1999: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: Meanwhile, at The Weekly (12/26/99)

1999: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Meanwhile, at The Weekly

Whew! This section brings our gargantuan yearender to a close. Fifty-six pages - beating by 12 the number of pages in last year's record-breaking issue. (But, hey, records are made to be broken, right?)

We also published more total pages than ever before: 1,148 for the entire year (compared to last year's even 1,000 if you count the 12-page issue on Ukrainian National Association scholarship recipients that we produced for our publisher). And we brought you 1,556 articles (in 1998 it was 1,406).

Our website (www.ukrweekly.com), which is prepared in our "spare time," now contains 5,435 full-text articles (not counting the 276 excerpted articles for the current year) and is continuously being updated with excerpts of each week's top stories, plus new additions to the archive section of past issues. We're proud to report that the site gets approximately 9,000 hits per week.

All of this wasn't easy...

We were already down one staffer from 1998 when we got the word from our publisher that our Toronto Press Bureau correspondent Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj was being laid off as of October 1. He continued working for us on a part-time basis through the end of the year to complete several projects, plus this yearender.

We simply had to do more with less. There were no questions about how we were to do it - it just had to be done ... Thanks to the dedication of our staff, it was.

1999 brought a refocusing on our community, as we ran more stories from local communities and succeeded in having more local contributors writing in about local functions, youth organizations, etc.

In February, on Valentine's Day to be exact, we initiated "UKELODEON," as we explained "for the love of our children" and in order get "the next generation" involved in our community and our newspaper. The debut issue brought us news from schools in Newark, N.J., and Palatine, Ill., a letter from North Royalton, Ohio, and a story about a roller hockey pioneer from Australia. The issue introduced the popular "Mishanyna" feature and "Mykola Myshka," who checks in each month with a mystery question, a message or an assignment for his young readers. The special section is the result of a collaboration between editors of The Weekly, teacher Lydia Smyk and, of course, its readers.

Oh yes, an explanation of the name of our monthly children's and youth page for those not in the know: UKELODEON rhymes with nickelodeon. Yes, that's a kids' network (spelled with a capital "N"), but the original word referred to an early movie theater that charged a nickel for admission. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the root of the word, "odeon," is from the Greek "oideion," a small building used for public performances of music and poetry. Our UKELODEON is a public space where our youth, from kindergartners to teens, can come to learn, to share information and experiences, and to keep in touch with each other.

A special issue published in April reported about the life of the late Vyacheslav Chornovil. That same month a special section focused on the 13th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident.

We ran our third annual seasonal supplement titled "A Ukrainian Summer" in our May 2 edition. Once again, various community activists and organizations submitted news about special summertime activities geared to all age groups of Ukrainians throughout North America.

In terms of philately, we let our readers get in on the action when our columnist Ingert Kuzych invited readers to vote for their favorite stamp of 1998 (a centerfold of stamp designs graced on May 16 issue.). The winner of the Narbut Prize was announced in our September 12 issue: the souvenir sheet commemorating the 350th anniversary of the beginning of the Ukrainian struggle for freedom under Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

Extensive reports on the mammoth Joint Conferences of Ukrainian American Organizations held in the Washington area were published in July in special sections in two successive issues of our newspaper. That coverage was particularly significant as we worked closely with all participating organizations to plan coverage of their respective sessions and activities. The result was an example of the very thing that the Joint Conferences sought to promote: synergy. By the way, The Ukrainian Weekly was one of the co-sponsors of that landmark undertaking.

Our August 22 issue marking the anniversary of Ukraine's independence offered a youth angle plus the views of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Green Miller, and in September we carried an up-close look at the biennial convention of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation.

On the occasion of our 66th anniversary, on October 3 we published the results of our 65th anniversary questionnaire and the results showed, once again, that our readers are a pretty satisfied group.

