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During his time in the MSCM program, Bill Staley ’21 MS designed and conducted an independent research study to compare communications spending in secular organizations versus parishes, archdioceses and apostolates he surveyed across the country.

“It was incredibly eye-opening,” Staley says, noting that churches invested about 50 to 65 percent less in communications than the secular organizations he studied. Based on his findings, Staley put together a framework for churches with three tiers of recommendations for good, better and best communication practices.��

In the Diocese of Nashville, where he serves as director of Outreach and Engagement in the Office of Media and Evangelization, their practices fall within the “better” segment of that framework—and their innovative approaches to introducing the diocese and the message of the Church to a wider audience have been gaining attention.

Geographically, the Diocese of Nashville is located in a part of the US where Catholics make up only 4 percent of the population, and yet, they’re one of the most influential dioceses in the country in terms of new media.

“We recently became one of the top 40 dioceses/archdioceses in the nation with the largest Facebook following, and that has allowed us to evangelize in wonderful new ways,” Staley says.

One particularly popular segment has been “The Catholic Minute,” a short talk from the Most Rev. J. Mark Spalding, DD, JCL, bishop of Nashville, that is broadcast during the NFL Tennessee Titans and NHL Nashville Predators games.

“We aren’t hitting people over the head with the catechism; we’re just letting them hear a message of goodwill from their shepherd,” Staley explains.