Do you like the Daily Readings? Read this today

Do you enjoy the daily readings? Every day, Catholic Online presents the daily readings, read by Deacon Keith Fournier. However, these readings cost us to produce, and we need help to keep production going. 

Our Daily Readings are an important part of the New Evangelization.

Highlights

By Marshall Connolly (Catholic Online)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
11/28/2017 (6 years ago)

Published in Living Faith

Keywords: Catholic Online, Daily Readings

Catholic Online produces and publishes the Daily Readings Videos on a daily basis for our viewers around the world. However, a campaign to produce this content is falling short of its goal, and we need a little help!

Help us now!

How the Daily Readings are Produced

Deacon Keith Fournier follows the Vatican approved cycle, which has slight variations from the one used by the USCCB. The variations are minor, and the international version is preferred because our audience is global. 

The process of doing the readings isn't simple or easy. A common misunderstanding is that a person can film the readings with a Bible and a phone. We wish! It's much more involved than that. 

For Deacon Keith, each reading is filmed in a small studio environment and must meet quality standards for lighting, sound, and of course, the reading must be precise and accurate. The job isn't done in a single take in all cases. 

After Deacon Fournier is finished with his part, the recording is sent to our large, main studio (Studio A). There, the team, which keeps a tight, professional schedule like any other Hollywood studio, must edit the video within an allotted time. Editing involves tweaking the sound and the visuals, second by second. Adjusting the sound is a painstaking process, ask anyone who edits audio. Each second of audio and each frame of video is reviewed several times before the work is considered complete. Our editors work quickly, but the process isn't always smooth. 

After editing, the video goes through several checks to ensure it is accurate and meets our standards. Occasionally the video is returned to the studio, where the editors must make prompt changes. Although these readings are recorded well in advance, the production schedule does not allow much time for redoing work. The lazy or careless need not apply!

Once the video is approved and finalized, it must be uploaded to the internet. Again, some people assume this involves clicking the upload button, but it's more involved than that. Data is embedded in the video to make it easy for people to find. Our own back-end management systems require precise entry of data to keep everything accurate and organized. No mistakes can be made in this process, or else erroneous information will go out with the video. Not a single type-o is permitted, so the process must also be reviewed by managing editors. 

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Once everything is done, the video is uploaded to YouTube as well as our own servers and hosted for viewing. Saving the original content and hosting the video also costs us money. 

A typical Daily Reading Video requires the genuine participation of about ten staff, more or less. Sure, we could make do with fewer people, and the whole job could be done by a single individual, but the time to produce it and the quality would be unworthy of the Sacred Scriptures and our readers. 

Ultimately, each video costs about $1,000 to produce when the wages, equipment, hosting, and other materials are all factored in. We hope the quality shows. Our viewers love the daily readings, which are viewed across multiple mediums by millions of people each month. 

Helping now ensures our work continues

In October, Catholic Online launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the production of Daily Readings videos through the month. That campaign is drawing to a close and we are far from our goal. We own the responsibility for this shortfall since we have not promoted this need to our community. This information is an attempt to educate our viewers and to help rectify that issue. 

We will continue to produce the Daily Readings for the time being, but the operation is expensive, and cannot be sustained indefinitely without some support. We don't need a lot of help, but we need some. 

Who we are and why we're doing this

Although Catholic Online is a for-profit entity, the reason isn't to get rich. None of us here drive particularly luxurious cars (we wish!). Instead, the for-profit designation allows us to engage in free speech as protected by the First Amendment, something a  non-profit entity cannot do with ease. 

Every employee at Catholic Online understands their work is a mission, a calling and a labor of love. Nobody is here to cash a check. We are here because we want to support the Church, its mission, and to promote the New Evangelization. We are dedicated workers with a mission. Many of us volunteer to work on holidays, including Christmas and Easter. Our management does not require this, but we choose to put in the effort because we are on a mission. Sadly, evil isn't taking a day off, so how can we? 

We want to keep producing these videos. Your help will make it easier for us to do so. One hundred percent of your contributions sustain the Daily Readings Videos.

Thank you for helping our mission! 

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