At Ballantine Communications, we are fortunate to serve a community as wide-ranging and diverse as ours in a landscape composed of high deserts and jetting mountains. I, myself, have been fortunate to grow up here, with a deep appreciation for both the land and its people. Personally, I’ve been blessed to follow twin pursuits in community medicine and ranching.
Now, as I begin my role as publisher of BCI, I am honored and humbled to be able to follow in the footsteps of my father, Richard, and my grandmother, Morley – continuing our family’s devotion to community journalism.
The Four Corners is a very special place to live, encompassing a wide range of opinions, experiences and interests. It’s critical that our publications reflect that diversity because it’s such a strength of our community.
As journalists, it’s our job to provide information, facts and clarity that our readers might not otherwise learn in the course of their busy lives: stories that bring smiles and laughter, stories that touch hearts, stories that make someone stop and say, “Hmm … I hadn’t considered that before.”
I’m inspired by my grandmother Morley saying that for our society to function successfully, “its citizens need to have information about the wide variety of topics important to their government. They need complete information and they need accurate information. It is a newspaper’s responsibility to provide this information.”
No matter your politics, faith, background or hometown – whether you call Durango, Cortez, Farmington or somewhere nearby home – BCI is a place where you should feel welcome. If your views lean left, right or in between, we encourage your opinion and voice. And, as a journalistic enterprise, we will continue to clearly differentiate between reporting well-researched facts and reflecting opinions, whether those of BCI or readers. We will also correct mistakes when we make them.
Let’s build together. I want to hear from you – our readers and advertisers. Tell me what you like and don’t like about working with our company. Please feel free to share with me what would make your own experience better.
We all know that journalism is an industry facing many challenges. At BCI, we will be successful when both our local businesses and our readers feel served. We will forge ahead with innovation – and we aim to have fun in the process. I have enjoyed watching Al Harper, longtime leader of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, become interim CEO of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and embrace the idea of making “chocolate fun again.” While recognizing that chocolate and journalism fill different roles in our lives, his optimism and sense of purpose are invigorating and contagious, and I hope to tap into a bit of that.
To our readers and advertisers, alike: Let’s help build thriving communities across the Four Corners. It is a fabulous place. And so, I leave you with this question: How can we help you?
Please feel free to reach out at publisher@bcimedia.com or by letter to 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
