Let us underscore this at the top of this week’s editorial: We love working with our readers and community activists in producing each week’s issue of The Ukrainian Weekly. This type of collaboration benefits all and enriches our newspaper’s pages.
That said, let us share a telling account of a recent exchange of e-mail messages.
Having received an e-mail promoting the upcoming Ukrainian Independence Day parade in Parma, Ohio, we e-mailed back to activists of the Ukrainian Village Committee of Parma to encourage them to send in information and photos from this event, especially since this year celebrated the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of Ukraine’s independence. Their response was: “Thank you for your interest in our Ukrainian Village Parade and Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations!” Along with it came confirmation that we would indeed get a story and photos from this marvelous community event. (The result is seen in this week’s issue.)
Our reaction to that enthusiastic response punctuated by an exclamation point: There is no need for the committee to thank us. We are, after all, a community newspaper. We always have been. It is for us to thank the committee and the United Ukrainian Organizations of Ohio for sharing their good news with us and our readers. Thus, we wrote back: “You know, we always want to publish community news, but it quite often seems that local ‘hromady’ are content to communicate only among themselves instead of sharing the news with others. That is one of the main functions of our newspapers Svoboda and The Weekly. Please keep that in mind for the future.” We do hope to hear more from this vibrant Ukrainian American community – and others!
On a related topic, we’ve noticed that some communities have their own newsletters, whether in printed form or e-mailed. Of course, that is good for keeping folks in touch, but things could be even better. Instead of reaching only their immediate neighbors and members, groups that publish such newsletters could be reaching out to a much broader audience via our newspapers. Now, we’re not telling them not to publish their newsletters; we’re just suggesting that they look beyond their immediate community and broaden their horizons. Send us some of your top news items; send us a great photo and a caption. We’ll be happy to share it with our readers, who always want to know what’s happening in our communities near and far. In fact, readers and communities learn from each other’s successes.
And then there are those who choose to communicate via a Facebook page. Great! The posts are quick, friends and followers see them immediately, interesting items get shared and spread exponentially. So what’s wrong with this paradigm? Immediacy is not longevity. Nor does this modus operandi ensure a place in history. What are we talking about? Well, having your news items published in The Ukrainian Weekly means they will be easily accessible, because not only do they appear in our print edition, they also appear on our news website (www.ukrweekly.com). Furthermore, our issues are archived online, so they will endure as a valuable resource that can be accessed by anyone anywhere anytime.
So, Dear Readers, we once again encourage you to share information and use our newspapers as your network. Such sharing of information and ideas benefits us all; it empowers us as a community and supports our community’s needs and aspirations. As a new year of community activity begins with the end of summer and the start of the academic year, we cordially invite you to join us in this cooperative endeavor.