Saving the Chronicle, 40 years later
OKLAHOMA CITY — “We must keep the Chronicle alive!” John…
Should we keep printing this paper?
After becoming fully independent, The Christian Chronicle evaluates format changes.
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If you didn’t see the October 2025 print issue of The Christian Chronicle, you didn’t miss it. We did.
We made the painful decision not to produce that issue for multiple reasons. The biggest one: the unexpected closure of our printing press in Columbia, Mo.
The press manager called me in Tirana, Albania — where I was in the midst of reporting our “In Search of Shalom” series — to break the news.
Related: Saving the Chronicle, 40 years later
We scrambled to find a new printer, and Midway Press in Dallas came to our rescue. We were able to pivot in time to make our September print issue deadline, though we may have neglected a couple of details (in case you’re wondering why that edition had no staples).
We also are transitioning to stand-alone nonprofit status. Since 1980, the Chronicle had functioned as a subsidiary of Oklahoma Christian University, which saved the newspaper from near-death in the late 1970s.
Through years of toil, sweat and sacrifice by the good folks at Oklahoma Christian, the Chronicle grew in wisdom, stature and circulation. In 2008, we paid off a longstanding debt to the university.
The staff of The Christian Chronicle meets in November 1989. From left are advertising manager Cynthia Fletcher, production specialist Linda Parker, managing editor Joy McMillon and staff writer R. Scott LaMascus.
For the past decade or so, we’ve functioned as a quasi-autonomous entity within OC, with our own board, endowment and resources. This past June, we became a fully independent nonprofit.
That switch required moving our large mailing list and donor database from the university’s servers to a new system. We had to redo our software licenses from Google and Adobe. It’s been a journey, and I’m so thankful for our hardworking staff and everyone who has helped along the way.
Amid the printer switch, the missing staples and the many transition issues, we decided to forgo our September print deadline for the October issue.
Going forward, we’re evaluating the long-term sustainability of 12 print issues per year. Printing and postage used to cost us a combined $43,000 per month. Now that price is closer to $56,000. And our printer shutdown wasn’t an isolated incident. In the past six years, we’ve switched printing facilities three times. As the daily newspaper industry shrinks, it’s harder and harder to find newsprint to print on.
For 2026, we’re planning to scale back to 11 print issues. In addition, we’re pondering a limited-run magazine-format edition focusing on a single topic, perhaps church plants, Christian education or a region such as Latin America. We’re also considering alternate formats, electronic editions and other ways that we can keep serving our audience and steward our resources.
I want to hear from you. Please tell us what you like about the print edition and share any thoughts you have on print vs. online and alternate formats.
ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact [email protected].
