c. 2007 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ This month, the cost of mailing a letter goes up 3 cents, to 42 cents for first-class. That’s an increase of about 7.6 percent, a cost many Americans chalk up to the price of doing business.

But on July 15, faith-based publications will face increases of at least 11 percent, and some rate hikes as high as 20 percent or more. That’s a cost many small magazines say could put them out of business.

“There will be church publications that close, publications that will have to become monthly or quarterly,” said Bob Terry, editor and president of the Birmingham-based Alabama Baptist newspaper.

“We’re nickel and diming already, and now I’m going to have to come up with $100,000 more per year for postal costs.”

In short, Terry said, the picture doesn’t look good _ a sentiment shared by many at the recent Associated Church Press convention in Orlando, Fla., when Terry gave an update on the rate increases.

“If we cut back on our mailings, we’re sowing the seeds for our own destruction because we’ve cut off our communication with congregants,” Terry said.

The Postal Regulatory Commission determined in March that small religious publications and other non-profit organizations that do mass mailings have had it too easy. While they’ve paid some of the actual cost of their mail, the balance has been subsidized.

Postal distribution and other institutional costs have been covered largely by big publications like Time magazine. Time Inc. executives first raised concerns in 1998 when they realized how high mailing rates were across the board in spite of their own attempts to distribute their mail efficiently.

Major periodicals like Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated have experts and departments devoted to sorting and preparing their mailings efficiently. That allows them to cut their massive postage costs and take advantage of the discounts available for mass mailers.

Smaller publications, like the Alabama Baptist, have volunteers who prep their mail. For years, they’ve been putting the newspapers in mail bags and sending them to the post office for sorting and distribution. Industry officials say that’s the most inefficient and costly method of mailing because it requires extra manpower at the post office. Furthermore, many church periodicals are too small in circulation to take advantage of rate discounts for mass mailings.

Jim O’Brien, director of distribution and postal affairs at Time Inc., said major periodicals shouldn’t have to front the cost for inefficient mailers, nor can they continue to afford it.

“We as an industry have to do something about our mailing costs or we’re all going to be out of business,” said O’Brien. “The difference with the new rate is that everyone is going to have to pay for what they use.”

The Postal Service doesn’t want to force anyone out of business, said spokesman Dave Partenheimer, but small publications “have been getting a sweet deal” for a long time, he said.

“It’s going to be hard on the little guy, but the fact is that their mail is more costly to handle for the postal service,” said Partenheimer.

Partenheimer urges church publications and other non-profits to begin co-mailing with other organizations. The more bulk sent to the post office, the better, he said. Also, he said small mailers need to get away from putting their publications into inefficient containers. They can also consider drop mailing, meaning they distribute the mail themselves.

Small faith-based publications say they find the constraints frustrating. There are a whopping 55 different prices for periodicals based on container type, entry point and the amount of sorting required. The people who volunteer in their mailrooms aren’t exactly schooled in the ways of efficient mailing.

“It’s very difficult for a casual mailer to understand all the new rules and regulations,” said Lawrence Levy, circulation manager for the Jewish Herald-Voice in Houston. “They’re telling us we have to jump through all these hoops, but the face of the hoops is very small.”

Terry, of the Alabama Baptist, agreed. He said volunteers want to minister in the community, not spend their time sorting mail efficiently.

“What it’s going to amount to is less time doing ministries in the community,” said Terry. “The big for-profit guys are saying, `Woe is us, we’re not making enough money because non-profits aren’t paying their costs.’ Well, the implication of this disagreement on us is disastrous.”

O’Brien, of Time Inc., said he’s been made to look like “Darth Vader” because he’s led the charge to make sure small publications pay for all the postal services they use.

“There was no incentive for them to change until now; I’m trying to help the entire industry.”

Cynthia Astle, associate editor of the Progressive Christian Magazine in Dallas, doesn’t see it as helping the whole industry _ just the mainstream large corporations.

“This (price increase) is one of those things that will bring down a lot of smaller niche market publications,” Astle said. “The postal service is really denying people the right to express their religious belief.”

KRE/PH END TURNER

Editors: To obtain a photo of Bob Terry and covers of The Progressive Christian, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.