‘ For more than a quarter of a millennium we have been by your side, bringing news that you trust.’
Dear reader
I genuinely hope this finds you well, and that you, your friends and your family are safe and healthy. I write down those words with visceral sincerity, knowing instinctively that for some this will not be the case.
Tens of thousands of people, tragically, are no longer with us because of the indiscriminate killer that is coronavirus. Each death one too many; each lost loved one a devastating blow for families across the country. In addition, with each passing day, we learn of those for whom the anxiety has proved too much. They too, we know, have sadly perished before their time. Victims of the pandemic, just the same.
Against that unspeakable backdrop of grief, we have all had to make sacrifices, each and every one of us, in order to play our own part in saving lives. Curbs on our freedoms; restrictions on our movements; curtailments on our relationships; strains on our businesses and jobs; cancellations to hospital appointments and holidays. This virus has crept into every nook and cranny of our lives, causing damage wherever it seeps and, but for the selfless fortitude of so many people - key workers in particular, putting the safety of others before their own – that damage would most certainly have been tenfold. Few would disagree; 2020 has been truly one annus horribilis.
If you will forgive me the rather clunky segue into how this has impacted us, we too have felt moments of despair. We at TheYorkshire Post are charged with caring for this 266- year- old newspaper; now a modern multi- media publisher, it supports the jobs of scores of journalists across Yorkshire. It puts pounds in the pockets of families who in turn go out and spend it in the county we all so cherish. The livelihoods it supports, the mortgages and bills it pays and the tables upon which it puts food weighs heavily, sometimes. Never more so than these past few months and so we, as a team, want you – readers, advertisers, friends and partners – to know how grateful we are to you for being there for us, as we have, down the years, been there for you. It genuinely means the world to us.
Without those of you who have gone out of your way to buy a paper and subscribe online, the challenge for The Yorkshire Post would have been infinitely more difficult. You may not know this, but in order to protect the title, each and every staff member took a temporary pay cut. Each columnist and contributor the same, and we are not out of the woods yet.
Despite all of this, we have been determined not to allow our standards to drop. These days, the general public is bombarded from all angles with information, speculation and conjecture – much of which cannot be trusted. That is why, in the days since March 23rd, we have done our utmost to bring to you the facts about the virus, along with helpful guidance relating to your community as local lockdowns were – and will be – required. We know that you trust this newspaper. I know that you trust my team. We do not take that for granted, nor will we ever allow ourselves to be complacent with the faith that you lend us.
It is because of that trust between us that I want you to know that we are determined to double down on protecting and enhancing The Yorkshire Post. This historic bastion of journalistic integrity can withstand the current bombardment of dubiously sourced and ill- informed news and information if we – the readers and the title – stick together. Let me not sugar coat this, that is not my style: if we are to successfully navigate through the headwinds of this pandemic, we need more people to put their faith in Yorkshire’s National Newspaper, in print and online. Currently the Society of Editors’ Best Regional Daily in the country and recently awarded Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain, I hope you agree that in The Yorkshire Post we have something very special. Something of regional significance. Something of national importance. Something worth protecting.
So, in the coming days and weeks, we will bring to you some words from people you will recognise. Testimonials from our friends. References, if you like, to our character and our qualities in the hope that our current friends can help us to win new ones.
For more than a quarter of a millennium we have been by your side, bringing local, regional, national and international news that you trust to multiple generations of so many families. With a little help from you, we can continue to stand with you, in Yorkshire, for generations to come.