Manitoba's Christian Lifestyles is gone almost before it got started.

Winnipeg, Man.

After only two issues the experiment is over. Although technically "on hold", Christian Lifestyles ceased being published as of Tuesday, October 14. The newspaper, an offshoot of ChristianWeek, was intended to be a Manitoba-wide look at the lives and activities of Christians. Its first issue came out in mid-September and with the second just hot off the presses everything was shut down.

According to publisher Doug Mcleod, the revenue generated by the newspaper was only a fraction of the worst-case scenario for the publication. Although the revenues were growing, it was going to take too long to bring the finances into a viable state. As a result of the closure, two employees were laid off with its parent company, Fellowship for Print Witness laying off 6 others at the same time. According to Mcleod, the only two people directly affected by the shelving of the paper were the editor, Kevin Heinrichs, and Bryan Rempel, the marketing director. "Some of the others were planning to leave soon anyway," said Mcleod.

One of the big questions for most people has been why it was shut down after only two issues. The answer seems to lie in the business plan for the paper. The plan called for substantial reserves to see the paper through the expected financial low of the first six months. After that initial loss the paper was projected to post a profit by the end of 1998 and eventually be a financial support for ChristianWeek. Unfortunately, according Rempel, the monetary reserves had not yet been accumulated by August. However, the management committee of Fellowship's board decided to go ahead, knowing it was a risky proposition.

After two issues of low, but strongly increasing ad revenue, the management committee decided to pull the plug. Those in the newspaper trade know of the difficulty of assessing the viabilityof such a brand-new venture and have expressed surprise at the quick departure of Christian Lifestyles.

Jon Unger Brandt

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