President's Letter

“Clear, fresh spring water, always there,” said the real estate agent, and it sounded terrific to a big-town person like me who had never lived so far out into the boonies that there was no city water, which didn't taste all that good to start with.

You guessed it. “Always there,” turned into “when it felt like it” because, city slicker that I was, I never understood that an electric pump has to have electricity to work, and storms often blew down country power lines. No power, no water, no shower—and no flushing, either. You expect that when you flip a switch, power will flow, that it will be always there. Last time I ever trust electricity!

We’re all in big trouble if that ever happens to our media businesses. Our readers and viewers expect that when they pick that paper up at dawn, that it will be always there, nice and dry and on time, and when they turn on the 6 o’clock news, those faces that they trust will be there—always there.

Our readers and viewers have learned to trust what we say and how we say it, what stories we tell, what pictures we show. That bond with our audiences is the most precious thing we produce every day, and it takes more than 7,000 of us to do it, and a ton of money to do it right.

A newspaper or TV station that can’t do it right may be there for now—but it will never be always there.

The money we make makes everything possible. Our financial goals make all the other goals attainable. When we’re financially strong, we can take controversial editorial positions without fear of consequences. We can buy equipment. We can recruit, train, incentivize and retain the best people.

Though some are embarrassed to say it, I’m not one of them, so here goes: Money is wonderful. Look what we do with it. Look how many people we reach with it, how many lives we affect, how many people we satisfy because of our financial success.

The most important job I have is to see to it that we’re always there, for our readers and viewers, and for our owners, and always will be.

Thanks for what you did to make 2004 the best year in the company’s history. Read all about it throughout this report, and be proud that we’re always there. I know I am!

President and Chief Executive Officer