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California Courier’s 50th
Anniversary to Be Celebrated on May 18
The California Courier, the oldest independent
English-language Armenian newspaper in the United States, is
50 years old this year!
In 1958, two young men in Fresno—George Mason (Elmassian)
and Reese Cleghorn—had the foresight to publish an
English-language newspaper, so that those unfamiliar with
their native tongue could stay in touch with community news.
Cleghorn went on to become Professor and Dean of the School
of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Mason continued
publishing the Courier with his popular weekly opinion
column titled, “This and That” and wrote amusing Armenian
wisecracks under the rubric “Uncle Hadji” and “Dear Dickran.”
After moving to Los. Angeles and becoming a prominent stock
broker, Mason employed a succession of part-time editors and
stringers. The most colorful personality to run the paper
was a Japanese-American by the name of Seico Hanashiro, who
worked at the Fresno post office during the day and
published the Courier from his garage in his spare time. In
the process, Seico knew more about the Armenian community
than did most Armenians!
In 1983, Mason hired as full time editor of the Courier a
young man by the name of Harut Sassounian, who subsequently
became the publisher of the newspaper and moved it from
Fresno to Glendale.
Mason, a seasoned writer, gave this young man a piece of
good advice on day one: No matter what’s happening in your
life, you have to write a column each week! Get yourself in
the discipline of writing regularly, even if you are ill,
don’t feel like writing, or are out of town. Never skip your
weekly column, because once you stop writing, it will be
more difficult for you to start writing again!
I followed Mason’s wise counsel. I have written more than
1,200 opinion columns in the past 25 years without skipping
a single week. At the request of many readers, a selection
of my columns will be published in book form in the near
future.
When I look back at the early years of my employment, I am
amazed how the newspaper was published without a computer or
any other modern equipment we now take for granted. The
Courier had neither e-mail nor even a fax machine. I used to
write my columns by hand on a piece of paper. I would then
rush to the Greyhound Bus depot in Glendale and pay $5 to
put my column on the next bus to Fresno. Seico would go and
pick it up from the bus in Fresno, just in time before the
paper went to print.
At first, most subscribers who were used to reading society
news in the pages of the Courier, resented this newcomer who
persisted on writing political analysis week after week.
Fortunately, the Courier’s readers eventually developed a
keen interest in his columns. With the advent of the
internet, these columns began to be posted on scores of
websites and reprinted in English and in translation in
dozens of newspapers in the U.S., and in other countries,
including Armenia.
The USC Institute of Armenian Studies will recognize the
founders of The California Courier during a gala banquet to
be held at the Hilton Universal City on May 18. Regrettably,
George Mason passed away a couple of years ago. However, his
associate publisher, Reese Cleghorn is invited to the gala
banquet to reminisce the early days of the Courier and pay
special tribute to Mason.
The tribute to the Courier is part of the Armenian
Institute’s salute to “California’s Armenian community for
50 years of progress and prosperity.” The banquet, expected
to be attended by the Who’s Who of the Armenian American
community, will honor actor Mike Connors, former Gov. George
Deukmejian, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul
Ignatius, former basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, and
corporate entrepreneur Ronald Tutor.
Using the newly digitized 50-year archives of The California
Courier, the USC Institute is preparing a special
documentary that will highlight the achievements of more
than 50 distinguished California Armenians who have become
major stars in their respective fields.
The banquet will also pay tribute to The Lincy Foundation
for its generous philanthropy in Armenia and the Diaspora,
and will welcome Mr. Edward Roski, Jr., the incoming
Chairman of the USC Board of Trustees.
For more information about the gala banquet of the USC
Institute of Armenian Studies, please call 213-821-3943 or
e-mail: armenian@college.usc.edu.
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