Nordstjernan (newspaper)

Last updated
Nordstjernan
Nordstjernan cover1.jpg
First cover of Nordstjernan, Sept. 21, 1872
Editor Ulf Barslund Martensson
Categories Sweden, ethnic, travel, social issues, popular culture
Frequency18 per year
First issueSeptember 21, 1872
Company Swedish News, Inc.
Country United States
Language English and Swedish
Website nordstjernan.com
ISSN 1059-7670

Nordstjernan (in English The North Star), founded in 1872, is a mostly English-language newspaper for Swedish Americans and Swedish citizens in the United States. The publisher is Swedish News, Inc. of New York City. [1]

Contents

History

The first issue of America’s Swedish newspaper, Nordstjernan, appeared on newsstands on September 21, 1872, in the Manhattan district of the city of New York. When Nordstjernan published its first issue, Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the victorious Union military commander from the American Civil War, was in the last weeks of campaigning for what would be his reelection to a second term as the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). Since its foundation, it documented the links between Sweden and America but was initially created to supply the growing numbers of immigrants to the area with news from the old country. Svenska Tryckföreningen in New York City began publishing Nordstjernan. On newsstands each Saturday, at noon, it sold for six cents per copy, or three dollars per annual subscription, postage not included (later reduced to $2.00 per year and five cents per copy after protests from readers).

During the early days of Nordstjernan, the 1870s, stories in publications were composed by hand through movable type. Images were engraved by hand as mirror images into metal. Photoengraving arrived much later. [2]

Recent activities

Today Nordstjernan covers Swedish America from coast to coast. It contains news summaries, trends and columnists from Sweden but also covers traditions, trivia, seasonal recipes, and reports on Swedish community activities from all over the USA. Some of the organizations, such as the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco/Silicon Valley or the American Union of Swedish Singers appear in the newspaper on a regular, monthly basis. Others, such as the New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society or the American Swedish Historical Museum contribute regularly on people and early or later immigrant stories. While keeping up the Swedish-language tradition is still part of the newspaper's vision, content has increasingly been presented in English, expanding a trait present in the publication from its first issue. The newspaper, now published twice per month or biweekly, is 80% in English reflecting a readership divided between born Swedish Americans and expatriate Swedes.

In December, 2007, Nordstjernan merged with the similar publication Vestkusten in California. Published under the Nordstjernan name, the paper is printed at two locations simultaneously—outside New York and in northern California. Part of the newspaper and much of its online content are now user-generated through upload functions. [3]

See also

Note

As of March 2009, this article is derived in whole or in part from nordstjernan.com. The copyright holder has licensed the content in a manner that permits reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.The original text was at "A History Going Back to 1872"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Library of Sweden</span> Swedens national library

The National Library of Sweden is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish association published abroad. Being a research library, it also has major collections of literature in other languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Americans</span> American of Swedish birth or descent

Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants.

Barbro Sachs-Osher is the Swedish Consul General in San Francisco and a well-known philanthropist, chair of the Bernard Osher Foundation and of the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.

Vasa Order of America is a Swedish-American fraternal, cultural and educational organization. The organization seeks to benefit its members by sharing Swedish and Scandinavian culture and heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newspaper</span> Scheduled publication containing news of events, articles, features, editorials, and advertisements

A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Matson</span> American shipping executive (1849–1917)

William Matson was a Swedish-born American shipping executive. He was the founder of Matson Navigation Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Skarstedt</span>

Ernst Teofil Skarstedt was a Swedish-American author, journalist and editor of Swedish-language books and newspapers. He is most noted as the author of a three-volume trilogy covering the Swedish immigrant experience in the Pacific Northwest.

During the nine decades since its establishment in 1919, the Communist Party USA produced or inspired a vast array of newspapers and magazines in at least 25 different languages. This list of the Non-English press of the Communist Party USA provides basic information on each title, along with links to pages dealing with specific publications in greater depth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-English press of the Socialist Party of America</span>

For a number of decades after its establishment in August 1901, the Socialist Party of America produced or inspired a vast array of newspapers and magazines in an array different languages. This list of the Non-English press of the Socialist Party of America provides basic information on each title, along with links to pages dealing with specific publications in greater depth.

