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07.11.03
Songs
of Praise magazine makes its debut for Christmas
Songs
of Praise magazine launches on 19 November. The first such magazine
tie-in during the popular television programmeÂ’s 42-year history,
Issue 1 is a celebration of Christmas and comes with a free covermounted
CD of traditional carols.
The magazine will visit the towns, cities and other locations due
to be featured in the Sunday evening show - in the first issue these
include Gloucester Cathedral, Godmanchester and Nashville. It will
feature the programmeÂ’s presenters, who include Jonathan Edwards,
Pam Rhodes and Aled Jones, who appears on the cover of Issue 1.
Its guest celebrities will appear too, with Pete Waterman revealing
a surprising love of carols in an interview for Issue 1.
Other
features will include music and book reviews, puzzles, gardening
and food sections as well as `RecollectionsÂ’, in which readers
share cherished memories by opening up their photo albums. For Christmas,
Songs of Praise magazine has everything from cribs to candles, as
well as taking a look at what people of other faiths will be doing
during the festive season. There is also a great short story written
especially for the magazine by Pam Rhodes, who is a novelist as
well as a presenter of the programme, and the launch of a search
for BritainÂ’s Good Samaritans. Advertisers in the debut issue
include National Rail, Bovis homes and the Christian Book Club.
Songs
of Praise magazine will be published quarterly to coincide with
key points in the calendar such as Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide
and Remembrance. Liz Vercoe will edit it, on secondment from her
post as Executive Editor of sister title Radio Times, and the launch
publisher is Lindsaye Fox, Publishing Director, New Product Development.
Songs
of Praise is the worldÂ’s favourite and longest-running religious
television programme, having celebrated its 40th anniversary in
autumn 2001. It has become a national institution - also watched
as far away as Canada, South Africa and Australia. More people view
`Songs of PraiseÂ’ than attend church in the UK every Sunday
- most, according to Â鶹ԼÅÄ Audience Research, because it makes them
feel cheerful.
Says
Liz Vercoe: “Songs of Praise magazine provides a celebration
of the beauty of Britain, its uplifting church music and its surprising
and impressive people. It has been tremendously rewarding to produce
a magazine for people who are so rich in life experience, so warm
and so good hearted.”
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