Editor explains who they think they are

(Blog editor's note: The following editorial appeared in the Feb. 17 issue of the Mogollon Connection. Editor Matt Brabb called to tell us he meant no offense to our blog. We told him none was taken. As we have always said: information is a good thing. So is competition. We say bring it on. And we will work closely with the Connection staff to provide you both sides of every story.  Check the blog Wednesday for an updated list of locations that carry the Connection.)

So just who do we think we are anyway?  In an era in which people are turning in droves to outlets different than traditional newspapers for information, how do we hope to compete?  How, when people can turn to free internet news sources and blogs, do we expect to survive, especially considering that two local newspapers have recently closed up shop in the very market we hope to carve a niche out of.

The answer is actually simple.  There is only one way we can make this work.  We have to be better than the websites and the blogs, and we have to offer something different than our competitor in this market.

Please do not misunderstand; it is plain that we do not have the resources to compete with the other newspaper in town at what they do.  We do not wish to start an adversarial relationship with them.  Our goal is to offer you, the reader, something that they do not.  To approach things from a different angle.

To begin with we are not affiliated with any single town.  We are not Payson, nor Star Valley, nor Pine and Strawberry, Mesa Del, Whispering Pines, Tonto Village or any other one Rim Country community.  It is our objective to deliver the news dispassionately from wherever it may come, rather than through the lens of a particular community.

Secondly, we will not be tied to the various interests in Rim Country that might reduce our ability to be objective.  We are a newspaper.  That is all we do.  There will be no conflicts of interest at the Mogollon Connection.  We realize that good things happened while Bob Edwards was the mayor of Payson, and that good things have happened while Kenny Evans has been the mayor.  We do not intend to take sides.  For those of you who like your news delivered with a particular bias, we may not suit you.

But beyond our ability to offer you the alternatives described above, there is something else.  It is simply unhealthy for a community to be served by a single news source.  Imagine turning on your television tomorrow and discovering that only one source of news was left to you to describe what was going on in the world.  What if it were only CNN, or MSNBC, or FOX news.  Would it be possible to get a completely accurate picture from any of these by itself? Not likely. Competition is healthy; it makes for a better product.

So, we are asking for your support, as well as your patience.  We are a work in progress.  In time we will expand and be able to provide additional content.  For now we will bring you all the coverage that a small and dedicated team can provide.

Our focus will be on human interest stories every bit as much as our coverage of local events and government issues.  Rim Country is blessed with a remarkable history, and is inhabited by any number of people who have lived extraordinary lives.  We intend to tell the story of both.

And for that, we will need your help.  If you have a story to tell, feel free to drop by our office, give us a call, or send mail to the editor.  Send us letters to the editor at payson@mogollonconncection.com, or call us at (928) 468-6701.  Our office location is 1001 S. Beeline Highway, Suite D.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve a community by providing its news.  We will do so ethically, and in a straightforward manner, going wherever the story leads us.  We hope you will give us a chance.