The world of communications is changing and shifting.  Newspapers are at the eye of the storm.  They are no longer the way many of us keep up on the news.

As I listened to the news about newspapers, I had a flashback to my college years when I worked on the University of Washington Daily as a student reporter and editor.  I loved the routine of reporting—of writing—of editing.  I loved the nightly trip to the “back shop” where we put the finishing touches on the next morning’s paper.

But that scene seems almost out of a history book.  We worked with lead type and an old flatbed press—a bit of a relic even then.  The smell of the ink was pervasive.  The rhythmic clicking of the press was mesmerizing.

After college I worked for the Tri-City Herald for a good many years and shortly before I left for seminary we converted from manual typewriters and lead type to a completely computerized operation. It was a radical  (and often difficult) transition—especially for the old timers who cherished the clunky typewriters, the wire news coming clattering teletype machines and the pots of rubber cement that we used to glue the pages of a story together—another scene from the history book.

If the shift from lead type to offset printing seemed radical, the shift from paper to electronic communication has been monumental.  We’re getting our news not only on radio and TV, but also by websites, e-letters, blogs and RSS feeds—terms that didn’t even exist when I was in newspaper work.

The news cycle is relentless. News comes all day—and all night. It comes on demand.  It comes whether we want it or not.

Commercial news media are not the only ones who are rocked with change.  Everyone who has communicated by newsletter, newspaper or some other form of print media is feeling it.  Our own diocesan newspaper, the Inland Episcopalian, has a copy deadline nearly a month before publication.  It’s a frustratingly slow “news cycle.”

Increasingly churches, dioceses and other organizations are using “e-letters”—newsletters sent by e-mail.  These have a lot of advantages.  They can be sent quickly, can look good, and cost a lot less to produce.  Two of our diocesan media, the “Digest” and “Goodstuff” are in this type of format.

The only problem is that not everyone has access to e-mail.  How do you reach everyone who needs to know what is happening?

Video is another tool that has become easier to use.  You may have seen the two youth-produced videos from our Diocesan Convention on YouTube, an internet video site. Bishop Waggoner’s Christmas message was also posted there.  How might video enrich out diocesan communications?

This year will bring some changes in how we communication as a diocese.  The monthly issues of the Inland Episcopalian will appear less frequently.  There was no January issue.  You will probably see more video.  There will likely be fewer face-to-face meetings and more conference calls, some of which already use video conferencing software.

But we are still working on developing a coordinated strategy.

Bishop Waggoner has appointed a task force to look carefully at the communication needs of the Diocese and report to Diocesan Council. This group, chaired by the Rev. Jeff Neuberger, was scheduled to begin its work in January.  Its members and consultants represent a lot of communications experience from newspapers,  broadcast, internet, advertising and public relations. They plan to dig in, look at the possibilities and practicalities of communicating well and with the best tools we have.

Stay tuned.  They’ll be communicating with all of us before long.