The Ukrainian-language press in the United States began to develop actively at the beginning of the 20th century, along with the formation of Ukrainian public, church, professional, women's and youth organizations. The publications became the main source of information for the Ukrainian community, reflected its life and contributed to the preservation of national identity.
This was reported by V. V. Chekalyuk.
The first Ukrainian printed organ in the United States was the newspaper "America", which was founded by the first Greek Catholic priest in the United States, Father Ivan Volyansky. The publication began to be published in August 1886 in Shenandoah (Pennsylvania). The editor was assisted by Hryhoriy Dolny, Vasyl Sarych from Lemko, and later by the Serb Negotynich.
At first, the newspaper was published once every two weeks, but a year later it became a weekly. Later, Volodymyr Simenovych, a student of Ivan Franko, became the editor. According to available information, Ivan Volyansky invited Ivan Franko to come to Shenandoah. Also, during a trip to Lviv in the fall of 1888, Volodymyr Simenovych asked Mykhailo Pavlyk, and through him Mykhailo Dragomanov, to send materials for publication in "America".
Other figures were also interested in Ukrainian life overseas, in particular Julian Bachynsky, who sent his publications and collected information about the life of the community. The bulk of the newspaper's materials consisted of local news and reviews. One of such contributions was a letter from a Ukrainian farmer, Teofan Zhytsa, who in 1888 told about his farm in Wisconsin and noted that he had settled on his own farm back in 1886. This date is considered the beginning of Ukrainian farming in the United States.
After the departure of Father Ivan Volyansky in 1890, most of the initiatives he had started ceased to operate, including the publication of the newspaper. The last issue of "America" was published on November 22, 1890.
After that, new Ukrainian publications began to appear. In 1891, Father Kost Andrukhovych published the newspaper "Ruske Slovo", which existed for one year and became the second Ukrainian newspaper in the United States. In the same year, Father Hryhoriy Hrushko founded the newspaper "Novyi Svet", which was published twice a month until 1893. The oldest Ukrainian publication that has survived to this day is the newspaper "Svoboda", which has been published daily since 1921 and had a Ukrainian radical-neutral orientation.
By 1917, other Ukrainian newspapers were also published in the United States, including Khlopsky Paragraf (1908–1909), published by the Prosvita Society, and Haydamaki (1909–1916). In total, from the appearance of the first newspaper, America, in 1886 until the beginning of World War I, the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States had 32 different printed publications. Some of them have survived to this day — Svoboda, Narodna Volya, and Amerika.
In 1910, the newspaper Narodna Volya began to be published in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as the printed organ of the Ukrainian Labor Union. In 1915–1922, it also published the supplement Tovarish Immigranta. Later, Narodna Volya published the calendar Almanac of the Ukrainian Fraternal Union and the English-language magazine Forum, published in Toronto.
After 1917, the Ukrainian press in the United States expanded significantly. Political, church, corporate, and scientific publications began to be published. Among them were the newspapers "Ukraine" (1932–1941), "Nash Shlyak" (1935–1955), the pro-Soviet "Ukrainian Daily News" (1921–1955), and "Worker's Voice" (1925–1926).
Since 1923, the democratic weekly "Ukrainian Community" has been published, which was previously called "Defense of Ukraine". At the initiative of Dr. T. Mandryka, the newspaper "Pravda i Volya" began to be published, which later became a magazine. The newspaper "Nationalist" (New York) and its supplement "Ukraine" had a nationalist orientation. The newspaper "Independent Ukraine" became the organ of the Organization of the State Revival of Ukraine, and began to be published in Chicago in 1948. It was initially a monthly, then became a bimonthly in 1974, and a quarterly in 1979.
In 1948, the Society of Engineers of America was also founded in New York, which initiated professional periodicals. It published the magazines "Visti", "Bulletin TUTU" and "Visti ukrainiani inzhereniv".
The first post-war Ukrainian publication in Chicago was the weekly "Ukrainian Life", which was published in 1956–1985. Initially, it was published by the Uchitelska hromada, and later the publication functioned on a cooperative basis. In 1965, the Catholic-diocesan bilingual newspaper "Nova zorya" began to be published. At first, it was a weekly, and in 1982 it became a biweekly.
In addition to the Ukrainian-language press, English-language publications were also published. Since October 1977, the weekly Ukrainian News has been published, the newspaper Ukrainian Weekly, the first issue of which was published in 1933, and the publication Ukrainian American continued to be published.
An important place among Ukrainian publications was occupied by the women's press. These included the magazines "Woman" (1939–1940) and "Ukrainian Woman in the World" (1963–1978).
Despite the increase in the cost of printing services, the number of Ukrainian printed publications in the United States did not decrease. During 1987–1988 alone, more than 50 publications were published in the series “Monographs”, “Sources and Documents”, “Harvard Library of Early Ukrainian Literature” and “Publications of the Ukrainian Studies Fund”...
Starting with the appearance of the first newspaper “America”, the Ukrainian press in the United States became an important means of preserving the national identity of the Ukrainian community. New publications emerged to support Ukrainian traditions, culture and historical heritage, and also became an information platform for Ukrainians in the United States...
Photo: Ukrainske Slovo
Author: Danylo Pievchev