Amerikai Magyar Újság, 2006 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
name was ÉRTESÍTŐ, distributed under the name BALTIMORE-I ÉRTESÍTŐ (Baltimore Reporter). In the beginning the newsletter consisted of a couple of pages, in which we informed the Baltimore-area Hungarians of the monthly get-togethers and the time and date of the Hungarian mass. It gave detailed news and who and what would be presented at the meetings. It took into account the housewives’ work, membership dues, the dance group, the workings of the weekend school, as well as the goings-on of the membership: births, deaths, marriages, summer vacations, holidays, and something about the previous month's events. We never thought that out of a two-page newsletter a newspaper would emerge. The number of pages grew. By then we were taking articles from other émigré newspapers and including them in our own. As the number of pages grew further, we presented the works of writers, poets, and newspaper columnists, too. We sent copies to different organizations, and this is how we made our acquaintance with other Hungarians outside our area. Within 40 years we had subscribers on every continent. We have had 810 subscribers, most of them being from the United States, Canada and Europe, including many from the Carpathian Basin. (Presently there are 350 subscribers.) We’ve had readers in South America and Australia too. In under forty years our subscriber list has turned over three times. Some died or went back to Hungary. Some cancelled their subscriptions, others subscribed for the first time. We send the newspaper - at cost - not just to subscribers, but to the elderly and the retired. And to those who cannot afford the subscription, we send it free. The newspaper never received government or foundational support. Our Hungarian organization supported it for the first eleven years. After that, the paper was able to operate through subscriptions and additional contributions from subscribers. A Hungarian quote is as follows: “We reached as far as our cover would allow.” If our subscriptions were low and we didn't take in as much, we sent out fewer free newspapers. We always sent out a plea for additional funds with our Christmas newsletter, and with the response we would receive a couple of thousand dollars to allow us to make up the yearly deficit. Our colleagues, writers and the editor received no payment for their efforts. The newspaper has been sent subscription-free to numerous organizations over the years, both inside and outside of Hungary, such as the National Széchenyi Library, as well as to various Hungarian political parties and members of parliament. The newspaper has worked cooperatively with various press organizations, some now defunct, others still active, in Canada, Hungary, various European nations, and in other parts of the world. Dozens of colleagues, writers, and contributors have worked with the newspaper over the years.
