NEWS AND VIEWS

The Ukrainian Weekly: a most valuable fraternal activity

by Roma Hadzewycz

The Ukrainian Weekly was born on October 6, 1933, as a newspaper with a dual mission: keeping Ukrainian Americans involved in the Ukrainian community and telling the world the truth about Ukraine. Since its first issue rolled off the presses in Jersey City, N.J. The Weekly has served several generations of Ukrainian Americans, many of whom have taken on leading roles in our community life. The Weekly continues its mission today thanks to the support of our publisher, the Ukrainian National Association, as well as our devoted readers.

The newspaper was the brainchild of Svoboda Editor-in-Chief Luke Myshuha, who had the foresight to see that new generations of Ukrainian Americans were being lost to the Ukrainian community because those born in this country were different from their immigrant parents. Therefore, he proposed to the 18th Convention of the Ukrainian National Association in 1933 that an English-language news forum written and edited exclusively by youth be established by the UNA.

The UNA realized that an English-language publication would be essential in disseminating the truth about Ukraine and Ukrainians in English-speaking America and beyond. This was especially critical at a time when the world knew next to nothing about the famine raging in Soviet-dominated Ukraine, at a time when certain elements - enamored of the USSR - denied that there was any famine even as millions were dying of starvation.

The Weekly also was a pioneer in propagating the idea that one did not have to speak, read and write Ukrainian to be Ukrainian, that what mattered most was what was in one's heart and mind. Thus, it preserved and sustained generations of Ukrainian Americans and our community.

From its inception The Ukrainian Weekly has been a shining example of the community service provided by its publisher, the Ukrainian National Association. The Weekly and its sister publication, Svoboda, never were a money-making venture, nor were they intended to be. They were, simply put, the UNA's way of giving back to the Ukrainian community - or, in insurance terms, fraternal benefits offered by a fraternal benefit life insurance company to its members and their community.

Through the decades The Ukrainian Weekly's mission continued and was expanded.

In 1990 the 32nd UNA Convention adopted a resolution calling for the opening of a Kyiv Press Bureau. That became reality in January 1991 and, as a result, The Ukrainian Weekly was on the ground in Ukraine when independence was proclaimed. Today the bureau continues to provide unparalleled coverage of developments in Ukraine. In 1994 the 33rd UNA Convention recommended opening a Toronto Press Bureau. The bureau opened a year later and functioned until October 1999.

The Ukrainian Weekly Archive, maintained and continuously updated as a community service by Weekly staffers, was inaugurated on August 20, 1998. Located at www.ukrweekly.com, the site now contains 11,115 full-text articles, including archival materials published in the newspaper since its founding in 1933. The website also contains the largest collection of materials on the Internet dedicated to the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, the full texts of all issues published in 1996-2001, as well as excerpts of the top news stories published each week during the current year.

Our newspaper's two-volume work "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000" (published in 2002 and 2001), provided a sampling of the major events covered by The Weekly by reprinting the most significant articles from the period of 1933-1999.

During the past seven decades, our community and its members have undergone tremendous changes. The Weekly has grown and matured with them, changing to meet the needs of new generations while continuing to work for the Ukrainian commonweal. Today the paper continues as the voice of our community and as a respected source of information about Ukraine and Ukrainians wherever they may be. It is no longer for youth only, but for all who are interested in Ukraine and Ukrainians, be they scholars, politicians, businesspeople or journalists. The Weekly is sent to all members of the U.S. Congress.

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Newspapers have been described variously as chronicles of the times, mirrors of society, purveyors of information, leaders of public opinion. Throughout its history The Ukrainian Weekly - now in its 69th year - has been all of the above. Thus, it's been an incalculable benefit to the UNA and Ukrainians worldwide - a most valuable fraternal activity that makes the Ukrainian National Association so much more than just an insurance company.

Roma Hadzewycz has been editor-in-chief of The Ukrainian Weekly since 1980. Prior to that she was co-editor and and assistant editor at the paper. In addition, Ms. Hadzewycz served as an advisor on the Ukrainian National Association's General Assembly in 1990-1998, and in 2000-2002.

The article above was written for the Commemorative Journal of the 35th Regular Convention of the Ukrainian National Association.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 26, 2002, No. 21, Vol. LXX

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