We had asked readers what types of news or features they regularly read, and the following were the top 10 responses: 1. all (read the paper from front to back); 2. "Newsbriefs"; 3. letters to the editor; 4. news from Ukraine; 5. "Faces and Places" ; 6. "Preview of Events"; 7. editorials; 8. commentary ("News and Views"); 9. arts and culture; 10. columnists (unspecified).

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The Weekly is often cited in other media. Following are a few examples of how The Weekly's reach extends far beyond our own community.

The Weekly began the year auspiciously, as it was cited in a January 3 article in The New York Times that reported on ethnic newspapers published in New Jersey. The Ukrainian Weekly's editor-in-chief was interviewed for the feature, which appeared on the front page of the New Jersey section. Headlined "Newspapers that speak tongues," the article by George James cited "Two for Ukrainians," noting that the Ukrainian National Association publishes two papers: Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly. The article went on to mention that Svoboda was established in 1893 and until July 1998 was a daily; and that The Weekly was founded in 1933 and "much of its early coverage was devoted to a famine in Ukraine that was not being reported by the mainstream press."

The Weekly's editor-in-chief was quoted as saying: "I love this job. I love this community. Every week I see the results of my efforts, and every week I feel I've given something back to my community. I feel the paper is needed and I'm doing a service."

Copies of The Weekly editorial on "The Kuchma mandate" (November 21, 1999) were part of a packet of materials on the presidential election in Ukraine sent in December by the National Democratic Institute to American opinion leaders and policy makers, including members of Congress, scholars, the press and non-governmental organizations.

The Weekly is included on the CD-ROM and online database called Ethnic NewsWatch, which provides access to full-text articles appearing in more than 100 ethnic newspapers and journals. In addition, our newspaper is listed also in various news media guides.

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Here in Parsippany, in between putting out The Weekly each week, we concerned ourselves with funding. We put together several promotions to attract readers, we promoted The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund, and we worked with our administration to increase advertising income.

Our administration - which includes administrator Walter Honcharyk, advertising manager Maria Oscislawski, circulation/subscriptions manager Mariyka Pendzola and administrative clerk Roman Pawlyshyn - deserves thanks for exemplary cooperation during difficult times.

We spelled out some of our problems to our readers in editorials published on October 3 and 10. We told them our newspaper is facing financial difficulties and that the reasons are both simple and complex. The response from readers has been gratifying, leading us to hope that perhaps the tide is turning ...

Our sincere thanks to our all patrons whose contributions this year pushed our press fund total to nearly $12,000. Indeed, there have been a number of major donations in support of our work. Two donations of $500 each were received for The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund from the Ukrainian Heritage Foundation, thanks to Eugene Woloshyn, and UNA Branch 20 in Michigan, thanks to Roman Kuropas. Attorney Bohdanna Pochoday donated $5,000 toward the educational work of The Ukrainian Weekly through the Ukrainian National Foundation.

In Kyiv, in an effort to decrease expenses and increase income, bureau chief Roman Woronowycz found good officemates in the Associated Press. Thus, AP Photo now shares the apartment in the city center that serves as The Weekly's office. Thankfully, for several years now, we've had a very good relationship with AP, most notably photographer Efrem Lukatsky, whose exceptional photos often appear on the pages of our newspaper (many, in fact, appear in this issue). The Kyiv Press Bureau survived the budget ax in December when UNA General Assembly members voted overwhelmingly, not once, but twice to save it.

Back in Parsippany, Irene Jarosewich was busy on covering Church issues, the world of academia and just about everything - except sports.

On a personal note, we are privileged to forward to our readers a wedding announcement: Editor Irene Jarosewich's special day was on November 27. And, though she is now married to Alexander Burakovsky, do NOT call her Mrs. Burakovsky. She insists she has not changed identities ... The wedding was a Weekly reunion of sorts as our staffers - current and former (Khristina Lew and Chrystyna Lapychak were both present) - attended the beautiful wedding in Washington with a reception on the shore of the Potomac River.

