaper… how a Newspaper that suppose to bring light in our life could be in the hands of an Order like the Legion of Christ whose founder has been known for committing the most horrendous crimes…? I am sure the change of hands will be pretty good for all of us… Praise the Lord.
The Walker
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