Many of our readers and subscribers are aware that The Ukrainian Weekly has a page on Facebook. And many of them have liked us on Facebook. We are proud to say that, as of the writing of this editorial, the number of “likes” for our page was 3,891 Not too shabby!
The Ukrainian Weekly joined Facebook on July 10, 2012. By the end of 2012 we had 510 likes for our page, and now we are close to 4,000 – a milestone we hope to achieve (and surpass) soon. What we do on Facebook differs greatly from what we offer on the pages of our newspaper. On Facebook, The Ukrainian Weekly gives regular updates from our editorial offices, including previews of what to expect in upcoming issues; lets our friends know when a new issue becomes available online; allows visitors to take a look at our latest front page; and shares interesting stories from a variety of sources.
Just in the past week, for example, we shared: an insightful opinion piece by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul headlined “The Myth of Putin’s Strategic Genius” that appeared on the op-ed page of The New York Times; news about Ukraine’s internally displaced persons by the congressionally funded United States Institute for Peace (which as is noted on the USIP’s website is “an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress to increase the nation’s capacity to manage international conflict without violence”); a Reuters news service news story on how the ceasefire in Ukraine’s east has made it possible for volunteers to bring home the remains of soldiers killed in action; a New York Times story about life in Mariupol headlined “Sounds of War Recede to Background in an Eastern Ukraine City”; a disturbing story from The Guardian about how images of Joseph Stalin are appearing in areas held by the Russian-backed militants in the Donbas; and a story from the Religious Information Service of Ukraine about Pope Francis telling Patriarch Sviatoslav of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church that “Ukraine is in my heart and will always remain there.”
On our Facebook page we regularly share news from The Washington Post, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the journals World Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, as well as posts by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, information from the U.S. State Department, statements by government officials, commentaries and analyses by noteworthy experts, and so much more. What is particularly significant about our Facebook page is that we share breaking news as soon as we learn about it, whether from our own sources or others. A most recent example was the news that Ukraine had been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2016-2017 term. (Our regular issue later provided updated and expanded information on this development.)
The Facebook page has also served as a useful tool to rally our community to action on important issues. At the end of 2014, for instance, there was a big push to get both houses of the U.S. Congress to pass the Ukraine Freedom Support Act. Just one post on The Weekly’s Facebook page reached 3,292 people and was shared 89 times. And there were many more posts on this issue by us and others.
Indeed, we’ve seen that very many of our Facebook friends share our posts with their friends. And that is as it should be. Thank you for reading and sharing! Thank you for caring. But here are some pertinent questions: How many of our followers on Facebook support the newspaper that makes it all possible? Simply put: without The Ukrainian Weekly newspaper, there would not be a Ukrainian Weekly Facebook page. And how many realize that what is on Facebook is not what is in our newspaper, which is available in both print and online editions?
The Ukrainian Weekly may be read online in two ways: as a PDF of each issue (which looks exactly like the printed edition) or by clicking on individual links to stories. The online Weekly has sections, as befits a printed newspaper: Ukraine, Community, Opinion, U.S., Canada, Culture/Arts, Sports, Community Events, as well as subsections, for example: Columnists and Editorials under Opinion, and Community Chronicle and Generation Uke under Community. By the way, on the right-hand side of our webpage, visitors will also see a box labeled “Find us on Facebook,” where they can quickly take a look at the latest posts on The Weekly’s Facebook page. In addition, special issues are highlighted: The Years in Review, Debutante Balls, A Ukrainian Summer. Most of the current content provided on the new website is “premium” and, therefore, available on a regular basis to subscribers only. (Access to our digital archives of issues from 1933 through 2014 is free and open to all.) However, readers can visit to see what The Weekly offers and, after a number of free reads, they are invited to subscribe to gain further access.
We believe The Weekly’s online presence is enhanced by its Facebook page, so we encourage all our readers to check us out on social media (see www.facebook.com/TheUkrainianWeekly). At the same time, we encourage our friends on Facebook to check out The Weekly’s online edition (see www.ukrweekly.com). All are hereby invited to become our Facebook friends and our subscribers.