by jamiebowers 41 Replies latest watchtower scandals
The evidence that I've examined suggests the opposite.
Please tell me how you arrived at your conclusion.
Let's see. how about them 1) cutting back on production by eliminating entire issues and consolodating study articles, and 2) the fact that every congregation I've been to doesn't send in enough donations to cover the cost of magazines they are sent.
Let's see. how about them 1) cutting back on production by eliminating entire issues and consolodating study articles, and 2) the fact that every congregation I've been to doesn't send in enough donations to cover the cost of magazines they are sent.
Item number 1 -- This has the potential to increase profits.
Item number 2 -- This is anecdotal evidence. What is the COST of each issue of the magazine? We'll need more information on. It is my understanding (and please jump in here someone if you have more details) that the congregation will have to kick in money beyond what is placed into the 'Worldwide Work' box, if these funds are insufficient to cover the actual costs. (When I was in Brooklyn, each magazine cost about five cents to produce.)
In other words, Watchtower is not in the business of sending out FREE literature, no matter how it seems. The Circuit Overseer reviews incoming money/outgoing literature, etc. These things are not left to chance.
There is an informal system in place to make SURE the Society doesn't LOSE money.
I am not, however, suggesting that anyone is "getting rich" or that it's a financial scam.
I expect the public WT and Awake to take the route of merging, then limited editions, and finally discontinued.
I agree with Doubting Bro. that KMs will be a jw.org printout.
Tracts are the immediate future (lol just read the last two KMs!)
I see them printing out a book ever now and then but not yearly.
The WTS is facing many new frontiers.....
Item number 1 -- This has the potential to increase profits.
Item number 2 -- This is anecdotal evidence. What is the COST of each issue of the magazine? We'll need more information on. It is my understanding (and please jump in here someone if you have more details) that the congregation will have to kick in money beyond what is placed into the 'Worldwide Work' box, if these funds are insufficient to cover the actual costs. (When I was in Brooklyn, each magazine cost about five cents to produce.)
In other words, Watchtower is not in the business of sending out FREE literature, no matter how it seems. The Circuit Overseer reviews incoming money/outgoing literature, etc. These things are not left to chance.
There is an informal system in place to make SURE the Society doesn't LOSE money.
It may seem like a cop out, but I really dont have to time to discuss this with you. We disagree.
Last year paper and ink costs skyrocketed. The newspapers are going out of business as ad revenues are tanking and expenses increasing dramatically-for the most part, I don't think business practices are that bad. We had a pretty efficient paper where I worked, but the more computers, the less people buy papers. Also, much business is conducted much simply without people anymore-more than half of my department was eliminated when we went to a computerized tear sheet system(incl. me, and I didn't have anything to do with the tear sheets, my supervisor no longer needed to put in her time in that part of the dept. so she took over my duties). Couriers are unecessary, home delivery is way down and costs are not shrinking proportionately.
The WT isn't at all dependent on ad revenues. The only impact I see is if the paper/ink prices and postage increase dramatically. They can live off their real estate for decades to come. They can even outsource their articles to locals who contribute if they want to. They are already dramatically reducing the literature they have available to themselves and they rarely give out much in the way of literature at the doors from what I understand. Not to mention the cheap a$$ books(even for them!) that they hardly give out anyway.
It may seem like a cop out, but I really dont have to time to discuss this with you. We disagree.
Yes, we disagree. I'm not trying to be dogamtic, and I admit that you could be right. I'm simply interpreting what I've seen differently.
I do recall a few years ago the CO's "encouraged" the local BOE to put a resolution for the congregation to send a specific amount out of local funds to the WWW each month. The congo I was in at the time I think maybe sent $100. So, on top of the approximately $800 that went each month was an additional $100. $900 to cover the literature as well as the branch overhead.
Let's say that the rags cost 10 cents each to produce and the congo has 100 publishers. Each pub orders 5 public WT + 5 Awakes + 1 private WT + 1 KM, so 12 mags per month per pub. That would be about $120 in direct costs vs $900. Now, figure that books cost about $2 a book on average (that would include the larger Bibles as well as the thin paperbacks) and there are an average of 50 books needed per month(that could be high). So another $100 in direct costs. Plus shipping is say, $30 per month.
We're up to $250 vs $900, still a nice profit. However, the branch overhead must be considered. You've got the running of the buildings, food and whatnot for the Bethelites, branch coorespondance, telephone, office equipment, travel, ect. I would say that the overhead is at least equal to the direct cost of producing literature. So, say $500 vs $900. In the US and other Western countries, they may well be turning a profit.
However, I'm sure that in developing countries in say Eastern Europe and Africa, the donation per publisher is MUCH less than $8 per publisher per month. I'd venture to guess that number is closer to $2 pppm. Now, you've got a money loser at $250 v $200. In addition, those folks seem to "place" more literature than do the JWs in the developed countries. So, it may well be that the literature costs are $350 + $250 for overhead (using the same number as western countries to reconize the lower cost of living) or $600 v $200 in donated funds.
The big question from a financial standpoint is how much profit are they making from the developed countries and is it enough to offset the losses in the underdeveloped countries? Also, I've noticed that donations have slipped off from several years ago in the congregations I've attended. And they're no way near the 50 cents per issue they were receiving prior to going to a strictly donation arrangement. I think the bound volumes were like $15 the last time I paid for one. That's a serious profit margin.
Perhaps the cutbacks are forcing them to become more efficient because they were so used to the built in profit margin that they were wasteful (like the government). Now, they have to act like a business, thus the cutbacks. But, unless they figure out a way to increase the cashflow in the western countries they will eventually need to change the business model. That means continued cuts in overhead which is probably bloated anyway and reductions in the literature printed if the costs continue to rise faster than the donations.
I guess that's a long winded way of agreeing with both Daniel-p and LWT! I think they are still profiting from printing operations but not to the degree that they once were and that the profit margin will continue to shrink unless they continue to make changes.
Doubting Bro,
I enjoyed your analysis. Thank you.
-LWT
I noticed on the spanish ex-jw forum one poster (elder66) is saying :
News from Spain: in a few weeks to get instructions for a special meeting for the "Bethel family" is going to ask for the maximum lealtatd theory and the organization out of the house to work on in the world represent no burden on society.
By the summer we must reduce staff by more than one hundred people, only in Spain.
There will be more changes: a digital edition of "Awake" to reduce the number of copies, in PDF edition of the Ministry, reducing travelers and visitors a year will do much more damage and to lower costs.
Doubting Bro and leavingwt,
The only major problem I see with your hypothetical analysis is the gross underestimation of the cost of printing each magazine (10 cents). Remember, we're not just talking about what it would cost if they outsourced production; there are enormous costs of running Bethel operations in connection with these printing facilities. And while some have conjectured this, I highly doubt doing their own printing means they can do it cheaper than if they outsourced. Notice that at Wallkill they used to operate a nearly self-sufficient facility, but now so many things have been outsourced it cannot even be called a "Farm" anymore. Bethelites are expensive; that's why they've laid off so many in recent years.
In summation, I think 10 cents is a gross underestimation; however, I'm not going to give some figure, since, as we all know, this is all hypothetical.
I wish I could chat more, but I have to go get ready for the memorial!
