There’s much to be thankful for today. I hope you’re enjoying our largest paper of the year, filled with flyers for your holiday shopping, and our annual salute to Mainers to Be Thankful For. On behalf of the employees at the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, from reporters to press operators, we want to let you know how thankful we are for you: our loyal readers. 

If not for your support of our work through your subscription, we wouldn’t be able to deliver you the stories that inform, entertain and challenge you. Your investment in a subscription is an investment in your community. Having the means to keep reporters in the field is the best way to ensure the powerful are held accountable and the interests of all Mainers are protected. 

We’re thankful for our incredibly talented and dedicated reporters, editors and photographers who are driven by our mission. The work they produce is exceptional. Whether it means holding local school officials accountable, shining a light on the challenges and successes of local businesses, or profiling the people who make our communities unique, good journalism requires time and resources.

We’ve seen newspapers across the country eliminate their staff photographers and instruct reporters to shoot photos with their phones. While you will occasionally see a photo credit in the KJ or Sentinel from a reporter, nothing can replace the eyes and expertise of our staff photographers. From spot news photography to stunning images of our beautiful state, their work is a vital part of our storytelling. Most recently our photogs’ work shone brilliantly as they captured the victory and defeat of the high school fall sports championships. Those images are a must for every scrapbook.

The past few years have been challenging for our delivery team. The state’s low unemployment rate has made it difficult to keep our home delivery routes filled. We hate to let down our customers with late or missed papers. We are thankful for our carriers. Please remember them on your holiday tip list.

This year we were one of just 12 newspapers in the country selected by the Google News Initiative to participate in a program to help us improve digital subscription efforts. We are thrilled to report we have seen dramatic growth in digital subscriptions in the few months since we’ve put their recommendations in place. We are thankful for this opportunity to work with the talented team at Google. The success of this effort will help fund our journalism for years to come.

Our entire organization is driven to produce journalism that is vital to you. You fuel our mission with your subscription. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Thank you.

Lisa DeSisto is publisher of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.