Ep. 424: What’s In Store For MinistryWatch in 2025 More podcasts, more enterprise journalism, more "data journalism"

Welcome to the first podcast of 2025! 2024 was a good year for MinistryWatch. We have much to celebrate, and to thank God for. Still, I learned a long time ago that in a dynamic media, cultural, and economic environment, it is important not to be complacent. That’s why I wanted to give you a “peek under the hood” at some of the things that I think MinistryWatch could do better in the year ahead.  More “Enterprise” Journalism. I think breaking news has its place, but MinistryWatch doesn’t want to be one of a half-dozen news organizations trying to be the first outlet to bring you an inconsequential news story. We want to cover significant stories, with added value and context. We want to be the place that connects the dots, that gives you not just the “what” but the “why.” Our coverage of Bible translation organizations, “trend stories” such as the growing use of donor-advised funds and the increase in the number of ministries that fail to file Form 990s, are examples of this kind of “enterprise” journalism. Look for more such coverage in the year ahead.  More Data-Driven Journalism. As I’ve already said, our database makes MinistryWatch unique. That’s why we want to curate more stories from our rich data storehouse in the year ahead. We already do monthly lists and “Ministry Spotlights” that highlight important changes in our database, not to mention our “Weekly Review” that highlights all the changes in the database for that week. In the year ahead we hope to highlight these anomalies and changes and help you see their significance.  More Podcast Content. We currently do a weekly roundup of the news, as well as an interview of an interesting newsmaker each week on the MinistryWatch podcast. Beginning no later than the second quarter, we hope to increase to three episodes a week, adding both more interviews and more commentary. Again, our goal will be to context and meaning to what is going on in the news. For those of you who have been on this journey with us over the past five years: Thank You. For those of you who are just discovering MinistryWatch: Welcome Aboard! We pray that, in God’s good providence, our best years are still ahead of us. The producer for today’s podcast is Jeff McIntosh. I’m your host Warren Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.