Dear reader, 

I hope you had a peaceful and relaxing holiday. At the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal, we enjoyed a little downtime after another remarkable year of news coverage.   

We are committed to reporting on the stories important to our communities. The new year always brings “top ten” lists of everything so it’s no surprise, you’ll find our list of the most read stories at CentralMaine.com/top2022.  

We’re ready to take on the new year and continue publishing stories that matter to Maine.  

We’re fortunate to have local ownership that understands the vital role newspapers and their websites play in looking out for our citizens. We’ve watched in disbelief as too many local newspapers across the country have drastically reduced newsroom resources at the peril of their communities.  

Like every local business, we’ve had our share of challenges. Among the biggest challenges of 2022 were the management of increased costs for health insurance and newsprint, and trying to find the right approach for “return to office” with our positions ranging from reporter to press operator.   

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Even then, I can’t emphasize enough how fortunate we are. We’re also fortunate to cover communities that understand how important it is to support local journalism.  

We also appreciate the power of collaboration and have increased our collaboration across our newspaper properties to bring you features that go deeper. 

I hope you’ve had a chance to read our eye-opening series on Homelessness in Maine, which we produced with our colleagues at the Sun Journal. This important project will continue throughout the winter.

Next Sunday, you’ll see a special feature on the 25th anniversary of the 1998 ice storm produced by colleagues across our daily newspapers. We received hundreds of submissions from Mainers sharing their memories of that historic storm. We’ll share them in print, online and during a virtual event.  

Local reporting is a labor-intensive undertaking. With the support from you, our loyal readers and local advertisers, we will continue to do strong work. We thrive on uplifting our readers with work that is beautiful, surprising and wonderful.   

Take our feature today of the best photos of 2022 from our staff photographers. Their talents are showcased through the incredible breadth of images. A personal favorite of mine is their unending ability to capture the triumph and heartbreak of every high school sport. There are even more photos in the online version which you can find at  CentralMaine.com/2022-POY. 

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Our staff, 400 strong across the five daily newspapers, 17 weeklies and commercial printing operation, which make up our family of media properties, are motivated to continue to do great work and serve the communities in which we live. It’s our privilege to have you as our readers.  

The start of the new year is also a great to time hear from you. We welcome any feedback you have on our work, our digital products, or anything else on your mind.  

What can we do better to make certain you’ll continue to support us in the years to come? Give me a call at 791-6630 or drop me an email at lisa@masthead.me.   

A happy, healthy and prosperous new year to all of you and all of Maine.  

Lisa DeSisto is publisher of the Morning Sentinel, Kennebec Journal and Central Maine Sunday.

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