November 15, 2010
Archbishop Richard Smith

Archbishop Richard Smith
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As parishioners in the Archdiocese of Edmonton, you are eligible to have the Western Catholic Reporter delivered by mail each week to your home. As publisher of the WCR, I want to make sure that the newspaper serves you, the readers, in the best possible way.

Readership survey deadline extended to Nov. 30

GLEN ARGAN
WESTERN CATHOLIC REPORTER

The deadline for completing the WCR's readership survey has been extended to Nov. 30.

We want to give all our readers ample opportunity to complete the survey, which will play a vital part in determining the future role of the WCR.

Readers can either complete the survey published on the back page of the Nov. 8 WCR or, preferably, do the longer online survey at www.wcr.ab.ca.

As of Nov. 9, the online survey had been completed by 292 readers and responses from the printed survey from last week's WCR were just beginning to arrive at the newspaper's office.

Our goal is to surpass the 602 surveys completed in our last major readership survey in November 2001. Analysts deemed that response very high for a newspaper readership survey.

The readership survey will complement a telephone survey of parish priests in the Edmonton Archdiocese, which is now being conducted.

The WCR began publishing in 1965, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Since then, it has become an important institution of the archdiocese and one of the largest religious weeklies in Canada.

It has provided news about the Church here, across Canada and around the world, as well as commentary on the issues of the day and catechesis about important teachings of the Church.

After 45 years, it is time to review the mission and mandate of the WCR, to create a fresh vision for the years ahead.

Part of this review process is a readership survey, and this is what I am writing about today. I am asking every parishioner who receives the WCR to help us in this "revisioning" process by taking a few minutes to complete a readership survey.

You can find a link to the online survey on the websites of the WCR and the Archdiocese of Edmonton, or you can fill out the shorter print version that has been published in the WCR.

Through the survey you can state your views about what is valuable and less valuable in the WCR and what direction you would like to see it take in the future.

It's a rare opportunity to share actively in the important mission of the paper, and your participation is essential to ensure that we get the best possible representation of opinion.

I thank you in advance for your support of this important initiative.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Richard W. Smith
Archbishop of Edmonton
November 2010