Letter from the Editor | Stories of change

By Matt Mantica 01/26/15 2:25am

At its core, the journalistic enterprise is all about telling stories.

When done well — when the facts are reported, when those stories are truthfully told — journalism has a tremendous ability to do good.

Well-crafted stories can create change — they can disrupt hearts, minds and entrenched ways of doing.

Stories, especially those forced into the dark by anger and stigma, can inspire. They can light a spark in those whose hearts and minds need inspiration the most. They can show that the world really isn’t as it seems — that there are alternatives out there; that you are not alone.

Stories of corruption, misdeeds or wrongdoing can take down those systems that formerly upheld such destructive aspects of community and society. These tales have an often understated power that is able to hold the more obviously powerful accountable.

We write these stories. But as a modern media company, writing is not all we do.

In the past year, we’ve committed ourselves to change beyond the scale of that which stories can make.

We have a redesigned print product and a revitalized website and have started printing four issues a week. We also committed up to $100,000 to creative, innovative ideas and projects, and we overhauled our business operations.

Now, we’ve got a new crop of folks in charge. Last week, you saw the initial output of The Daily Pennsylvania’s 131st Board of Editors and Managers online and out on newsstands. The past year of change may be over, but we — the 131 — are ready to disrupt even more.

Already, we’ve committed more resources to innovation. We have an Innovation Director to head up the DP Innovation Lab, which has already launched its first project: Shots, where you can find talented photographers for your next event or photo shoot.

In the past week, we’ve been fine-tuning our print design, and we will continue to do so. The beginnings of this may be most obvious with our more prominent flag on the front page, which now sits on a red background.

Online, we’re expanding our graphics, web and videojournalism teams to bring you stories in new ways that can only be experienced online.

The opinions and letters you see on this page will soon be sharing space with more editorials, as our Editorial Board has committed itself to producing two editorials each week.

And we’re committing ourselves more intently to the stories we tell. We’re standing firm to our commitment to good journalism while telling stories that entertain you and keep you informed of all that you need to know.

Even as we change, the fact remains that journalism, when done well, can do great things.

We will never forget that. Neither should you.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.