JANUARY 2024

COVER STORY
CN@20 continued from page 23
section of the paper called “In Our View,” about
a (then) recently passed liquor bill that set a state
minimum for pricing on liquor. This new law made
it illegal for big box stores like Meijer and Costco to
set their liquor prices any lower than the state minimum;
a common practice that really hurt mom-andpop
stores who couldn’t sell below cost.
It was a victory for the Associated Food Dealers of
Michigan (AFD), but as the 19-year-old article states,
it wasn’t enough. The story went on to mention the
need to raise the base discount (profit) store owners
make on liquor sales from the static 17 percent it was
then and still is now.
That’s a fight the Chaldean American Chamber
of Commerce has taken on. A new bill which would
raise the profit percentage from 17 to 35 is expected to
be reviewed in January and may be in effect, at least
in some form, as early as spring. Advocacy is a journey;
sometimes it takes decades.
Another notable story in the first January issue
detailed the opening of Shenandoah Country Club,
a staple of the community that has weathered some
storms and come out on top. Subsequent issues followed
the organization’s evolution and expansion
and eventual development into a private club.
A 2011 issue highlighted the year-old partnership
between the CN and the Jewish News, a program that
knit the two groups and formed a relationship that
exists to this day. In 2015, the CN did a spread on Jacob
Bacall’s book, Chaldeans in Detroit. The tome
was a definitive look at the developing Chaldean
community in southeast Michigan, and a veritable
photo album of the warm and rich culture that immigrants
brought from their homeland and continue
to celebrate here.
Owning the paper meant controlling the narrative.
“I think the paper united the community,
informed the community, and engaged the community,”
reflected Garmo. “We brought awareness on
several key issues such as the 2014 [ISIS] invasion in
Iraq, something that other media was not covering in
depth at the time.”
Above: The 2005 story chronicles the
opening of Shenandoah Country Club.
Right: The 2011 article highlights the
partnership with the Jewish community
through the Jewish News.
A personal triumph for Garmo was when one of
the readers contacted her after the paper published
a story on abortion. The reader, a teenager, was pregnant
and wanted to keep the baby but didn’t know
what to do. Garmo hooked her up with resources
and, just last summer, finally met the “baby” whose
life was impacted because of her intervention. “It
brought such joy to my heart,” Garmo shared.
“I think the most positive thing about the CN’s history
is the job it did telling individual, often heroic,
sometimes tragic, stories of our community,” says Sarafa.
“There is so much talent, so much growth, so many
great organizations, so many good people and positive
stories that the Chaldean News was a repository for.
Taken together, the 20 years of publications are like a
written history of the community over those years.”
One article that Sarafa remembers well has to do
with the child abuse scandal/cover up in the Catholic
Church. Amid the controversy, he called for Pope
Benedict to resign. “It was pretty raw,” recalls Sarafa.
“Calling for the Pope to resign caused a scandal in
the community and a lot of heartache for my partners,
which I regretted.” Pope Benedict later did resign,
although for different reasons.
In 2019, the publication had reached a crossroads.
It had just started receiving enough ad revenue
to operate in the black, and its shareholders were
considering their options, including converting to a
nonprofit or selling to other investors.
The Chaldean Community Foundation (CCF) purchased
the paper in August of that year. According to
an article in Crain’s Detroit Business, Martin Manna
said of the purchase, “We felt it made the most sense
to remain a community publication, run by a community
foundation.”
The CCF made some investments in the Chaldean
News, expanding its digital offerings and scope and is
currently developing an app. “It’s a paper for the digital
age,” says Manna. “We’re on the forefront of new
media, and we are excited to see where it takes us.”
Plans are in place to create a working studio for
the Chaldean News inside CCF West, a project in West
Bloomfield that is still in its preliminary stages but
is expected to be completed by late next year. There
will be space for taping CNTV segments and recording
podcasts as well as editing suites and a stage for
live broadcasts.
“We are doing it right,” says Manna, who has
tasked his team with touring local studios and creating
a “wish list” for the new building. (He gave no
guarantees to staff, however.)
Even as the CN embraces the future, there’s still
attention being paid to the past. In addition to historical
photos that are becoming a regular feature,
recently, the CN introduced Arabic versions of some
of their stories. “It feels like home for some people,”
says Manna, “and we want to encourage that.”
Over the years, the Chaldean News expanded its
scope, embracing technological advancements to
reach a wider audience through digital platforms,
transcending geographical boundaries to connect
Chaldeans worldwide. This publication continues to
play a pivotal role in preserving the Chaldean heritage,
fostering unity, and serving as a bridge between
the diaspora and the ancestral homeland, reflecting
the resilience and vibrant spirit of the Chaldean community.
“I am so proud of how far the Chaldean News has
come,” says Antone. “It is a treasure for the entire
Chaldean community.”
24 CHALDEAN NEWS JANUARY 2024