Trekkin' boldly into 2010 and beyond

Editor’s log, stardate supplemental. The News Citizen has arrived in the second decade of the 21st century. The holidays are over and a new year and new decade are upon us.
The economic downturn that has been attacking us relentlessly continues, though it is showing signs of letting up. Despite the hits we have been taking, my crew and the ship continue to hold up remarkably well.
Advertisers are rediscovering the value of our product and appreciate the quality and service they receive from us. And readership continues to grow despite the industry trends to the contrary.
The News Citizen is now in its 120th year of business. That is roughly a century longer than our competitors and clearly demonstrates our leadership as the premier local news provider for Waller County. From the start, residents have turned to us as their best source of local news and advertisements and we remain dedicated to this cause.
While our competitors continue to cut prices and give away their papers, we feel this reflects the quality of their products and caution people to act accordingly. As my Vulcan science officer so often reminds me, “Logically, you get what you pay for.”
I have now completed a year of service and dedication to this community and remain steadfastly determined to drive our coverage in the coming year into warp speed. Having seen how things work here and being able to better determine what is important to people, I am in a much better position to direct and accelerate news, feature and sports coverage.
We have come a long way in the last year and I don’t ever want to let up on our improvements to the paper. We will strive to get better and provide even more value for readers and advertisers. I want this paper to become something that local folk can’t be without. It needs to be something they anticipate each Thursday and rush out to get at the post office or local retailer.
Doing that isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to require more effort and harder work on my behalf. It’s going to mean generating more stories and relying less on the same submitted items that our competitors run. That’s not to say it’s less important news. Let’s just say we can do better, and we will.
This newspaper and the industry in general have taken a beating in the last couple of years. But we’re still standing and very much in the game. I think we are just as relevant and important to readers as ever before.
No one gave better coverage of the political scandals, Hempstead and Waller County governments, and local festivals and celebrations last year than the News Citizen. Now that I’ve gone once around the block, I know how to ramp up what we do to provide all the local information readers want and need to know.
It’s been said that newspapers in the 21 century are obsolete and irrelevant. I disagree. Some of history’s best success stories rise from times of deepest doubt and despair. This is the darkest time the news industry has ever seen and it’s time for us to shine like it’s our finest hour. Our glory days aren’t behind us, they’re right here, right now.
Instead of getting cynical about the downward spiral of the industry, it’s time to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps (and any other applicable cliché) and get ’r done. This paper ain’t goin’ down without a fight – not on my watch. I plan to come out in 2010 firing all phasers and proton torpedoes.
It won’t be perfect and it may not be pretty, but I’m going to give it my best with everything I’ve got to work with. When people think of the Waller County News Citizen, I want them to think of community. I want the readers to have a real sense of ownership of the paper. I want them to interact and participate as much as possible.
I encourage people to drop a line and let me know what they want to see more (or less) of in the paper. My e-mail address is jsouthern@hcnonline.com. My phone number is 979-826-3361.
Editor out. Set course for success. Ahead warp factor one. Lock phasers. Engage!