InternationalEditorial notebook: Thank you and good luck
by Vincent Lima
Published: Friday February 12, 2010 in Editorial Notebook
The cover page of the inaugural issue of the Armenian Reporter's Arts & Culture section, March 3, 2007. .
The first page of the Eastern U.S. Community section of the Armenian Reporter for December 22, 2007. On the lower right is a story discussed by members and friends of the Homenetmen throughout the Eastern U.S. but avoided by other newspapers. With its coverage, the Reporter sought to help the discussions proceed in an informed manner.
New York - The Armenian Reporter is starting a new phase in its existence under the able leadership of Emil Sanamyan. Even as he takes on additional tasks, Emil will continue to act as Armenians' eyes and ears in Washington, offering political news as well as sober and deeply informed analysis.
One of the most important contributions of the Armenian Reporter over the past three years has been Emil's column, Washington Briefing.
In addition to his column, we have published numerous memorable articles by Emil over the last 3½ years. His analysis of the Azerbaijani arms buildup served as a wakeup call to some officials in Armenia and beyond. His story, filed from the Dominican Republic, on the remains of the Armenian ship Quedagh Merchant, which had been captured by Captain Kidd in 1698, was extremely popular online. He has carried out numerous important interviews, often asking readers to send him questions they would like to see answered. I remember his interviews with Armenia's Defense Minister (now president) Serge Sargsyan, Armenia's prime minister, Karabakh's prime minister, Armenia's new consul general in Los Angeles, former U.S. ambassador Harry Gilmore, the fascinating Turkish journalist Nigar Goksel, the photographer Scout Tufankjian, and the ambassador of Mexico in Washington, among others.
It is with great confidence that I hand the reins of the Reporter to Emil.
Four years of change
To lead the Armenian Reporter has been a privilege for me. I started planning the newspaper's transformation – and writing the editorials – in May 2006, when Gerard L. Cafesjian acquired the newspaper. I took over as editor upon the departure of Aris Sevag in October of that year.
Mr. Cafesjian's desire was to mobilize a growing number of Armenian-Americans to become active, both in our communities and in supporting the U.S.–Armenia relationship. He believed in the power of the media to motivate people. Our mission was to reach tens of thousands of families with high-quality reporting and analysis in a compelling package. The paper reached the office of every member of Congress, and Mr. Cafesjian wanted to see Armenians portrayed accurately.
He invested heavily in this vision, and every member of my staff has been in awe of Mr. Cafesjian's leadership, and grateful for his faith in the Reporter.
As loyal readers know, I worked out of Yerevan. The Reporter was – and remains – a showcase for a team spread out over multiple time zones getting things done well and on time through good planning and the use of the Internet.
A community newspaper
Notwithstanding my physical distance from the United States, I was committed to the Reporter being first and foremost a community newspaper for Armenian-Americans. It had to give comprehensive coverage to the news closest to home. Recognizing that what counts as local in New York does not count as local in Glendale, Calif., and vice versa, we instituted two weekly print editions of the paper, one for the Eastern United States, one for the West. Each edition had a separate 12-page section dedicated to local news (and local ads).
The Reporter entered the California market in April 2007. Circulation there quickly grew to an unprecedented 30,000 copies a week.
We wanted our readers to find themselves, their children, their friends, and their organizations in the paper, and our team – which was led by Managing Editor Chris Zakian in Paramus, N.J., along with Paul Chaderjian in Los Angeles – made sure that happened week after week.
To report on the very large and multifaceted Armenian communities of California and on Armenians in the arts, we assembled a team of freelance reporters, columnists, and photographers. We wanted to see more than just news of routine programs organized by churches and community organizations. We sought to provide information that would be discussed at dinner tables, in cafés and church halls, and on social-networking sites.
An explosion of Armenians in the arts
Starting an Arts & Culture section (on March 3, 2007) seemed like a huge risk at the time. Did we Armenians have enough going on in the arts to fill 52 × 24, or 1,248 letter-sized pages a year? Indeed, we did. The section brought together columns like Lory Bedikian's Poetry Matters and Aram Kouyoumdjian's theater reviews with profiles of Armenians in various arts, book reviews, and news of openings, performances, and other cultural events.
