Reader's Digest Axes Purpose Driven Connection

November 6, 2009

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Purpose Driven Connection magazine, produced jointly by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, and Reader's Digest Association (RDA), will see its print magazine shuttered and will move to a Web-based, digital format in January 2010.

The last print issue will be the Christmas issue, due out in mid-November. Issues in 2010 will be posted free of charge on www.purposedriven.com. RDA plans to refund all unused print subscriptions.

The magazine's ad pages declined 26.9-percent during the third quarter, according to Publishers Information Bureau.

"Our biggest discovery was learning that people prefer reading our content online rather than in print, because it is more convenient and accessible," said Warren. "Cell phones now allow us to take content everywhere. And, from our viewpoint, an online magazine allows us to minister to people internationally; provide more content and features than we could fit in a print magazine; create interaction and two-way dialogue; and offer it for free.