Eternity (newspaper)

This article is about the Australian Christian newspaper. For the American Christian magazine, see Eternity (magazine).

Eternity is a newspaper published in Australia from a Christian perspective. It claims the Nicene creed as its statement of faith, and is not affiliated with any church. It plans for five main content focuses: personal testimonies, missionary news, book excerpts, social justice, and perspectives on popular culture.[1] It is available in both print and online formats. From May 2011, Eternity has become part of Bible Society Australia,[2] a broad based interdenominational organisation that is a member of the worldwide United Bible Societies.[3]

Eternity is published monthly with a circulation of 100,000. It is edited by John Sandeman, formerly the owner of Eternity and now the Publications and Digital Manager of Bible Society Australia.

Paul Hutchinson is the marketing manager. Its office is located in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie park, in the state of New South Wales. It is published by Bible Society Australia.

Eternity is named after the graffito tag "Eternity" which a man, Arthur Stace, spent 37 years writing in chalk on Sydney's footpaths. The tag is best known to Australians by its prominent display on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during Sydney New Year's Eve 1999–00. It was also displayed in the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games. (Stace was a reformed alcoholic and convert to Christianity.)

Its first issue was in October 2009. It was founded by John Sandeman as managing editor, and David Maegraith as marketing director. Maegraith left the paper in 2010 to found media and marketing company Spaark.[4]

History

In early 2009 David Maegraith and John Sandeman first met, for the purpose of discussion on other business matters, however in the course of conversation they discovered a shared interest in media, publishing, and the desire to see a quality news publication created for the Christian audience in Australia.

In the middle of 2009 Maegraith was made redundant from his marketing position at Anglican Media Sydney as a direct result of the Sydney Anglican Diocese losing $160 million of investments during the Global Financial Crisis.[5]

This prompted Maegraith to progress discussion with Sandeman on making their dream a reality and so Eternity was born. The first draft of the paper was called Australian Christian however, after further thought, Sandeman came up with the name Eternity.

Maegraith sourced the tens of thousands of dollars required to fund the initial editions, with Sandeman creating and editing the paper from day one. The partnership worked well until the duo came into sharp disagreement over the percentage of advertising that should be allocated in the newspaper. Upon failure to reconcile their different positions - Maegraith favoring more advertising, Sandeman favoring less - Maegraith decided to leave.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tobias Lerone, "Eternity: A Mass Market Newspaper For Australian Christians". OfficialWire, 11 April 2010
  2. ↑ "Bible Society Australia"
  3. ↑ "United Bible Societies"
  4. ↑ "Spaark.org"
  5. ↑ "Church loses $160m on investments". news.com.au (News Limited).

External links