2018 Publishing Committee Report

in ITALIAN

VIDEO

Throughout history, Jehovah has provided for the spiritual needs of his people. Jehovah has also given his people what’s needed to carry out any work he has assigned them to do. In modern times, Jehovah has used printed literature to provide spiritual food. But in recent years, digital media has become readily available. Have you wondered what impact the increased use of electronic publications and the emphasis on using the new Teaching Toolbox has had on the amount of literature being printed? How has the brotherhood benefited from these adjustments? As you watch the following video, it will become obvious that a significant amount of money is being saved each year. This has allowed the organization to reallocate those funds to other critically needed areas, such as disaster relief, and to help compensate for unavoidable rising operational costs at facilities around the world.

As prophesied in the book of Isaiah, Jehovah’s people enjoy a great variety of spiritual food in this time of the end —JW Broadcasting®, jw.org®, Bible releases in one language after another. Jehovah generously provides all of the resources needed in order to prepare and serve this rich banquet to our worldwide brotherhood. And while all of the silver and gold belong to Jehovah, he has not given his people unlimited resources. Rather, he dignifies his people with the privilege of managing the resources that he has provided. The Governing Body is careful to constantly “make sure of the more important things” as they direct the use of these resources in areas that will do the most good.

How have they made sure of the more important things in providing printed publications throughout the years? Since the 1870’s, printed publications have played an important role in dispensing spiritual food. Through the years, much of the organization’s resources have been allocated for the machinery, buildings, and support of the brothers that have cared for printing. During the 20th century, printeries sprang up in one country after another. By the 1970’s, there were 37 printing branches with 64 large printing presses and, by the ’90’s, 28 bindery lines. Around this time, a series of significant technological improvements were made in the printing and binding industry. Taking advantage of these technologies, the organization increased their printing and binding capacity while at the same time reducing the number of printing branches and personnel. For example, starting in 2003, the worldwide printing and bindery capacity was upgraded with the purchase of seven new, high-speed MAN Roland web presses and the installation of a new, deluxe-cover bindery line. As a result, in less than four years, the number of printery personnel had been reduced by 25 percent. Of course, over time our needs change, both for the brotherhood and for the field. Additionally, new developments prompt the organization to reevaluate how resources can best be used. For example, significant adjustments in the late ’80’s and early ’90’s better equipped the organization to support translation into new languages. Additionally, in 2005, a higher priority was given to Bible translation. This would allow more language groups to benefit from the New World Translation, especially where it had become difficult to obtain an acceptable Bible translation at a reasonable cost. More recently, there has been a change in how people consume information. As a result, greater emphasis has been placed on digital media, including videos. All the while, demand for printed literature continued to grow, especially for the field ministry. In recent years, 85 percent of our global printing work was dedicated to publications used in the field ministry. So a growing need in translation, a growing need for digital publications, and production of publications for the field continued to increase.

How has the Governing Body made sure of the more important things in view of these developments? Consider a few recent decisions and their impact. In 2008, the public edition of The Watchtower was introduced and we began to offer only one issue in the field ministry each month. In 2013, the Awake! and the public edition of The Watchtower were reduced from 32 to 16 pages. This allowed for two magazines to be printed at once. Then, in 2016 and again in 2018, decisions were made to reduce the number of issues of the Awake! and the public edition of The Watchtower. These decisions allowed for more languages to begin translating the magazines. They also reduced our magazine-printing workload by 63 percent over the past ten years. Other recent adjustments include no longer distributing hard copy releases at conventions, the simplified Teaching Toolbox, eliminating specific monthly literature offers, and the increased emphasis on using the Bible. All of these decisions have reduced the printing of books used in the ministry by 25 percent over the past three years.

What have been the results of the reduction in printing needs? For one, less space or buildings are needed for our global printing work. Also, instead of reinvesting in new printing equipment, funds were able to be reallocated to other areas. Consider a few examples. In 2009, rather than invest in new presses for the Italy and Spain branches, it was determined that their work could now be absorbed by the higher-capacity presses recently installed in Britain and Central Europe. In 2016, consideration needed to be given to the aging press in Australasia. It was determined that the Japan branch could care for their needs, avoiding further investment. The original plans for the new branch in Chelmsford, Britain included a new, large printery. However, the reduction in printing allowed for Britain’s work to be absorbed by Central Europe and other printeries in 2018. This has resulted in saving millions of dollars in new construction costs. Similar savings were also experienced by consolidating the printing of Argentina, India, and the Philippines to other branches. Currently, there are six bookbinding branches and three additional branches with web presses that print magazines, brochures, and tracts. Of course, as printing was consolidated, staffing levels were also reduced. Today, a total of 1,100 serve as full-time printery workers worldwide. This represents a further reduction of 350 full-time workers over the past decade.

What have been some of the notable benefits of these adjustments? For one thing, the organization is now free to do more for the brothers in other areas. Consider a few examples. Additional resources are now available to help support the growing number of translation teams worldwide. As of September 2018, the number of languages in which we have produced literature has increased from 488 in 2010 to over 900 today. In 2012 (before the introduction of 16-page magazines), the study edition of The Watchtower was translated into 158 languages. Now, only six years later, the language count has more than doubled to 335 languages. Especially noteworthy is the increase in the number of languages that now have the New World Translation. For the first 40 years after its initial release, the New World Translation was made available, in whole or in part, in 38 languages. However, in just the last 18 years, this number has more than quadrupled to 177 languages! Some of these language groups did not have a reliable secular translation in their language. Now, even in languages where there are only a few hundred publishers, our brothers are delighted to enjoy the best translation of Jehovah’s Word in their mother tongue. More resources can now be used to develop content on jw.org® in nearly 1,000 languages. People who have never read our publications before are now receiving a witness thanks to the extraordinary reach of jw.org®. And the impact of the website on the brotherhood has been amazing. Think, for example, of how the online Study Bible has deepened our knowledge of God’s Word —enriching our faith— and how JW Broadcasting® has unified our brotherhood just when we need it the most in this time of the end. This is so important! Certainly, the beneficial impact of these recent decisions is readily evident. Jehovah is blessing his people with a wide variety of spiritual food like never before in history. This is a result of “the faithful and discreet slave” making sure of the more important things. What a thrill to work along with Jehovah’s organization and witness his divine blessing upon it!