The idea of reactivating Kuryer Polski arose in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which has always been an important center of Polish life. The so-called "old" Polish community still remembers the image of Kuryer as a newspaper standing up for concrete Polish causes in America.
Kosciuszko Monument, Milwaukee (Source: Roadtrippers)
Kuryer Polski has always linked American Poles around matters concerning Poland and the Polish diaspora. Already at the time of establishing the newspaper, i.e. in 1888, long before the famous words of one of the fathers of Polish independence, Roman Dmowski: "I am a Pole and I have Polish duties," the famous words of the first editor-in-chief, Michał Kruszko, were: "«Kuryer Polski» is a newspaper that represents the interests of Poles in America."
What is Kuryer Polski like today?
We would like to point out that today, Kuryer is a bilingual internet portal aimed at connecting Poland and its diaspora all over the world. To unite and not to divide is a very difficult task in today's polarized world.
Kuryer's management has established a long-term strategy, the exponent of which is not to engage on the side of various forces fighting one another around the world, but encouraging members of the Polish diaspora to engage politically, on both sides, both conservative and liberal, in order to preserve and strengthen the importance and the role of the Polish community in America and around the world.
What did we do last year?
Kuryer Polski was reactivated in September 2020, amid a raging pandemic and in the middle of the America-versus-America war. In the expansion of the Internet, we saw an opportunity, the possibility of communicating with the Polish diaspora all over the world.
Interpersonal ties, including the ties between the Polish diaspora and Poland, have become very loosened. There is a serious concern that the lack of such contacts will eliminate the Polish diaspora from, both, the life of the country of our origin, and the life of the country of our residence. There are 60 million of us — Poles — in total. The Polish community is made up of outstanding individuals: political and/or economic emigrants. They are talented, courageous, very hardworking and very patriotic people.
Our journalistic inquiries have shown that world's knowledge about the history of Poland and the Polish diaspora is very modest. We started from scratch, but with enthusiasm and faith that we would succeed. We found our place on the Internet as a bilingual portal, overcame technical and legal obstacles, gave the graphic and substantive shape to the kuryerpolski.us website.
In the beginning, we immediately were opposed by a large group of readers who noticed articles by Polish conservatives on our portal, that were, of course, in favor of President Trump. Later, some of the publications of the editor-in-chief of Kuryer, who is a columnist for Tygodnik Solidarność (eng. Solidarity Weekly), aroused controversy among those who did not like the articles about the Operation Warp Speed, the vaccination plan prepared by President Trump. The more liberal theses advocated by some of our authors are, in turn, opposed by the right-wing conservatives...
However, our reach is constantly growing and we often receive very positive opinions about the particularly high professionalism of our articles, in which we do not look for cheap sensation, or evoke unnecessary emotions, but we try to provide proven information and facts, supported by the sources we provide.
We would also like to point out that we mainly publish original articles, written especially for Kuryer Polski, and more than 160 of them were written from September 1, 2020. Each of them is published in Polish and has a mirror image in English. Under the auspices of Kuryer, the first debate was also held on the state of the American Polonia as the eighth largest ethnic group living in the United States. We have found a presence in the minds of many of our readers.
Talking about the reach, most our readers are of course in the United States, where our base is. They are both Poles and Americans of Polish origin. We also value the views of born Americans, among whom we find recognition, and who often feel a lack of information in the mainstream American media on the topics we write about.
Another group of our readers are Poles from Poland, as well as citizens of Great Britain, Germany, France and the Benelux countries. We also have a readership in Australia, South Africa, Russia and other places. We have regular collaborators from Germany, Australia, Poland and other countries. We definitely want to expand this base. Each of our authors comes with a biography — there are no random people among us.
What are we writing about and what is our profile?
We write a lot about the importance of the Polish diaspora and what role it could play, if given the advantage of slightly closer cooperation with Poland and Polish diplomacy. We also recall the role it played in American politics as a serious political force in the past decades. We also write about the Polish diaspora in other countries. We write about important activities of the Polish diaspora in America and in the world. We present outstanding figures from among the ranks of the Polish diaspora. We present the most important politicians of Polish origin who had a huge impact on world politics. We also present the profiles of outstanding Poles.