Ara is a Catalan daily Spanish newspaper that began publication on 28 November 2010, coinciding with the 2010 Catalan regional election. It is the third most read daily newspaper in Catalonia, and the most read daily newspaper written exclusively in the Catalan language. Its regional edition, Ara Balears, is the most popular Catalan language newspaper on the Balearic Islands. ARA's online edition had nearly 3.2M visitors in September 2017, making it the most popular online newspaper in Catalan language.

<i>The Revolutionary Age</i> Left-wing newspaper published between 1918 and 1919

The Revolutionary Age was an American radical newspaper edited by Louis C. Fraina and published from November 1918 until August 1919. Originally the publication of Local Boston, Socialist Party, the paper evolved into the de facto national organ of the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party which battled for control of the Socialist Party throughout the spring and summer of 1919. With the establishment of the Left Wing National Council in June 1919, the paper was moved from Boston to New York City gained status as the official voice of the nascent American communist movement. The publication was terminated in August 1919, replaced by the official organ of the new Communist Party of America, a weekly newspaper known as The Communist.

<i>Fokus</i> (magazine)

Fokus is a Swedish-language weekly news and current affairs magazine. It was founded by Martin Ahlquist, Lars Grafström, Karin Pettersson and Martin Ådahl. It was first published in December 2005. In 2007, it was awarded the Swedish Publicists' Association's grand prize. The magazine publishes 41 issues per year and has a circulation of approximately 31,000. Fokus is editorially politically unbound. The magazine is owned and published by FPG Media, a Swedish limited company.

<i>Social-Demokraten</i> (Chicago newspaper)

Social-Demokraten was a Norwegian and Danish weekly socialist newspaper published in the United States from 1911 to 1921. The paper was a privately owned entity closely associated with the Scandinavian Socialist Federation of the Socialist Party of America.

Swedish American of the Year (SAY)/Årets Svensk Amerikan is an annual award program of the Vasa Order of America which is run by the two Sweden District Lodges – District 19 and District 20.

<i>Swedish Press</i>

Swedish Press is North America’s only Swedish monthly magazine. The readership consists mainly of Swedish expats and Swedish descendants living in Canada and the United States, as well as North American businesses with links to Sweden. It is published 8 times a year. The magazine contains articles in both English and Swedish on subjects related to contemporary events in Sweden, as well as coverage of Swedish traditions and culture. The Swedish Press also features interesting Swedish personalities and companies. The magazine comes in a printed and a digital edition.

Scandinavian Immigration to the Americas involves the immigration of people from Scandinavia to the Americas and its associated territories. Typically, Scandinavia refers to the countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and sometimes other Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland. Individuals who immigrated to the Americas from Scandinavia brought with them cultural, economic, educational, and other valuable contributions.

Vestkusten was an originally Swedish-language newspaper, published in California from 1887 to 2007. It was founded as Ebenezer, a church news bulletin by Augustana Lutheran pastor Johannes Telleen, but it soon changed focus and became a newspaper after he gave it over to editor and typesetter Alrik G. Spencer. For most of its run, it was a weekly newspaper published in San Francisco. It was primarily a local newspaper for Swedish Americans in northern California, but also contained news from the Swedish press in the form of special reports.

<i>Svenska Amerikanaren Tribunen</i> Swedish-American newspaper

Svenska Amerikanaren Tribunen is a Swedish-American weekly newspaper which was published in Chicago and read by Swedish immigrants.

Ernst Wilhelm (William) Olson was a Swedish-American journalist, publicist, writer, and translator. He has been described as "one of Swedish-America's foremost literary figures".

References

  1. "About Nordstjernan. (New York [N.Y.]) 1872-1966". Chronicling America is s. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  2. "Nordstjernan". SACC-USA. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  3. "Vestkusten". California Digital Newspaper Collection. Retrieved October 11, 2015.

Sources