"60 Minutes" crisis reveals rich resources of community (11/27/94)

"60 Minutes" crisis reveals rich resources of community

by Olena W. Stercho

Earlier this fall, The Ukrainian Weekly issued a call for the cataloguing and examination of Ukrainian organizations in the diaspora, and for a dialogue on organizational directions, particularly in light of Ukrainian independence.

As much of a scourge as the "60 Minutes" crisis is for our community, it nonetheless offers a unique insight into our rich, often-unappreciated and developing organizational and individual resources. The reaction to the broadcast not only was instantaneous and nationwide, but as CBS has become more intractable, the response has solidified into a sustained effort. That response has highlighted individual ingenuity, the strength of existing long-time organizations, the emergence of other organizations sharing the common thread of a generational shift, and a new spirit of cooperation - something that has often been sorely lacking in our community.

Immediately after the broadcast, many of our established institutions informed CBS of our displeasure in no uncertain terms. The letters from the Ukrainian National Association (UNA), the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) and the Ukrainian Human Rights Committee of Philadelphia (UHRC), among others, which have been published in this newspaper during the last several weeks, show the breadth of that response.

The strength of local institutions was illustrated as well by the demonstration held at the local CBS affiliate in Philadelphia a scant 15 hours after the offending airing. Contacted through a telephone chain established by the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center, nearly 100 persons appeared at Channel 10, picket signs in hand, at 11 a.m. on Monday, October 24. Similar actions followed in other cities, such as Detroit and Washington, and by October 28, the Ukrainian American community of Rochester had obtained its local affiliate's agreement to provide 30 minutes of on-air rebuttal. In addition, communities nationwide encouraged their members to inundate CBS with individual letters of indignation.

This rapid mobilization demonstrates the inherent, untapped strength of our national and local organizations, which are all too frequently criticized with scarce recognition of their accomplishments and potential. Not only should those organizational strengths be acknowledged, but it should be taken into account in developing agendas for positive action in the future.

Individual ingenuity and initiative have also played an important role in the community's response. Through a relentless campaign that involved the cooperation of the general manager of CBS's Philadelphia affiliate and direct telephone calls to CBS, Ulana Baluch Mazurkevich, president of the UHRC, secured within 24 hours of the airing, the agreement of Don Hewitt, executive producer of "60 Minutes," to meet with community representatives. Working along parallel lines, Askold Lozynskyj, president of UCCA, arranged a similar meeting with Joseph Peyronnin, a CBS vice-president. The ultimate result was the meeting with CBS on October 31.

While in the words of Nestor Olesnycky, vice-president of the UNA, the meeting produced a draw, it nonetheless demonstrated bold individual initiative, which should have put CBS on notice that the Ukrainian American community does not take defamation lightly.

The immediate responses of our institutions and individual initiatives were channeled into a larger nationwide action as exemplified by the efforts of the Federation of Ukrainian American Business and Professional Organizations and the ad hoc coalition of community organizations and interested individuals, headed by Mr. Olesnycky. That group has now coalesced into the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee operating under the aegis of the UNA.

Significantly, the emergence of these groups into the forefront of the CBS crisis signaled a generational shift, in which 30- and 40-somethings have come forward to apply their well-honed professional skills to the community good. Thus, it is clear that "the young," whose absence from the Ukrainian political and community scene is often bemoaned, do care and are willing to step forward on issues of relevance and significance.

In a series of teleconferences involving at least eight participant cities, the "Ps and Bs" Federation, headed by Lida Chopivsky Benson, its president, and Areta Pawlynsky, president of the Ukrainian American Professional and Business Persons Association of New York and New Jersey, shared information and hammered out a concrete plan of action. First came the federation's exhaustive letter deconstructing the "60 Minutes" program, which was published in this newspaper. Next, a campaign to target advertisers, which was initiated by Philadelphia's Ukrainian Professional Society, was developed. The members of the federation, which is but two years old, brought with them an impressive array of professional and inter-organizational negotiating skills, which only hint at the real potential resident in our community.

Similarly, the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee (UHDC) brought together diverse interests, including the Ukrainian American Bar Association, the Ps and Bs federation, the Veterans of the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army, Americans for Human Rights in Ukraine, the Ukrainian National Center: History and Information Network, the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, and the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. Under Mr. Olesnycky's leadership, the group has been divided into a number of task forces to address various aspects of the "60 Minutes" crisis. Perhaps more important for the future welfare of our community, the group has also visited the need for a central coordinating body for our community. Through their activities, the Ps and Bs and the UHDC have lent support to a number of actions, including the demonstration at CBS headquarters, which attracted over 600 participants.

Both the work of the professionals' federation and the UHDC heralds an unusual level of inter-organizational cooperation for our community which cannot be praised enough. In eschewing the urge to "be the king of the hill" - which manifests itself too often in our community and of which there have also been some glimmers even in this crisis - these organizations have created a model that could be the foundation for a permanent cooperative effort.

An examination of our community's strengths would be wholly incomplete without mention of the tremendous contribution of this newspaper, The Ukrainian Weekly. The exhaustive coverage of all aspects of the CBS crisis is in keeping with the tradition of substantive journalism which has been developed in recent years by its editor-in-chief Roma Hadzewycz and her staff. Indeed, The Weekly, which received long overdue recognition at this year's Leadership Conference sponsored by The Washington Group, provides an excellent example of what can be accomplished by a combination of strong institutional support and energetic young professionals.

Our community's multi-layered, concerted response to the grave injustice wrought by "60 Minutes" brings with it the unexpected fruit of seeing our strengths, and in particular, the potential for cooperation along fresh lines. Once the immediate crisis has passed, we could do ourselves no greater service than to harness these strengths to transform ourselves into a truly viable political force, and to develop an over-all agenda for the greater good and development of our community.

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