Deep and wide

A few years ago, I wrote that WORLD Magazine was a journalistic offering that faced the tension of being sometimes wide and sometimes deep. A biweekly newsmagazine—with the resources God had given us—could not cover the entire scope of reality or staff bureaus in every major city around the globe. So I wrote that we as journalists had to make judgments about how deep, or how wide, we would go in each article of each issue.

This December, I get to view WORLD’s offering in a new, and grateful, light. Every morning my inbox contains “The Sift” from WORLD Digital Managing Editor Lynde Langdon. Here’s a sample, from Nov. 24:

Dear Friend,

Thanks for joining us for the morning news. Here’s what we’re Sifting today:

Michigan certifies for Biden

The Michigan State Board of Canvassers approved the results of the state’s election on Monday. …

On Monday, Trump tweeted that he authorized the General Services Administration, which manages the functioning of government agencies, to work with Biden’s team on a transition plan. He also said he would continue to make the case that he won the election.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s column about the importance of smooth presidential transitions to national security. —Lynde Langdon

Another entry from that day’s edition:

Airlines report on holiday travel

More than 2 million people went through screening at U.S. airports on Friday and Saturday. …

Dig deeper: Read John Dawson’s report in Beginnings about why the coronavirus death rate has dropped since the spring. —Rachel Lynn Aldrich

What strikes me today, frankly, from my bed as I recover from a broken femur, is how deep and wide we are covering things now. From top to bottom, Lynde’s daily email illustrates the scope of what WORLD is producing. After the day’s headlines, she links to deeper dives in print and online articles. Then she references the day’s The World and Everything in It podcast and its content. After that she advertises what’s on our daily video for students, WORLD Watch. Live hyperlinks appear throughout, then she closes it with a cartoon. This email goes out five days per week.

We need more people to stand with us in this growing effort, this expanding reach.

For this width and depth, I’m profoundly grateful for Lynde and the team of 60 other correspondents, editors, broadcasters, reporters, and anchors that make up our team. I’m enormously proud of each one of them.

In fact, a longtime reader from New Hampshire wrote recently: “Your vision from so many years ago has been proven to be extremely fruitful. Congratulations on the success of WORLD and all that it does in all the different media. The reach is growing exponentially, and you should be very pleased.”

Each year I ask during December if you would consider helping me lead the way with a $5,000 gift, and to do that for three years. Many of you have responded. Thank you. We need more people to stand with us in this growing effort, this expanding reach, so that even more we can bring Biblical Christianity to bear on journalism. I will be grateful for every single gift, no matter its size. With your gift, do you mind telling me personally of how deep, and how wide, WORLD’s impact is on your news consumption?

You can give online at wng.org/donate, or you can send a check, or transfer assets to: WORLD News Group, P.O. Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802.

Thank you. And to sign up for The Sift daily email—or any of our other email newsletters—go to wng.org/newsletters.