August 5, 2010 - The Pilot Becomes First Catholic Newspaper Available on Kindle & iPhone App

Braintree – In its 181st year of publication, The Pilot, America’s oldest Catholic Newspaper and the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, has become the first Catholic newspaper in the world available through Amazon’s Kindle e-reader.

Beginning with its Aug. 6, 2010 edition, The Pilot is officially launching its Kindle edition as well as its new Apple iPhone application.

Also set for release later this month are an Apple iPad-specific application and a mobile-optimized web site for improved performance on Blackberry and Android smart phones.
The move into mobile content delivery is just the latest effort in recent years to innovate and make the content of The Pilot more accessible to readers.
 
In late 2006 the Catholic weekly launched its award-winning web site, TheBostonPilot.com, followed by a redesign of its print edition in early 2007 to offer expanded color content and enhanced readability.  In 2008 The Pilot launched a weekly email newsletter sent to thousands of readers and in 2009 it entered the realm of social media with presences on Facebook and Twitter.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston and publisher of The Pilot said: “I have always felt that it is important for the Church to bring its message to people wherever they get their information.  Today, particularly among young people, that is increasingly on mobile devices. As a Kindle user myself, I look forward to having The Pilot delivered there every week.”

Antonio M. Enrique, editor of The Pilot said: “We are proud to become the first Catholic newspaper to offer a Kindle edition as well as to establish an extended presence in other digital platforms, including iPhone and iPad applications. As the newspaper industry evolves to meet the challenges of the new media, we are happy to lead the way among Catholic publications to become a player in the increasingly diversified media world.”

“News and commentary from a Catholic perspective are the key to helping Catholics better understand how their faith intersects with the issues of the day. Regular readers of The Pilot benefit each week from stories and commentary that deal with current issues while articulating Catholic perspectives that provide subscribers with a view often absent in the secular media. These platforms will help us to expand our reach to people interested in learning more about the Church’s views and positions on the news.”

Like most Kindle newspapers, the Kindle Edition of The Pilot contains the majority of the stories found in the print edition, but does not include some special features, graphics and photos.  For $1.49 monthly subscription fee, issues can be wirelessly delivered to a users Kindle device automatically every Friday starting at noon, Boston time.  To subscribe for the Kindle edition of The Pilot, readers should visit the Amazon website at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003V4AK2A.

About The Pilot:  Founded in 1829 The Pilot is the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston and America’s oldest Catholic newspaper. Published 49 weeks per year, The Pilot delivers news, comment and analysis on issues of the day from a Catholic perspective.  TheBostonPilot.com is an award-winning Catholic news website and the Pilot has presence on Kindle, Facebook, Twitter and has an iPhone application.

About the Archdiocese of Boston: The Diocese of Boston was founded on April 8, 1808 and was elevated to Archdiocese in 1875. Currently serving the needs of nearly 2 million Catholics, the Archdiocese of Boston is an ethnically diverse and spiritually enriching faith community consisting of 291 parishes, across 144 communities, educating approximately 46,000 students in its Catholic schools and 156,000 in religious education classes each year, ministering to the needs of 200,000 individuals through its pastoral and social service outreach and in support of a health care ministry that meets the needs of some 1 million patients each year.   Mass is celebrated in nearly twenty different languages each week. For more information, please visit  www.BostonCatholic.org.