Your continued support means so much in these difficult times

As the coronavirus pandemic truly began to take effect last year, I wrote that the EK News needed the support of its readers.

Not just from a financial point of view in terms of buying the paper, but in terms of continuing to interact with us.

These continue to be challenging times for everyone, and the newspaper industry is no different. Our industry has been going through a period of change for some time now and it shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

I got into journalism because I had a passion for writing, but more so because I am passionate about supporting local communities.

Hard-hitting front pages are all very well and good, and they definitely get the journalistic juices going, but I believe local newspapers have a much more important and integral role to play in the community they serve.

As we see reader trends and preferences move more and more towards online, there is a sadness in seeing print numbers dwindle.

But over the last year, we have retained a large majority of our readership and I thank you for that. We have also seen a record number of online users, showing that the EK News still holds an important place in its community.

As everyone has, we have had to operate throughout the COVID pandemic with a number of restrictions, with furloughed staff, with reduced staffing numbers, and without access to a number of key resources that help us tell the stories most important to you.

But I think we have done a pretty good job in keeping readers up to date with what they need to know during this time.

I am grateful to Graham Simpson and all MSPs that signed and supported his motion.

Such acknowledgement means a great deal and we will continue our duty to tell the stories most important to our readers.