EDITORIAL: NO CAKES FOR THIS ONE!
By Khatchig Mouradian
The Armenian Weekly
January 14, 2010
The 75th anniversary of the Armenian Weekly came and went without any
fanfare. No celebration events were held, no banquets were organized,
and no cakes were cut. The economy and the Turkey-Armenia protocols
remained on top of the agenda and contributed to this amnesia.
Anniversaries didn’t stand a chance.
But the nuclear staff of the Weekly and its large base of contributors
and readers worldwide had many reasons to celebrate, and celebrate we
did, by making sure we not only survived but thrived when many other
national and ethnic newspapers are closing. We continued publishing
magazine issues bringing together dozens of prominent writers and
scholars from across the globe. We improved our website and made
it a forum of discussion and debate for thousands upon thousands of
loyal readers worldwide. And, diligently, every week-without taking a
single week off-we put out the paper as if our readers’ lives depended
on it. It all was our way of saying we are 75 years young. It all was
our way of saying, There may not be any cakes, but you’ll get a better
paper, a better magazine issue, and better online content every week.
And instead of trying desperately to bask in the glories of the
past-retelling stories about how William Saroyan and others got their
start in the Weekly-we introduced new writers and columnists, who
produce work that make us proud in the here-and-now. I am constantly
amazed at the amount of work the Armenian Weekly gets done with
the minimal resources we have. I thank my assistant editor for the
past three years, Andrew Turpin (we wish you the best of luck in
your future endeavors, Andy) and copyeditor Nayiri Arzoumanian for
their efforts. The editor receives most of the credit (and all the
criticism), but without the dedication of those who worked with me,
this paper would not have been anywhere near where it is now. I also
thank our columnists, all our contributors, and last but not least,
you, our readers. Happy Holidays!