Outlet profile

Christian Science Monitor

U.S. center

Owned byThe First Church of Christ, Scientist (headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts)

FundingChurch subsidies supplementing subscription revenue; The First Church of Christ, Scientist provides annual financial support to cover operating costs above what subscriptions generate, historically running several million dollars per year

On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, partly as a counterweight to the sensationalist 'yellow journalism' of that era. Despite its church ownership, it quickly built a reputation for serious international and domestic reporting largely independent of its religious affiliation, eventually winning seven Pulitzer Prizes. The paper was long considered one of the most credible news organizations in the United States. Facing steep declines in print circulation and mounting financial losses, it ceased its weekday print edition in 2009 — one of the first major U.S. newspapers to shift to a primarily digital model — while retaining a weekly print magazine. The First Church of Christ, Scientist continues to own the outlet and subsidize it beyond subscription revenue; the church appoints the editor but delegates day-to-day editorial decisions to professional journalists, and the publication does not promote Christian Science doctrine in its news pages. Its coverage of the Trump second term reflects the same measured, context-driven approach it applies across administrations: reporting on contested policies such as executive power expansion, immigration cuts, and university funding threats without strong editorial advocacy.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-07-17; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record