Draugas
 Draugas building in Chicago, Illinois | |
| Type | currently thrice-weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Publisher | Lithuanian Catholic Press Society |
| Editor | Ramunė Lapas |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Language | Lithuanian |
| Headquarters | 4545 W. 63rd Street Chicago, IL 60629 United States |
| Website | draugas.org |
Draugas (English: Friend) is the only Lithuanian daily newspaper published abroad. Until 2011, the newspaper was published five days a week, except Sundays and Mondays. It is currently published three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It is read not only in the United States, but in Canada, South America, Australia, and Europe as well.
History
Draugas is the oldest continuously published Lithuanian language newspaper anywhere in the world.
Founded as a weekly Roman Catholic paper, Draugas published its first edition on July 25, 1909, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. On March 31, 1916, it was relocated to Chicago, Illinois, and since then has been published daily, except Mondays and Sundays, until 2011 when publication was reduced to three days per week. Its current building is owned by the Congregation of Marian Fathers.
During the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the newspaper served as a voice of the Lithuanian independent media.
Currently, Draugas is published by the Lithuanian Catholic Press Society in Chicago, Illinois. It contains twelve pages of political, religious, scientific, economic, sports, public interest articles, announcements, and paid advertising. The Saturday issue is twenty-four pages, including a weekly supplement Kultūra meaning Culture and subtitled Menas Literatūra Mokslas meaning Art Literature Science.
Some Lithuanian books are also available from the Draugas publisher.[1]
Draugas celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009. In November 2013, the publisher of Draugas also started publishing Draugas News, a monthly newspaper on Lithuanian topics written in the English language which is available by separate subscription.
Staff
Such prominent Lithuanian émigré writers and public figures as Aloyzas Baronas, Kazys Bradūnas, Česlovas Grincevičius, Bronius Kviklys, Rev. Vaclovas Bagdanavičius, Aušrelė Liulevičienė, Kazys Pakštas, Rev. Juozas Prunskis, Leonardas Simutis, Stasys Džiugas, and Nijolė Jankutė-Užubalienė, worked on the editorial staff during the Soviet occupation.
The current editor of the newspaper is Ramunė Lapas. Other current writers include Renata Šerelytė, Edvardas Šulaitis, Bronius Nainys, Paul Triukas, and Leonas Čerškus.