End of the year letter

I cannot close this year without expressing gratitude to all of you.

Ocala, thank you for giving us so many interesting people and topics to report on. It is our love for you that drives what we do.

We aim to serve the community’s best interests by providing reliable information from an independent source. We believe this is important because there can be no freedom of choice–without knowledge. The open and free exchange of knowledge supports free and informed choices and provides opportunity for more Ocalans.

I want to express sincere thanks for the financial support from advertisers, subscribers, and all those who make tax-deductible donations to us through the Florida Press Foundation. Without your support, the Ocala Gazette would never have started, let alone made it this far.

As everyone knows, the business of local journalism has become progressively more difficult with each passing decade. The trend continues and the Ocala Gazette doesn’t profess to hold the key to making journalism profitable or sustainable long term. But we work hard every day to maintain a balance of providing the public service of reporting local news and supporting our staff and their families.

The ‘secret sauce’ to our business plan involves proving to you — the readers — that we are indispensable to keeping your community transparent and healthy, so you support us in return.

Since the weight is on us to prove our value to the community, I ask you–how are we doing?

In the coming weeks, we are going to ask our readers to participate in a survey to help us understand where we stand with you. And we want you to be as straight with us, as we are with you all. You can also provide feedback directly to me by email at jennifer@ocalagazette.com.

Finally, to every one of my team members who work so hard and enthusiastically, thank you. We may be small, but our collective heart for our mission and our community makes us mighty. It’s my honor to serve alongside you.

Jennifer Hunt Murty
Publisher