How do you get your good news?
Monday, August 10, 2020
* Ana Rodriguez Soto
In the July 2020 editions of the Florida Catholic and La Voz Católica, you read the good news of the awards that the archdiocesan newspapers, especially La Voz Católica, won again this year. As a professional, I am very pleased to be able to share that news, and I am extremely grateful to all the professionals — journalists, columnists, editors, designers and photographers — who collaborate, with a lot of passion and even more faith, in this project of information and evangelization.
Although we are pleased to be recognized by our colleagues in the Catholic media, this is not why we do our work. We do it to bring the good news — and the Good News — to you, the Catholics of South Florida.
How do we do that? Well, you could say "the old way" and "the modern way," with printed newspapers that we distribute for free to parishes once a month, and with digital editions of those same newspapers that we upload to miami.thefloridacatholic.org. In addition, we are constantly publishing articles online, many more than would fit into each printed newspaper. These are uploaded almost daily to the archdiocesan website, miamiarch.org.
This range of options came in handy when the churches closed for nearly three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April and May, we published only the digital version of the newspapers, while continuing to update the news on miamiarch.org.
Although it seems redundant, I think it is important to continue with this variety of methods. Website updates are more timely, but also more dispersed. The printed newspaper provides an orderly summary of what has happened, and literally helps to write the history of the Catholic Church in South Florida.
In turn, the digital edition suits the multilingual and multi-generational households of our archdiocese, as it allows both English and Spanish speakers to read "their" newspaper, especially since the number of printed copies of La Voz runs out quickly in the parishes.
Note that the digital edition is distributed free, just like the print edition. Do not hesitate to sign up to receive it and share the link with your family and friends. At the same time, I ask you to sign up to receive the "newsblast" or summary of updated news items that appear on the archdiocesan website. It is also free and comes to you by email. To register, click here.
We only charge if you want to receive the printed newspaper in the mail at home, as we have to recover the cost of shipping. Call or email us to sign up ([email protected] / 305-762-1130 for La Voz, or [email protected] / 888-275-9953 for the Florida Catholic).
By the way, the newspapers are not copies or translations of each other. Although many articles appear in both, some only appear in one language. If we have the time and staff, we try to translate them into the other language, but it is not possible in all cases. Therefore, those who are fluent in both languages can enjoy both newspapers. In addition, grandparents may share some of the news in Spanish with their English-speaking grandchildren, or vice versa.
Finally, I would like to add that what I like most about my work — and I have witnessed it especially during these months of pandemic — is my close-up view of the creativity, energy, drive and pastoral concern with which our priests and our faithful live and proclaim the Gospel, not only in words but in deeds.
Our goal is to announce most of this good news to as many people as possible. And we will continue to do so. If there is anything that I or any other member of the Communications office can do to improve on this effort, please do not hesitate to contact us.
