The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.2005, Qupperneq 13

Vol. 59 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
99
audience still exist for an Icelandic newspa-
per?
If it does, I think it will respond to
professional writing, editing, photography
and design, and the subscription numbers
will show that.
However, it may be that people no
longer take their Icelandic heritage as much
to heart; at least, not enough to pay for a
subscription.
The divide that Gordon Reykdal wrote
of in the last issue of The Icelandic
Canadian, between the people who are
supportive of the Icelandic community and
those who say “why bother,” is the main
source of Logberg-Heimskringla’s instabil-
ity. If your audience says “why bother” to
their Icelandic heritage, selling them a sub-
scription to L-H is going to be an uphill
battle to say the least. In fact, it seems to be
an uphill battle among people who are
interested in their heritage.
Right now, we face a problem in circu-
lation. Well, more accurately, a problem
in subscriptions. By all indications, there
are tens -- if not hundreds — of thousands
of people who are proud of their Icelandic
heritage. This is not borne out by our sub-
scription numbers, yet we hear all the time
that the main reason someone won’t sub-
scribe is, “Oh, I just read my
amma’s/mother’s/cousin’s copy.” The
question that faces the staff and board is,
how can we make the paper so good that
people won’t wait to borrow someone
else’s?
I don’t think L-H is unique in this.
Of all the Icelandic organizations in North
America, the ones that thrive are the ones
who adapt to what their participants or
audiences want, and give them something
they can’t get anywhere else. What one
generation considers a vital part of its her-
itage may be seen by another as irrelevant.
For example, one generation was eager to
rid itself of the Icelandic language; present
ones are rediscovering it with a passion.
But clinging to a tradition for the sake of
tradition is a sure way to kill it off, and in
the case of L-H, subscribing to a newspa-
per out of guilt or because your parents
used to doesn’t do anyone any favours.
Hence the need to change and constantly
find new subscribers.
Sometimes that even means tapping the
shoulder of old subscribers. As mentioned
above, some people have very strong ideas
of what a publication like L-H should be.
But, perhaps, having seen it change in a
direction they didn’t like, they stopped
subscribing. Many, I think, would be sur-
prised to see how much it has changed
recently, and how efforts to really improve
the paper have borne fruit.
The other important factor in a publi-
cation is the readers’ sense of ownership.
In a very real way, every subscriber of the
newspaper is a member of Logberg-
Heimskringla—it says so in our by-laws.
Any subscriber could attend the Annual
General Meeting, have his or her say, and
vote. It’s telling that so few of them do.
The L-H is no longer the lightning rod of
controversy it once was in the Icelandic
community, and in a way I’m sorry for
that. But on the other hand, long-standing
arguments between Logberg and
Heimskringla didn’t keep them afloat well
enough to avoid amalgamation, either.
The sense of having a stake in a news-
J»j6draeknisfelag Islendinga f Vesturheimi
PRESIDENT: Walter Sopher
Support Icelandic culture and heritage
by joining your local chapter, or contact:
The Icelandic National League
#103-94 First Ave. Gimli, MB ROC 1B1
Tel: (204) 642-5897 • Fax: (204) 642-7151
inl@mts.net