2021 is only a few weeks old but as Hereford Times editor John Wilson explains, it has started in dramatic fashion

The year is only a few week old, but – oh, boy – has it been busy!

We have reported on fire, ice and high water (watch the video).

But the Hereford Times is so much more than a news service. We make good things happen in our community.

Already this year we've revealed that:

Last year was tough for us, like it was for many local businesses.

Coronavirus has made it more difficult for print readers to get to the shops to buy their local paper.

But on the other hand the number of people reading our trusted news on our website increased substantially.

Hereford Times: Better days will return as 2021 unfolds. Support the Hereford Times as we continue to chronicle these extraordinary timesBetter days will return as 2021 unfolds. Support the Hereford Times as we continue to chronicle these extraordinary times

We want to continue that good work into this year as better days return.

I am privileged to lead a small team of professional journalists who not only source information that is useful and important but which, crucially, is checked for accuracy and fairness.

We report the courts so you can see that justice is being done (the guilty punished and the innocent acquitted), we are there at council meetings to hold to account the local politicians who spend your money, and we chronicle your saddest times as well as your moments of triumph and celebration.

We follow some of the tightest publishing laws and ethical guidelines in the western world. We stand up to those who want to silence us for their own benefit, but we also have the humility to apologise publicly when we get things wrong.

This is what guides us. It assures you that the content we publish has credibility, and will help you make sense of our increasingly complex world.

Looking ahead, I want to continue to demonstrate that the Hereford Times is now very much more than a newspaper – it is a trusted and accountable online hub, a place where information is checked, shared, amplified and used to empower and improve communities.

We publish not only our own material, but words, pictures and video that has been contributed by the community. We provide a responsible place for you to express your views, highlight the causes closest to you, and draw attention to what you see as injustices.

Where once we reached readers only through newsagents and letterboxes, we now distribute our stories through a number of social media platforms and email newsletters.

Some ill-informed people suggest we have embraced the digital revolution only because fewer newspapers are bought than in the past.

But people buy fewer LPs and DVDs too. That does not mean they no longer love music and films. It is just that technology has moved on; entertainment is streamed over the internet now. News has followed the same path, and that is something we celebrate, not bemoan.

Hereford Times: Readers contribute their pictures to the Hereford Times to help keep their communities in a trusted online space. Picture: Phil ButlerReaders contribute their pictures to the Hereford Times to help keep their communities in a trusted online space. Picture: Phil Butler

We are closer to readers because digital technologies allow us to measure the content they enjoy, and so deliver more of what they want and less of what they do not.

We are also helping to drive prosperity by linking businesses with consumers in new, exciting and cost-efficient ways. We employ experts who can help enterprises navigate the sometimes bewildering field of digital marketing.

I hope you will join us in our mission, because we cannot do it without you. Proper journalism costs. It is funded partly through advertising, partly through the cover price of the newspaper, and increasingly through online subscriptions.

I know some of you have been reading the Hereford Times for many years, and I am deeply grateful for the support you continue to give us.

Call 0800 9530227 to arrange free delivery of the newspaper, or sign up now for a digital subscription: www.herefordtimes.com/subscribe

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