Brooks Newmark Isn’t Afraid to Change With the Times

Given the furor over the apparent demise of traditional print journalism and declining subscription sales, it would be reasonable to expect someone involved with one of the world’s oldest Catholic publications to be a tad concerned.

Brooks Newmark isn’t. If anything, he’s positively optimistic that the Catholic Herald, a centuries-old publication dedicated to providing conservative perspectives on faith-related topics, can grow on the national -- or even international -- stage.

“I believe the Herald can have a broader reach,” he asserts, “It’s one of the oldest Catholic news magazines in the world and has a great conservative intellectual tradition. The articles it prints are always thoughtful and sometimes provocative. It might have a relatively small circulation now -- around 21,000 -- but it is nevertheless read by the ‘movers and shakers’ in the Catholic community, and I firmly believe in its potential to grow.”

To be sure, the Herald isn’t a publication that would fold easily in the face of adversity. It has weathered over 130 years and maintained a loyal readership throughout; it was initially founded in 1888 by Derry-born editor Charles Diamond as a weekly broadsheet. Over the decades, it grew in popularity and circulation until it had dedicated print readers in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

That broadsheet format, however, crumpled against the digital era. In 2014, the Catholic Herald underwent its first significant change and retired its original broadsheet format. It relaunched as a weekly magazine and took a definitive step into the digital era by establishing a website that now features both print and web-only articles. For some, giving up the publication’s “original” broadsheet format might seem an affront to its roots -- but for those on the Herald’s board, embracing modern tastes and developing print and web formats that suit the needs of today’s readers is simple pragmatism.

As a member of that board, Brooks Newmark is firm on the last point -- partially because he was first brought in as an agent of change for the magazine.

“Three friends of mine from Oxford, Damian Thompson and Cristina Odone -- the current and past managing editors, respectively -- asked me to bring my business experience to the board a couple of years ago. Since then, I’ve seen the Herald change for the better. Today, the publication has both its original nuanced wit and a sleekness reminiscent of the British Spectator. It’s also well-established as an opinion-leader in the UK’s Catholic community; that, paired with its current magazine format and online options, gives the publication the opportunity to attract readers who might not have picked up traditional broadsheet.”

The chance to expand would be even greater, Newmark suggests, if the online version of the publication can attract and engage with Millennial readers who might not buy into a traditional print subscription.

“We need to leverage modern technology and social media. At this point, I don’t imagine that we could avoid it if we wanted to. Print alone might be enough readers today, but what about in ten, fifteen, even twenty years? We need to engage younger readers, and that means meeting them on the digital platforms that they use regularly.”

Online options also, Brooks Newmark points out, increase access to non-English speakers. Newmark and his fellow board members see the world’s 437 million Spanish speakers as a potentially receptive audience pool which, up until recently, the Catholic Herald has not had the means to tap into.

“We’re hoping to have Spanish-language issues of the magazine accessible online within the next year,” Brooks Newmark shares. “It’s certainly a market that we don’t want to miss.”

Online markets aren’t the only ones the publication has made forays into, however. In November of last year, the Catholic Herald launched hardcopy and web-based editions in the United States. To Newmark, this overseas expansion offers an opportunity for a boom in readership.

“The Catholic community in the UK encompasses about 5 million people, yes -- but there are over 70 million Catholics in the United States,” he points out. “While there are some excellent Catholic newspapers and magazines already publishing in the US, I believe that there is a niche opportunity for a weekly magazine that the Catholic Herald can fill.”

As of now, the readership boom Brooks Newmark looks forward to is a hypothetical. However, one point is for sure -- the Catholic Herald has the spirit, content, and pragmatism to thrive in periods of change.

Underestimating its potential for growth would most certainly be a mistake.