Out of a woman's life, a newspaper

Over nine decades, The Christian Science Monitor has become well known and widely recognized for fair, clean, constructive, and insightful reporting. Less well known is the story of its founding—of the remarkable New England woman who gave the newspaper life, and of the purpose and principles Mary Baker Eddy set forth for it.

FOUNDING OF THE MONITOR
In 1908, women were still fighting for the vote, and few women had the vision or resources to found an international newspaper. But yellow journalism was rampant, and Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, saw the world's great need for honest and constructive reporting—an antidote to the sensational and distorted news of the day.

Eddy had talked of starting a newspaper before, but in August 1908, in her 88th year, she spoke with new resolve. She told the Christian Science Board of Directors to "start a daily newspaper, and do it at once." To cover the significant cost of the project, she committed her own assets in addition to those of her church.

As the staff scrambled to buy presses, hire personnel, and design the newspaper, she played a major role, from selecting the body type to naming the editor. Some expected it to be a denominational publication, but Editor Archibald McLellan announced, "It will be the mission of the Monitor to publish the real news of the world in a clean, wholesome manner, devoid of the sensational methods employed by so many newspapers."

In little more than one hundred days, the new paper hit the streets in Boston.

GUIDING INSTRUCTIONS
In the two years before her passing, Eddy continued to provide guidance on the newspaper's principles and practices. These instructions defined her vision of Monitor journalism and continue to set its tone today. For example,

• The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind (First editorial).
• Promote the welfare of humanity.
• Be a genial persuader.
• Never lose a friend by careless, humorous, or unjust reference.
• Use satire and wit wisely, sarcasm rarely if at all.

THE MONITOR TODAY
The Monitor's hallmark approach to the news has won scores of awards since 1908, including six Pulitzer prizes. The latest of these was in 1996, for stories from Bosnia that uncovered the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.

The newspaper continues to reach a broad audience of thoughtful people in all walks of life—parents, retirees, business people, educators, government officials, clergy, politicians, and others. It circulates in more than 100 countries, and it maintains 12 overseas news bureaus and 13 U.S. bureaus. The Electronic Edition of the Monitor, at www.csmonitor.com, was launched in 1996 and has won numerous accolades.

The values of the Christian Science Monitor grew out of the life of its founder. In an era when women faced severe limits, Mary Baker Eddy rose from obscurity, poverty, and illness to become a renowned author, healer, thinker, religious leader, and publisher.