1981: an overview: The Weekly (12/27/81)

1981: an overview

The Weekly

If any of our dear readers think that we at The Weekly had a calm and cushy year, think again. We, too, were caught in a slip stream of whirring events (some beyond our control) and had our fair share of ups, downs and arounds.

The new year started out hot. Our February 1 editorial on "Which way human rights" was reprinted in the staid and a tad hoity-toity Christian Science Monitor. Trouble was that our regular editorial writer spent months sashaying around the place muttering "Pulitzer." It was several weeks before we could get him to write a parish picnic story.

Also on the upbeat side, The Weekly was blessed with some new, blue-chip subscribers. Joining the swelling ranks of our readers was none other than the Ukrainian SSR's Mission to the United Nations in New York.

They forked over 40 smackers for five subscriptions, but failed to donate anything to the press fund. Apparently, lackeys are not known for their generosity.

Also in February, we at The Weekly, ever sensitive to the needs of our readers (we know who butters our bread), embarked on testing the waters with the first Weekly Questionnaire. The response was encouraging, though inconclusive. We had readers who wanted fewer "articles on captured Ukrainians that nobody has heard of"; readers who wanted more on dissidents; readers who wanted less on "obscure people, honored by obscure groups"; and readers who begged for more of just that. Decorum prohibits us from printing some of the more bizarre suggestions, but we were grateful for the feedback.

The beginning of 1981 also marked a sort of liberation for The Weekly, as the UNA supreme officers announced that our editorial staff had been made independent of Svoboda and that it was responsible directly to the Supreme Executive Committee. So, no, mother, I do not work for the English Svoboda, thank you.

We added some special features this year, as our over-extended staff of three (yes, three) did yeoman's work in making the paper a bit more diverse. George B. Zarycky prepared a four-part interview with Adrian Karatnycky on the situation in Poland. Not to be outdone, Ika Koznarska Casanova countered with an 18-part series on Ukrainian church art and architecture.

Back after a substantial hiatus are Roman Sawycky's Sounds and views, and Ihor Stelmach's Ukrainian pro hockey update. This year we also unveiled Notes on people.

Of all the seminal and earthshattering issues reported by The Weekly - Poland, Ukrainian anti-Semitism, war-crimes trials, the dissident movement in Ukraine, political developments - the issue that seemed to most stir the reading public was, much to our surprise, the "folly of mixed marriages." Judging by the response, it seems the possibility of adulterating the "Ukrainian substance" is uppermost in people's minds. Substance?

Another highlight of our year was the big move in June, when Merrill Lynch bullied us from our comfy offices on the second floor down a notch to the mezzanine. The move was akin to Hercules cleaning the Augean stables. All in all it was a good decision. Safely sequestered in the bowels of the UNA Building, anybody with an ax to grind would have some trouble finding us.

Other tidbits (to paraphrase Panorama's Helen Smindak). Our headliner of the year has to be Metropolitan Stephen Sulyk. The ubiquitous hierarch seemed to be everywhere all the time, particularly on the first page of The Weekly. He was at Soyuzivka, Plast camp, SUM-A camp, consecrations, installations, meetings with Jewish leaders, meetings with Orthodox Metropolitan Mstyslav, dedications of Ukrainian cultural centers, and the like. He easily beat our last year's winner, Oksana Meshko, for most photographs in The Weekly.

Finally, milestones. Proving that nepotism didn't die with the Kennedy administration, The Weekly got a new layout person this year, some-time art critic Hilary (a.k.a. Larry) Zarycky, brother of staffer George B. Zarycky. Although he still cuts photos on the page and doesn't know a T-square from a tea bag, he's breaking in okay. We give him the benefit of the doubt.

Lastly, we bid a sad goodbye this year to staffer Ika Koznarska Casanova, who deserted the ship to join forces with Suchasnist, a classy Ukrainian-language journal. We lowbrows at The Weekly certainly wish her all the best in her, ahem, new position.

There it is - some of our adventures during the year. In closing, we would like to wish all our readers all the best during the Christmas season, and a happy and healthy new year. And, oh yes, keep reading.

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