Our articles are published on the Internet, both in Polish and in English, which means that some search terms entered into well-known search engines — especially in English — bring up articles from Kuryer Polski at the top of the search results. This is an outstanding success, as the lack of Polish narrative in the English-language Internet is shocking.
Writing about Polish matters in English is an extremely important issue and the Polish raison d'etat requires it. English is now the global lingua franca — the common language of the whole world. Overall, there is an astonishing shortage of publications in this language that would present a truly Polish point of view. As a result, the Polish raison d'etat is poorly promoted and the world of today is, after all, a world of information — in need of constant promotion, so that – the real information – is not drowned by the flood of fake news, i.e. lies. Content not available in English simply doesn't exist.
Who is behind Kuryer Polski?
Kuryer Polski is an independent publication that strives to provide objective, reliable information. We are not promoting any particular political bias or party line. We present facts first and foremost, and we try to separate our personal opinions – when we express them – clearly from the facts.
Kuryer's team is subject to dynamic changes, and the authors who write for us are, to a large extent, eminent specialists, lawyers, professors, well-known Polish community activists and journalists. Yet, anyone can write for us, as long as they can document their information and views with reliable sources.
We believe that a dialogue between the different sides of the political spectrum is a necessary factor in healing the situation in both the United States and Poland, and, in fact, everywhere in the world. There is a need for genuine dialogue to discover the real arguments on both sides of political and ideological divisions. When we understand each other better, it may turn out that agreement and joint action are not only possible, but also the only way out of a complicated situation.
All those who feel Polish at heart should work together for the sake of the Polish raison d'état, the core of which is not a subject of political discourse. Free, independent, prosperous and economically and politically strong Poland is a goal that cannot be disputed.
Who pays for it?
The entire process of publishing Kuryer Polski is done on a voluntary basis. Nobody pays anyone for anything, there are no cushy jobs paid for by the taxpayers or sponsors. There is no dependence of content selection on the level of spending on ads. So we don't have to try to please anyone — we write what we really think.
On the other hand, and as a result, we are constantly looking for material resources, primarily for the maintenance of more and more expensive internet infrastructure. We don't have enough resources to expand our reach, and obtaining them is the main task for Kuryer Polski this year.
We write grant applications, but we clearly do not fit into the "preferred" group. Last year, we received two small grants from Warsaw, for which we are extremely grateful. We had to return one, slightly larger, grant due to unrealistic expectations. It is a pity that the widely advertised aid from Warsaw does not actually reach us, and that the sums being awarded are constantly being cut and satisfy only a fraction of a percent of our needs.
At the moment, the biggest problems we have are hardware issues (new computers, modern communication devices). Fees for various services, subscriptions to US media, fees for images related to publications, payment for a graphic designer – a meme specialist, purchase of graphics software licenses, creation of a new version of editor programs, translation of articles — the list of needs is long. We ourselves, often in the course of our activity, "discover" what we do not have yet and what we need to function.
What's next?
As our future activity, we want to expand the base of our authors, professional texts, and projects that can help build Polish diaspora in the world, Polish lobbying and influence world opinion, promoting Polishness and Polish interests.
For our part, we promise to maintain the high professionalism of our publications — we shall not be influenced by the demagogy of extreme groups. Our goal is to present objective truth — whatever that may be.
This year, we also plan to launch an economic project that will promote Polish-American business. Yes, in the end, some ads will have to find their place in Kuryer, but we will try to make them non-intrusive and non-annoying.
An appeal to the entire Polish community - "Old" and "New"
We are addressing both the "old" Polish diaspora in America, as well as the newest one: support us! On the website of the kuryerpolski.us portal, we have placed the proper tools for convenient payments to the account of Kuryer Polski.
Kuryer Polski is your bilingual medium. Without the support of this medium in the United States, the Polish diaspora will gradually assimilate and, in 15-20 years, no one will remember us anymore. We know what to do. Help us financially and also show us the right path. We are waiting for letters from you!
Last, but not least, our best wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year 2022 from our Editorial Board to all our Readers and Friends!
