Awards indicative of hard-working culture

Forgive us a minute while we talk a little bit about ourselves.

Running a newspaper is a mission we take seriously, but we rarely share that mission and work with our readers. Mostly, your conversations and ours delve around the finished product. We react to and debate stories. We probably don't talk enough about the process.

Our primary goal here at the newspaper is to bring you useful information about your community. Some of that news is considered bad news, such as crime and tragedy; some of that news is informative, such as local government operations; some of the news is controversial, and some of it is fun, inspiring or entertaining, such as profiles on interesting and passionate people who live and work here. We enjoy all aspects of it.

Our news operation is staffed in some degree seven days a week. You probably recognize many of the bylined names by now, but we employ several who work behind the scenes and go relatively nameless. They read the copy for errors. They use our various programs to lay out pages. They type up obituaries or birth announcements.

But our newsroom is just the tip of the iceberg. We have sales people who put businesses in touch with you, the reader. We have people who perform technical tasks, such as placing ads where they should go. We have a photographer who goes and shoots house interiors so those looking at buying or selling houses can house hunt from home. We have people who answer phones, greet customers and help them place classified ads.

Some of our employees are wonderful ad designers. Others help us with the technical complexities of sending off special publications to printers. Some of our dedicated workers help other businesses with their marketing, whether that's branding or social media or building websites. We have people who support all of these people, who know the ins and outs of technology and keep our programs and computers working. We have people dedicated to making sure you get your newspapers on your doorstep in time, and if your driveway gets missed, they're there to make sure you get your copy. We have folks who help new employees get adjusted, who are here to answer questions about benefits. We have people who help us take care of our buildings and grounds.

We have dedicated technicians who print the paper, who run huge, complex machines, making sure the ink distribution is just right, that the photos pop and the words are as clear as can be. These guys work overnight and take their craft seriously before it is passed along to the circulation folks who deliver.

So when it was announced recently that the Southeast Missourian won 30 awards in the Missouri Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest -- including seven first place awards -- we celebrated. For most of the awards, names were attached. Our reporters and photographers absolutely deserve the credit for writing really good stories and taking wonderful photos that stack up with any other paper in the state comparable to circulation size.

But those awards would not be possible without the scores of fellow employees who help support them. The Southeast Missourian is proud of its news staff, and for the awards -- including second place in general excellence.

But the awards are indicative of a hard-working culture that our employees create and embrace.

It should be noted that no story is written or pursued for the primary purpose of winning awards. Stories are written and developed with the reader in mind. Awards are nice, and confirmation of our effort, but our best accolades come from our readers who read, acknowledge, discuss and share our work.

Thanks to all of our readers, and all of the businesses and advertisers who support our journalism.

We believe in the mission of journalism, and we're grateful that you do, too.