Our de facto arts editor, Ika Koznarska Casanova, was busier than ever, it seemed, as developments on the art scene multiplied (check out the survey on the arts, and you'll see what we mean). She wrote, she edited, she rewrote, she translated, she "organized" articles and reviews ... and then she proofread.

Our production staff - consisting of our "typesetting department," managed by Awilda Rolon (a Weekly veteran who has been with us since 1980), and our "layout department," managed by Serge (Sid) Polishchuk, who is also our webmaster (he's been with us since 1992) - have always been and continue to be outstanding. Boy are we lucky!

The Weekly's editor-in-chief went on the road, so to speak, addressing audiences in Chicago, New York and San Francisco. On March 21 she spoke in English on "The Ukrainian American Press: Do we Need it?" at an event organized by the Chicago District Committee of the Ukrainian National Association; she spoke on the same topic, but in Ukrainian, in New York on May 23, at the invitation of the New York District Committee.

Then, on October 9, she was one of the featured speakers at "Ukraine and the West in the New Millennium," the conference organized in San Francisco by the Ukrainian Professional and Business Group of North California and the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America. Her topic was the status and future of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States. Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Anton Buteiko, who was the keynote speaker at that conference, presented Certificates of Honor "for personal contributions to strengthening ties between Ukraine and the U.S." to The Weekly's editor-in-chief and Dr. Roman Goy, chief organizer and coordinator of the Joint Conferences of Ukrainian American Organizations.

We were gratified when Dr. Goy, who was a special guest speaker at the San Francisco conference, noted in his remarks that "Our own Ukrainian American press is the lifeblood of our community. It binds us and promotes our common Ukrainian identity. We need to appreciate how important our press is to our survival as a community - before we lose it."

A word is in order here about are our loyal regular correspondents: Yaro Bihun in Washington, Chris Guly in Ottawa, our columnists - Myron Kuropas, Andrew Fedynsky, Mr. Kuzych, Orysia Paszczak Tracz, Helen Smindak, Ihor Stelmach - and commentators, numerous free-lancers and community activists who have a special connection to this newspaper. We and our readers greatly appreciate their fruitful efforts.

Thanks are due also to other contributors: Bohdanna Wolanska, Oles Kuzyszyn, Halyna Holubec, Rostyk Chomiak, Maria Lewytzkyj, David Marples, Frank Sysyn, Marta Kolomayets, Areta Trytjak, Camilla Huk, Yuriy Diakunchak and Handzia Sawyckyj, as well as Stefan Korshak and Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv. And there are many, many others who have contributed to The Weekly during 1999.

This yearender would not be complete without a mention of our various helpers. During the summer we were lucky to have two sisters alternating and sometimes working together: Taisa and Olenka Welhasch. One fine result of their collaboration was their "Vox Populi" feature on Ukrainian American youths' feelings about Ukraine's independence, published in our issue dedicated to Ukrainian Independence Day.

In the fall we found another intern: Myroslaw Bytz, who helped us tremendously with proofreading duties and other editorial tasks. Somewhere in between there was also Tania Koziupa, who filled in when our other helpers were not available. Thanks to them all.

As the year drew to a close, we were busy working on our two-volume book, "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000," which will encompass the major events covered by The Weekly during its 66-plus years of existence. Volume 1, to be released early next year, will cover events between 1933, when The Weekly was founded, through the 1960s. Volume 2, to be released later in the year 2000, will cover the 1970s through the 1990s, thus bringing that century to a close. But, more on that in the new year.

As December came, it was time to focus on this "1999 Year in Review" issue. But, now we are done with the last issue of 1999, the century and the millennium. Whew!

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In closing, Dear Readers, we wish each and every one of you a joyous Christmas season and hope that Y2K brings you good luck, good health and good news!

PS: A special thank-you to our UKELODEON readers who sent us their decorated ornaments. They're so original and beautiful!

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