Associated Baptist Press to reduce staff                                         

                                                                                                                                    Vol. XVI, No. 1, January 2003

Faced with a projected $40,000 deficit for 2002 and a reduced budget for 2003, ABP's board of directors voted unanimously to eliminate the news editor position. Executive Editor Greg Warner will assume responsibility for the daily news operation. The move will leave news editor Bob Allen, a nine-year ABP employee, without a job as of Dec. 31

Associated Baptist Press is a 12-year-old independent news organization based in Jacksonville, FL, and funded by subscribers, churches, organizations, and individual donors. Since 1998, ABP has doubled its budget in order to start a development program, begin publishing FaithWorks magazine, and open a news bureau in Washington.

Warner said the current economic slump has affected almost every source of ABP revenue. "We have not recovered from the drop in contributions that almost all non-profits suffered last year," he said. Gifts from individuals alone were down 52 percent in the 12 months after the terrorist bombings of Sept. 11, he said.

The organization's revenues dropped 16 percent in 2001 to $569,547 and are expected to dip another 3 percent by the end of 2002, board members were told.

"We've already cut all the non-essentials and many employee benefits from our budget," he said. "The only way to protect our core ministry is to reduce personnel. But with two full-time journalists and two others with journalistic skills on staff, we are ready and able to make it work."

In addition to eliminating the news editor position, board members agreed to reevaluate other staff and programs in the spring, including FaithWorks. The four-year-old magazine is funded by subscriptions, advertising, and designated gifts but has likewise suffered from the sluggish economy. [ABP]
 

[Comment: Associated Baptist Press was established by liberals to compete with the SBC’s Baptist Press. The above is another sign that the liberal Baptist thrust is faltering. TCP]