This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 6, 2013 - Dear Beaconites -
I write this week with great appreciation for your support of the Beacon as it has been and with great anticipation of what we are to become.
On Monday, we merge with St. Louis Public Radio. We're only moving next door, yet it's a big step. For example, Beacon staff are beginning to learn the skills of audio reporting. More important than the logistical and technical challenges, all of us will need to learn new ways to think about how our work can meet your needs.
Come Tuesday, you can watch this transformation begin to unfold. You'll find the work of the combined organization online at stlpublicradio.org and on air at 90.7 FM. We'll be pushing ourselves to discover better ways to provide what you've come to expect from us -- in-depth reporting, thoughtful discussion and attention to news that matters.
Great journalism is a vital public resource -- one that can help you comprehend your place in our region, our region's place in the world and our era's place in history. As St. Louis reinvents itself for the future, we at the Beacon and St. Louis Public Radio are reinventing ourselves -- and reinventing journalism for the digital era. We hope our work will both nourish your brain and touch your heart.
Many details of our new organization remain a work in progress. But our principles and purpose are clear -- to adhere to facts and fairness, to search for clarity amidst chaos, to explore what unites and divides St. Louisans and what challenges and opportunities we share.
The work of our new organization will focus on certain key areas -- politics, education, health, science, innovation, justice, race and culture and the arts. But news doesn't always fall into neat categories. And so, our work will center as well on certain key questions that will shape our future -- How can our region grow? How do we learn? How do we decide? How do we live? We aim to help you connect the dots between seemingly disparate developments, to understand the story behind the story, to find significance amidst superficiality.
This moment of opportunity is possible only because of the past support and involvement of so many St. Louisans who care about the Beacon, St. Louis Public Radio and the future of our region. We look forward to connecting with you again on air and at stlpublicradio.org as our new organization is born.
Sincerely,
Margie