Journalism looks different now than it ever has before. We live in a rapidly evolving world and being a journalist has become an increasingly difficult job in the era of modern technology and social media. Every word, action, photo and story is permanently documented; incorrectly reported news exists forever. Stories are inevitably criticized by someone, no matter how sound the reporting is.

We at the Tower will continue to publish the most complete truth we can. We will report objectively rather than subjectively and in the event that we make mistakes we will not hesitate to correct them. Journalism is about informing with integrity. That is a fact that we feel has been lost in the craziness of the modern media era.

Those who report the truth of a situation tend to find themselves on the right side of history. Regardless of this fact, journalists across the world are under attack for publishing truth that doesn’t align with the opinion of the people in power. Nations such as Russia, Venezuela, Australia, the United Kingdom and even the United States have advanced the trend of undermining the ability of journalists to report the truth.

Without a doubt we will be publishing content this year that will not appeal to everyone. There will be stories that may show a side of someone you haven’t seen before, there will be stories that won’t align with your personal beliefs and there will be stories written on uncomfortable topics. We are going to write these stories regardless because it is important for people to be informed about things they may not regularly get to see.

We will also write stories that show the good in the world and the positivity that exists all around us. We see that we are living in a time where negativity sells in the news. It is clear that there is a push by the mainstream media to discuss the worst possible scenario. Our duty as journalists is to report the whole truth, and the truth is, a lot of people in our world are doing great things. We want to bring light to the stories which would normally get brushed aside.

We want to encourage the support of journalists. It is important to have people working to tell all parts of a story. Without people holding those in positions of power accountable for their actions through unbiased and fair reporting, people in power will begin to take advantage of a world without truth.

Finally we want to say that we are excited to publish for you this year. There is no shortage of newsworthy topics to report on and we will continue to adapt from the virtual environment to bring you these stories. We appreciate the community’s continued support for our publication, and as long as we have that support we will do our best to publish integrity-focused journalism.