The Jessamine Journal is committed to keeping you informed and telling the community’s story.

We have implemented a host of changes, most of which won’t impact readers in any way, that are all designed to help us achieve our core mission of being the best source of local news.

This is about evolution and we simply must adapt with the times and the habits of our advertisers and our readers.

The old business model simply doesn’t work like it used to do.

At our core, newspapers have always had a very simple function: to gather and disseminate information accurately and professionally.

We are doing that better than we ever have before, but that doesn’t mean it looks the same.

Change is a constant.

Key points that I want all our readers — current, former and potential ones alike — to remember include:

> We are committed to being in Jessamine County for years to come.

> We are structuring our resources to best serve the community in this new age in which we live. 

> Readers and advertisers show us their preference by products they most use along with those that have little use. 

> We continue to be the local media company that works with professional journalists and marketing experts. That will not change and we continue to work hard to better position ourselves to support that mission.  

> We continue to be seven-day publishers in combination of print and digital. 

> Times change and so must businesses such as ours.  We intend to be the community’s media leader and watchdog for many years to come.

Why is our mission so important? Because we all need to be informed.

Progress and growth are only possible when a community is informed and engaged.

We want to separate fact from all the noise and clutter, a critical step for informed citizens and building a great community.

Guess what? You have the solution at your fingertips right now, either in printed or digital format.

Journalists have been working at the craft of separating fact from fiction and informing citizens since before Kentucky was a state. And this newspaper has been informing Jessamine County and holding its institutions accountable for well over 100 years.

Like many long-established institutions in our lives, taking us for granted is easy.

Community newspapers are not “the media” that often grabs negative headlines or sound bytes. We certainly aren’t “the enemy of the people.”

Community newspapers are vastly different from their metropolitan counterparts. Far removed from Washington politics, we cover the places and events others take for granted.

We are almost quasi-public utilities.

Community newspapers employ professional journalists who live in the communities served and are trained in and charged with finding and reporting facts, accurately and fairly.

Community newspapers report on crimes and court trials, how leaders spend your tax dollars and how businesses are adapting to a changing economy. We share touching stories of local people overcoming heart-breaking adversity, youth achieving amazing things, news of family reunions, church dinners and much more.

If it impacts or interests our community, we print it: good, bad and, when necessary, ugly.

If you love Jessamine County your first obligation to it is to be informed. Misinformation and disinformation are enemies of progress. An informed citizen is equipped to become a productive citizen.

We know our role and obligation in that process and you have our pledge that we will do everything possible to meet it.

Together we all play important roles in improving the community in which we all live.

Subscribe to your newspaper and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Encourage businesses to invest their marketing dollars locally, where it makes an impact on our community. And encourage your fellow citizens to shop for goods and services right here in the Jessamine County.

Each and every one of us can help our community grow through informed engagement.

Michael Caldwell is publisher of The Jessamine Journal and Jessamine Life magazine. He can be reached at (859) 469-6452 or by email at mike.caldwell@jessaminejournal.com.