Building it backward

We built the model backward. Most media outlets start with a business plan and hope the journalism fits. At WORLD, we started with the journalism—and only then figured out how to fund it. That story’s worth telling.

First, some history: Our expectation when we started WORLD Magazine in 1986 was that we would derive revenue primarily from advertising. That’s the way all the other newsmagazines and newspapers made money, and it was really the only model we considered.

We tried many of the same tricks other publishers used, gimmicks to grow circulation so we could sell that list of readers to advertisers. Along the way, we noticed something: Our circulation was relatively high, but about half of it was turning over every year. In other words, we spent a lot to lure readers in—but they left when their subscriptions expired, never having really engaged with our content. And we just kept doing it.

Clearly the model wasn’t working. Our circulation was never quite large enough, and our content never mainstream enough, for us to appeal to big advertisers.

By the time Nick Eicher took the CEO role in 2005, we had begun to realize that our focus on ad sales was working against our mission. We said we were doing our work to serve our readers, but from a business standpoint it felt like we were serving our advertisers. Nick made a tough decision: We would stop “artificially” growing a subscriber base that wouldn’t stick just to impress advertisers that wouldn’t buy. Instead, we would focus on the half of readers who regularly renewed their subscriptions, who bought gift subscriptions for friends, who engaged with our editorial staff, who appreciated WORLD’s unique kind of journalism.

We told our readers about the change, asked for their support, and they responded by giving more gift subscriptions and charitable contributions. I say “they” responded—but really, it was you. Many who supported us then are still with us, and we’ve welcomed many more: readers, listeners, viewers, and donors who share your commitment.

With that move back then, we aligned our business objectives with our editorial ones, focused from the beginning on serving readers, just as Joel Belz envisioned when he founded the organization in the 1980s.

Our editorial objective remains a mission of service to a faithful audience. You may not be a mass audience—not like big network TV news or huge national newspapers—but you are the audience God gave us to steward, and we’re grateful. We exist to serve you by providing honest reporting and analysis of the news, with God’s sovereignty in view through it all.

Our business model is now built around that audience. Yes, we still sell some ads—just more than 10% of our revenue comes from ad sales. But that means nearly 90% of our revenue comes from you: readers, listeners, and viewers. You support WORLD’s work with your own subscriptions, with subs you buy as gifts for others, and with your charitable contributions.

And speaking of charitable giving—we don’t rely on big foundations. WORLD’s donors are people like you, who first support their churches and then ministries like ours. You are stewards of the resources God has given you, and we aim to be faithful stewards, too.