By Michael Caldwell, Publisher of The Jessamine Journal

Although it may sound like common sense, our goal is to ensure that we keep the “Jessamine” in The Jessamine Journal. 

That guiding principle will be the foundation and vision for growing this community newspaper. Accurate, in-depth local news is what it will take to continue to make our publication relevant and vital to our readers here in Central Kentucky. 

The team has done a great job of focusing on this in recent weeks and months, but we will continue to work hard to take that approach to the next level.

I have written and said this many times, often sounding like a broken record — because it is a tune worth repeating — but if you want to know everything going on in Lexington, what the politicians are doing in Washington, D.C. or who won the French election, don’t pick up The Jessamine Journal. 

It would simply be a waste of your money. 

Now, if you want to know all the cool things going on at an upcoming local festival, would like to learn more about the new businesses on Main Street, find out more about all the great things happening in the Jessamine County schools or get some insight into what your elected officials are doing that will soon impact your pocketbook, then we want to be the first place you turn. 

We also want to showcase a wide spectrum of community voices through letters to the editor, adding regular local columnists and featuring a diverse group of guest contributors. 

Do you have something to say? We want to hear it and we want to share it with the community. 

It is no secret that newspapers have to evolve and change to remain relevant in people’s lives. We will work to do that in a variety of ways but certainly, that includes offering more ways to reach readers and embracing the digital age. 

The Internet will be a valuable part of this strategy but anyone who thinks this technology will make the newspaper obsolete is missing the big picture. 

One of my favorite quotes, and I have no idea who said it first, is this: Saying you don’t need newspapers because you get your news online is like saying you don’t need farmers because you get your food at the grocery store. 

We want to offer what you cannot find anywhere else.

The Jessamine Journal cannot be everything to everybody. 

What we can — and will  — be is a community leader singularly focused on what we can do better than any other media outlet: Comprehensively cover everything going on in Nicholasville and Jessamine County. 

That is what this community wants and that is what this community deserves. It won’t happen overnight, but that is what The Jessamine Journal will deliver by building on the more than 140-year legacy of serving the citizens.

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.