Traverse City Record-Eagle

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April 3, 2009

Op-Ed: Record-Eagle is here to stay

By MIKE CASUSCELLI

The column by Leonard Pitts Jr. on Sunday's op-ed page brings to light the value of your daily newspaper. It's scary to think how crime might run undetected if not for the work of the people at your daily newspaper.

We take our responsibility as a community watchdog seriously at the Traverse City Record-Eagle. In fact, we have just learned that our newspaper has won a Wade H. McCree Award for the Advancement of Justice from the Michigan Bar Association for work three of our staff members did on the Meijer/Acme Township story.

That's just one example of the in-depth investigative reporting the Record-Eagle has done over the years.

Quite frankly, having to uncover wrongdoing is not something we enjoy. Our community would be better served if there were fewer such cases, but that's not the real world.

There have been many changes in the newspaper industry in our area and across the state over the past few months. Some papers have closed, some papers have reduced the number of delivery days and some papers are going to a different form of delivery by utilizing the Internet.

Media companies, including radio and TV, have reduced their staffing and coverage as revenues from advertisers decline. Managing a media company today is more difficult than ever before.

The Record-Eagle has been here for 150 years and I don't see why we won't be here for the next 150. We continue to deliver newspapers to our readers seven days a week regardless of the weather. We continue to cover the stories that make a difference in your lives. And we have no plans to change any of that. Let me repeat myself: We have no plans to change our seven-days-a-week, 365-days-per-year delivery to your home, newspaper racks and dealer locations across our area.

We have no plans to change the information we provide to you each day.

The world around us is changing at a pace nobody could have predicted 10, 20 or 30 years ago. There are more ways to deliver information than ever before. But when it comes down to it, as Leonard Pitts says, there's nobody more reliable and trusted than the team of professionals at your daily newspaper.

The changes you will see going forward will depend largely on what you would like to see us cover. There will be more photos from our award-winning photo staff available on our Web site. There will be more frequent updates on breaking news and weather in a variety of delivery options.

We continue to develop our Web site at www.record-eagle.com as many people choose to receive their information from that source. We are doing e-mail pushes of weather and breaking news stories to your cell phone, IPhone, Blackberry or whatever electronic device you choose.

Incredibly, our Web site had nearly two million page views last month. Last Thursday, for example, we had 18,866 visits to our Web site from 16,315 unique visitors.

Your Record-Eagle is here to stay. Yes, business is tough but we have plans for the long run, not just the short term.

I would like to thank each and every person who supports our daily newspaper through a subscription or by utilizing our effective advertising environment.

We will continue to report on the life of our community -- from feature stories to investigative pieces. That's our job.

Support your local newspaper.

Mike Casuscelli is Record-Eagle publisher.

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