For those who don't know, today marks two years since the publication of the very first edition of the Amarillo Pioneer! After two years of working to bring you the news every weekday, I wanted to take this time to reflect on what has happened over the last two years.
Our story has its roots in public service. No person who got this newspaper off the ground had any formal journalistic training when we first started. We didn't even know if this would be a success or a failure, but we knew that we had to jump in headfirst if we wanted to see any kind of change in Amarillo. The state of the media in Amarillo was so bad at the time that we started, there was not really one fair news source. Another "local" newspaper was being used as a firing squad for the political elite. Other outlets were doing the same and, while there were good reporters at every outlet, it did not seem that one outlet had a complete and total goal of delivering consistently fair and fact-based news.
Over the past two years, we have published thousands of stories on various topics. In some cases, we have demanded accountability. In other cases, we have shown good deeds accomplished by those in our community. In every case, we have tried to report with a fact-based sense of reason. Some stories have received push back from some in the community. However, we have always tried to ensure that every story leaves Amarillo with the full story on what is actually happening behind closed doors.
In the editorial room of the Pioneer, we will always give criticism when warranted and praise when earned, but neither will ever come easily. In the newsroom, we will always try to make sure that we uncover the true story of what happens, because you, the great people of Amarillo, deserve to know the truth.
Luckily, we have not been alone on this journey. Some of our great community supporters have helped keep this paper going for our readers and our readers have been a driving inspiration too. When we first started this newspaper, we had about thirty subscribers. Today, we have thousands of people from all over the state subscribing to news reported right from the heart of Amarillo.
I am blessed to be able to write your stories every day. And I cannot wait for even more years of delivering the Pioneer to you. Just as we have said before, we are going to be here for a long, long time. And we hope that you will join us.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
