EDITORIAL: Reaching around the globe (06/15/03)

EDITORIAL

Reaching around the globe

If ever there was proof that our community's news media are important, it came on June 2 when United Press International carried a major news commentary about Walter Duranty's ill-gotten 1932 Pulitzer Prize and the campaign organized by Ukrainian community organizations to strip The New York Times correspondent of that prestigious award.

The commentary, written by Martin Sieff, identified as senior news analyst for UPI - a news service whose reach extends across the globe - cited our newspaper and our editorial staff member Andrew Nynka in its second paragraph and went on to cite The Ukrainian Weekly's May 25 news story several more times. And the article was read and published by other news media. We believe that it was that article by Mr. Sieff, a well-respected international affairs correspondent and editor, as well as a Pulitzer Prize nominee for international reporting, that prompted other news media to pick up the story of the anti-Duranty campaign. Also important are websites, such as ones prepared by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, or another set up by a lone Ukrainian American, Markian Pelech, who has taken up the cause; the Internet discussion groups, which attract countless numbers of people; and local newspapers, which can be contacted by local community activists. All of these venues have exposed Duranty for the fraud that he was and have told the public how a New York Times correspondent covered up a genocide.

Yes, perhaps we are patting ourselves on the back just a little bit (we're proud to play a part in this campaign), but at the same time we're making an important point for all our readers to understand: the reach of this newspaper extends far beyond its paying subscribers. We have always told our readers and our correspondents that our paper is influential because it is sent to all members of the U.S. Congress, as well as to key administration officials; it is read by scholars, businesspeople, policymakers, etc. Now, in the age of the Internet, this newspaper's reach extends even farther as anyone anywhere with Internet access can search the World Wide Web - and find the information we carry in our newspaper. Our website also contains previous years' archives; it has proven itself, again and again, to be an invaluable resource accessible to all.

And that, dear readers, is very much in keeping with our founding mission.

One of the key reasons this paper was founded in 1933 was to give a voice to our community and our nation that could be heard (or more precisely, read) by the English-speaking world. The difference today is that it can be read around the world with just a few keystrokes. The Weekly was established in 1933 also to tell the world the truth about what was then taking place in Ukraine - at the very same time that the Durantys of the world were denying that a man-made famine was raging and killing millions of our people. That is why for 70 years we have written about the Great Famine, and why we continue to do so.

That is why for years we have argued that the Pulitzer Prize awarded to Walter Duranty, who knowingly - and with premeditation - concealed one of the 20th century's most horrific genocides, should be relinquished by The New York Times. And that is why today we continue the struggle for truth by arguing that, if The Times cannot do what is right and just, The Pulitzer Prize board must step in and revoke Duranty's Pulitzer.

New on our website

In keeping with our mission, as of June 12, The Ukrainian Weekly's official website (www.ukrweekly.com) includes a new special section titled "The campaign to revoke Duranty's 1932 Pulitzer." The section now contains 20 articles: news stories, editorials, commentaries, columns and press reviews from 2003, as well as years past; it will be updated in keeping with news developments.

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