All of us from our generation remember the first bilingual monthly magazine in the United States, "Polish News". It is still published today by our wonderful friend Krystyna Teller. Since neither the Polish authorities, nor the media noticed that Krysia had already retired, we allow ourselves to recall how "Polish News" came into being.
In 1996, a bilingual publication is created in Chicago in the form of a bulletin of Krystyna Teller's company "KJT International, Ltd.", aimed at promoting the company's printing services. The bulletin also contains information on events of the Polish community in Chicago, cultural information, and promotes Chicago poets. It is an 8-page, bilingual publication. Circulation: 1,000 copies.
Krystyna Teller (Source: polishnews.com)
At the request of the Polish community living in the northwest suburbs, in June 1996 the bulletin is transformed into a free monthly, registering under the title "Polish Suburban News" and is published in newspaper form. Initial editions are 12-page periodicals with a circulation of 2,000 copies and 24 pages. They are distributed in the suburbs of Chicago.
Chicago residents notice the "Polish Suburban News" magazine and ask for distribution to be expanded to the city of Chicago. The publisher increases the circulation to 15,000 and the number of pages grows to 64. The monthly has several sections, including news from the country and the world, culture, history of the USA and Poland, politics, family and upbringing, learning Polish and English, religion, sports, health, economics.
The monthly has correspondents in many states of America and in Poland. Through its bilingual form (Polish-English) it creates a bridge between Poland and the United States, as well as among bilingual families living in the USA. It also becomes a help for Polish Schools in the USA. Many teachers use the materials included in the magazine. It promotes Poland, Polish history and identity.
Krystyna Teller visits Poland in June 1997 and sees with her own eyes a human tragedy unfolding - a great flood. After returning to Chicago, she decides to launch a website called polishnews.com - the first ever Polish media in Chicago, and maybe in the United States. All this in order to be able to use the website to keep readers around the world up to date on the flood situation in Poland and to enable Polonia to help their compatriots in Poland.
The bilingual portal quickly becomes the leading Polish community portal promoting Polish-American cultural heritage, uniting Polish communities around the world.
The polishnews.com portal was also created for the promotional purposes of the bilingual social and cultural magazine "Polish Suburban News", which in later years changed its name to "Polish News". In addition to publishing activities, an integral part of the company's (the publisher of polishnews.com) activity was broadly understood marketing activity, which consisted of, for example, introducing Polish-American companies to the US consumer market. The domain polishnews.com, thanks to its name, beats all growth records in the years 1997-2005 (two million visits per month), becoming very popular all over the world among Internet readers.
Prof. Dr. Zdzisław Wesołowski and Krystyna Teller Polish News ), International Polonaise Ball, Florida, February 5, 2005 (Source: polishnews.com)
An online store is also being created on the website, which sells everything from Polish books, to paintings by Polish artists, Polish folk art, to devotional articles and Christmas Eve wafers, so that Polish people living in those states in America where there were no Polish stores, could have access to them.
Polishnews.com reaches readers of various age groups, interests, and in various regions of the world. It has been operating this way since 1997 until today, i.e. until 2024. Krystyna Teller - publisher of Polish Suburban News - after several years of publishing a free monthly for Polonia, comes to the conclusion that she offers too much for free, and that what is free, people do not respect and do not appreciate, because it does not cost them anything. She decides to change the format of the magazine. She creates a new colorful magazine. She also increases the substantive value of the magazine.
Krystyna Teller is currently retired, but continues to independently run the digital edition of polishnews.com. She is currently focusing on preparing 20 years of archival collections on the life of the Polish diaspora in the USA to be transferred to the Central Digital Archives in Poland.
Thank you, Krysia!
Translation from Polish by Andrew Woźniewicz.
