"Business Lexington has been publishing its unique brand of coverage of Central Kentucky business and economy since May 6, 2005. Now, little more than a year since our first edition went to press, we have more of a sense of our role in our community.
We believe our purpose is to serve as "a partner in progress."
That is our new masthead motto, and they are words by which we commit to live.
What do we mean by casting ourselves as a "partner in progress?" How can a newspaper serve as a partner with anyone? Doesn't this compromise objectivity? After all, as newspaperman A.J. Liebling put it, "News is what they don't want you to know. Everything else is advertising."
We agree with Mr. Liebling. A true partner is the essence of a friend -one who cares enough to offer the facts, for better or for worse, always with best interests at heart.
The general motif of our editorial philosophy is positive and constructive. Our expanding community of contributing writers and columnists are people who, in their day jobs, function on the front lines of business, education and civic life. They are positioned to inform and enlighten, as they remain vigilant for issues and developments in their respective fields of interest.
But we also are concerned about the well being of our community, region and state. So the occasional cautionary news article or constructive editorial admonishment will appear in our pages, always with the intention of inspiring thought, dialogue, debate and, ultimately, solutions. Because this is what partners do for each other.
As an example, the front page of this edition carries an article that is unflattering to our city. That we, as a community, face the prospect of very costly punitive action by the EPA for the long term neglect of storm and sanitary sewage issues is a situation we cannot begin to remedy until we are informed of the facts that got us here. It may make us uncomfortable, but perhaps that's an appropriate condition when our environment, our health and the physical value of our city are at stake.
Progress is a subjective term. One person's definition may fly in the face of another's. We recognize this dichotomy and pledge to strive for balance and fair play as we continually chronicle change in the region's business and economy, which are, in the end, all about people and what they think, say and do.
Put simply, "a partner in progress" is one who has your back. We appreciate and respect the awesome responsibility that this implies and pledge to work hard to live up to its promise.
- Tom Martin, Editor in chief"