Thank you for helping us on our mission

We’ve been talking a lot about our mission lately. It’s important sometimes to step away from what we’re doing to ask ourselves why we do it, to refocus on work that fits our core values. The healthy debate about our goals and future helped unite the newsroom around a common purpose:

The Dispatch will hold the powerful accountable, illuminate injustices and engage and celebrate the community as thoughtful listeners. We are committed to helping people navigate daily life as an accurate, evolving news organization that reflects the diversity of Greater Columbus.

This is a lofty mission, and a testament to the passion and commitment of Dispatch journalists, who work to shine a light on Greater Columbus every day. It also reinforces our commitment to not just work for the community, but with you.

Monday is my last day at The Dispatch. I’m moving to Madison, Wisconsin, to lead the Wisconsin State Journal, a paper in my home state that I have admired since I was 12 years old. The move will take me much closer to my family.

As thrilled as I am to go home, leaving this staff – and this city – is bittersweet.

I’ve built a family here, too, and I’m so proud to have led a staff that doggedly pursues issues that better this community.

For the last 18 years, I’ve watched Columbus grow up. A once-sleepy Downtown flourished with condos, restaurants and the beautiful Columbus Commons at its heart. I had a front-row seat as the city faced its issues, from income inequality to affordable housing to police reform.

The newspaper evolved, too. We became a digitally focused newsroom that committed to providing the latest news on your favorite device while continuing to serve as watchdogs of officials and institutions. We faced our issues.

The newsroom did not reflect the community we cover, and we needed to increase diversity in both staff and coverage.

There are communities we had not historically covered well, and we’ve worked hard to change that. Through hiring, training and initiatives like the mobile newsroom, we continue to work to reflect and cover all residents of this city.

This growth doesn’t happen without partnerships and support from readers and the community. We call ourselves watchdogs of Greater Columbus, but we are also residents and partners in confronting issues and celebrating success.

When we started our mobile newsrooms, where reporters work out of neighborhoods we have not covered well enough, the Columbus Metropolitan Library offered us a place to work. They also offered to train patrons to use our e-edition. Like us, the library believes information is power and they’ve been great partners.

The Columbus Foundation has supported our efforts to have Yilun Cheng, a Report for America journalist, cover immigration. Understanding immigration and new Greater Columbus residents is key to fostering a welcoming city.

The Foundation, along with the United Way and

other partners, have also supported our Everyday Heroes program to recognize the unsung heroes among us.

I was honored to be part of Leadership Columbus’ Class of 2020. There, I met a group of dedicated community leaders who continue to support me and this newspaper. Together, we worked on service projects to better Greater Columbus that continue to this day.

A partnership with Ohio State University allows young journalists to gain experience in the newsroom through internships, and gives us an opportunity to mentor the next generation of newsroom leaders.

And when The Dispatch staff faces a crisis, the first people to reach out are the pastors and church leaders. They supported us when we lost a colleague and cheered us on when we won awards.

But the real thanks goes to you, the readers who support our efforts and call us out when you see something you don’t like. You motivate us to be better, to work harder to serve as watchdogs over your public money and institutions, and to write stories that help readers navigate their lives.

I have cherished the emails and calls that offered support, story ideas and sometimes criticism of changes we’ve made. It’s all valuable feedback to improve your Columbus Dispatch.

This strong team of journalists will carry on this mission as Gannett searches for a new editor. Enterprise Editor Encarnacion Pyle will run the day-to-day news operation, and Beryl Love, the executive editor of The Enquirer, our sister paper in Cincinnati, will serve as interim editor.

Thank you for your support and loyalty. I’ll be cheering you on from afar.

Kelly Lecker is interim editor of The Dispatch.

klecker@dispatch.com; @kellylecker