Hugh Macken Live!

Bridging the gap between ancient tradition and contemporary worship music, Tori Harris is part of a wave of vibrant young Catholics who are committed to communicating the richness of the Catholic faith to a new generation of the faithful.And she's doing so using the social media technology best suited to do so. Join us as we get to know Tori and her music and discuss how she's making use of new media in the New Evangelization.

We'll explore how the Church is and could be employing new media to rekindle the faith lives of those who have drifted apart from the Catholic Church with Helen Osman, Secretary for Communications for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). We'll also tap into the brilliance of Mara Einstein, PhD, the author of Brands of Faith: Marketing Religion in a Commercial Age (Routledge, 2008) and former MTV marketing executive, to discuss what the Catholic Church could learn from the new media successes and failures of multinational brands and other Christian denominations.   * Should the Catholic Church engage in brand marketing?   * In so doing, might the Catholic Church threaten its ability to raise us above the market?    * What training resources are available to Catholic laity and clergy who want to learn how to make smart and appropriate use of new media in the new evangelization?   * How should the Church handle complex copyright issues that pit the understandable interest of the Church to maintain the integrity of Church documents against the admirable desire of young Catholics to have more freedom in their use of these documents to evangelize online?   We'll address all these questions and more in this live interview that you will NOT want to miss.  Special thanks to this episode's sponsor: ParishWebstore.com  

NOTE: Although it is not the subject of this episode, Typhoon Haiyan has left thousands of casualties in its wake and millions in desperate need of assistance. CRS desperately needs help to reach communities in desperate need. Please give at http://j.mp/typhoon911

We''ll be discussing the relief work of Catholic Relief Services in Rwanda. CRS has been making a positive difference in Rwanda for over fifty years, having provided humanitarian assistance from neighboring countries since the 1950s. CRS currently works with the Catholic Church and other partners through an integrated approach combining agriculture, nutrition and economic strengthening to help vulnerable people in Rwanda to improve the quality of their lives in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

We'll be discussing the remarkable work of CRS in Rwanda with Catholic author and blogger Lisa Hendey. As one of three recipients of CRS's Egan Fellowship, Lisa had the opportunity to witness first-hand the work of CRS in Rwanda in October of this year. 

About Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to serve World War II survivors in Europe. Since then, CRS has expanded in size to reach more than 100 million people in 91 countries on five continents. CRS' mission is to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas, working in the spirit of Catholic social teaching to promote the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. CRS operations serve people based solely on need,

There's a lot for Catholics to "like" about the theme for the Church's 2013 World Communications Day.
The theme? 
Social Networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelization.
Both the Catholic hierarchy and the faithful appear to be taking the internet more seriously than ever by focusing both attention and - of late - financial capital on internet - based evangelization.
We'll be chatting with the five Catholic leaders whose new media efforts will help to explain this trend. They'll also tell us what they think should be next on the horizon for Catholics' use of new media in 2013 and beyond.
Matt Warner, CEO and Co-Founder of Flocknote (http://www.flocknote.com/)Ashley Collins, Co-Founder of Peter and Paul Ministries  (http://www.peterandpaulministries.com) Devin Jones, Co-Founder of Peter and Paul MinistriesJosh Simmons, Founder and CEO of ECatholicWebsites.com (http://www.ecatholicwebsites.com/)Harold Fickett, Managing Editor (USA) for Aleteia.org  (http://www.aleteia.org/)

The struggles of American newspapers and other mainstream media outlets are leading many to wonder:
Can Journalism Survive?
A distinguished panel will be joining us to discuss this question from multiple angles:
Jack Griffin, co-founder of Empirical Media Advisors and former CEO of TIME Inc.Gordon Crovitz, Press+ co-founder and former Publisher of The Wall Street JournalDavid Ryfe, associate professor of journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno
Jack Griffin has 25-plus years in senior executive capacities at leading media companies including Time Inc., Meredith, Advance Publications and The New York Times Company

Gordon Crovitz has more than 25 years of global business operations experience at Dow Jones. He is a former Publisher of The Wall Street Journal and the founder of Factiva.

David Ryfe is the author of Can Journalism Survive?: An Inside Look at American Newsrooms, just published by Polity Books, which offers a detailed account and analysis of what the author observed after spending five years visiting newsrooms in the USA.