Hellenic Journal serves Greek community in U.S.

A small, community news organization’s purpose is to give a voice to its community.

The Hellenic Journal is no different.

Based in Danville, Cali., a town of just under 43,000 people, the Hellenic Journal was started in April 1975 by Frank P. Agnost. “It was the only newspaper west of the Mississippi published on a regular basis and dedicated to the coverage of news from Greece as well as the American Greek communities throughout the country” (thehellenicjournal.com).

Danville is just a 40-minute drive out of San Francisco where approximately 37,697 people of Greek ancestry live in the metropolitan area, according to the 2010–2012 American Community Survey.

As defined by Merriam-Webster, the word Hellenic means “of or relating to Greece, its people, or its language; specifically : of or relating to ancient Greek history, culture, or art before the Hellenistic period.”

The Hellenic Journal serves a primordial community — Greek-Americans — by reporting and publishing stories of Greek-related news in its monthly magazine, and online.

According to the website, when Frank Agnost retired in 2001, he gave up power to the Hellenic Journal staff and board of directors. They wanted to continue the rich tradition established by Agnost of keeping the Greek American community connected and offering a unique voice.

The Hellenic Journal has five main subject bars to choose from — not including the “about us” or “contact” pages. They are: articles, features, news, lifestyle, and community. When you click on one, it breaks on into sub-categories which include sports, Orthodox news, arts and entertainment, and others.

Their reporting team consists of two Athens correspondents, two U.S. correspondents, six special correspondents, and others.

Nearly every article found on the website strictly focuses on a Greek-related topic. From stories like “Socrates comes to the San Francisco Bay Area” to their monthly “5 Greeks you should know about” posts, the Hellenic Journal is filled with Greek news from in and around the San Francisco area.

Many of the articles that I found on the website had to do with covering events. There was one on the 12th annual St. Nicholas Volleyball Tournament, the 41st annual Folk Dance and Choral Festival, and others.

The spotlight story for the month of April has been “Jamming with the Lerios Brothers of Fox Wilde” that is about two brothers — Michael and Demetri Lerios — that formed the musical duo Fox Wilde. The article delves into how the two got started in music; gives a quick background on their father, Cory Lerios of the music group “Pablo Cruise”; and their single “Soap.”

One thing I noticed was there wasn’t a single story I could find that related to Trump. I’m not sure why that might be because they did have stories on Obama meeting with Greek officials.

The main page offers a link to the Hellenic Career Center for job postings; “news tips” to where you can send press releases, story ideas or news tips; and a message board to share announcements or event information.

According to their Facebook page, the Hellenic Career Center “is a comprehensive job board and career center for the Greek American community sponsored by the NATIONAL HELLENIC SOCIETY.”

In 2016, Greece ranked 89 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index. In 2015, Greece fell 50 spots, one of the biggest-ever falls (https://rsf.org/en/greece).

“ … Alexis Tsipras’ government continues to struggle to end corruption and to provide the adequate framework for the functioning of the country’s media” (World Press Freedom Index).

The Hellenic Journal has a social media presence, too. Its Facebook has 6,874 “likes,” while its Twitter page has just 726. But, after review of the Twitter page, it’s clear it isn’t relied on as much as Facebook is. The Instagram page has 641 followers, and the photos posted are mainly of Greek-related events instead of links to stories.

You can contact the Hellenic Journal on its contact page, and even submit editorials to info@hellenicjournal.org that are due at the first of the month for the following month’s publication.