WT magazines in different territories

New Worldly Translation

When I was a JW I always had a question that I don't think I ever got to the bottom of.

It was do the JW's in different countries get different versions of the watchtower and awake magazines?
It always struck me that the magazines were always very america-centric and a lot of the issues addressed wouldn't be applicable to JW's overseas. Living in the UK I found some of the articles to be extremely patronising and I could only imagine what an African or Russian JW reading them would be thinking.

There were articles about conserving money by only taking one holiday a year or only having one car in the family. Or young people ask articles about a young sister at college who wants to pioneer but hasn't got the money for some new tires for her car.. and then miraculously a week later an envelope arrives through the door with enough dough for tires and a tank of petrol.
Also the vast majority of experiences written up in the mags were from US congs (usually about someone refusing blood and being a-ok afterwards )
And others on similar topics like recreation or entertainment

It always struck me growing up in a rough part of the north of england that the mags were written in a different world. We didn't often have holidays (assemblies being our holiday sometimes ), didn't have a car, didn't get caught up in recreational activities cos you'd be hard pressed to find a centre or club to join and I'm sure it was the same for a lot of JW's, non-american and american alike. Then I thought about a guy in Liberia reading the WT and thinking 'what the flip is all this about', where's the article 'Young people ask.. how do I not get raped and hit with machete's during civil unrest? Or an article on how to make a bowl of rice last a week for a family of 10.
It always confused me how they could possibly bring people into the org with the airy-fairy nonsense in the mags.

Is it that despite the boastful claim of being distributed in 231 lands the mags aren't really used in a lot of those territories or are they tailored for a specific audience?

It's no biggie but it was just a question that used to bug me. Anyone know the answer?

Wasanelder Once

I know that covers are manipulated so that they are more racially acceptable in certain countries. They don't look the same everywhere. I know that in the past they had articles tailored to the country they were published in. I can't verify that now, but it used to be that way. Anyone else more up to date? I'm sure the study articles are all the same now.

W.Once

Terry

Jehovah could choose any location on Earth and any people to promote and publish his Kingdom messege, right?

But, in His infinite wisdom he surveyed all of humanity and chose a group of failed Adventists who claimed that a pyramid held the secrets to time and destiny and selected them as his center of operations!

Brooklyn, NY represents the highest and best choice of the Almighty Supreme Being--right?

Folks, what is wrong with this picture??

parakeet

I can't answer as to whether the mags are altered to suit different nationalities or ethnicities, but the reading I've done about the history of the WTS indicates that the religion is American (U.S.) in origin and outlook. WT pictures showing people having fun in the new order, despite differing ethnic dress, all seem to depict a corn-huskin', midwestern barbecue, a few miles southwest of Des Moines, Iowa, I'd guess.
As to why people with very different backgrounds find this relevant to their lives, I cannot say.

SirNose586

I know this much, that they will put different ethnicities on covers of brochures and magazines appropriate for the region. They know their approach appeals mainly to Western nations. Our P.O. kept telling us how great it was that for What Does the Bible Really Teach?, they scrapped most of the Western illustrations (sin like a computer virus, comparisons to cars, etc.) so the poor brothers in some remote location could understand.

merfi

all seem to depict a corn-huskin', midwestern barbecue, a few miles southwest of Des Moines, Iowa, I'd guess.

lmao!

I'm several miles NW of Des Moines, IA, but yeah...

tan

I've heard that they tailor it to the way the country looks. If it is in Africa - the magazines will show ethnic brothers and sisters, China, Mexico and so on... Has anyone else witnessed this?

BluesBrother

Many years ago when I ran the Literature at the local congo, we had some stuff in an African language. The illustrations had been changed to show African people in African settings.

Of course they have since moved on to photographic pics and simultaneous printing of the articles in most languages , I doubt if it is done now. A lot of the more recent books/mags have pics that are not Western

Jourles

I have pictures of these magazine cover differences at home(taken from a bethel tour). I will post a few when I get a chance.

New Worldly Translation

It would be interesting to see those mags Jourles, cheers.

I wonder if the content is the same?

If they just change the pictures on the inside and not the articles that would be surreal.

The org used to make a big play about it being one homogenous organisation with everyone everywhere in the world studying the same thing at the same time of day. It was as if the 'truths' they were printing were true and applicable no matter where you were or what circumstance you were in. This always seemed a bit suspect to me.

It's funny the mention of the midwest cos once on the field service we did a return visit on a guy who had taken the mags and he gave us them back and said he didn't fancy being a midwestern farmhand living in a wooden house. I wasn't sure of the allusion he was making at the time cos I was about 14.
I'm sure Des Moines is a very nice place but even if it were perfectly kept I'm sure it's not everyones idea of paradise.

WT magazines in different territories

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