We know we’ve been tooting our own horn for the past few months on this topic, but we can’t help it if our own anticipation has gotten the better of us. And for the staff, our readers and advertisers, the crescendo has finally reached its conclusion.

As of the printing of this edition on Jan. 8, 2025, the Business Times becomes an even greater source for local news from a business perspective with our first weekly printing. Yes, these first papers might be a little smaller than you are used to, but overall, we’ll be covering more news, more frequently and more thoroughly than ever before.

And we’re doing it for the simplest, age-old principle, which all news organizations should have at their core: Quality, sourced, fact-based stories that are of interest to the community and now, in many cases, fall under the people’s right to know.

After all, that’s why freedom of the press exists, isn’t it? And that’s why for (probably) the last time, our horn will be tooting about how great it is to have a weekly, alternative news source in the Grand Valley that embraces the “old-school” way of reporting news. The more news stories the better, right?

We don’t know about you — well, we kind of do — but reading a story that spurs more questions about the story itself than curiosity in looking further into the topic at hand is a frustrating way to take in the news. In other words, wouldn’t you rather read a story where the questions you have are asked and answered? We think so. And we spend a lot of time in editorial meetings ferreting out what those questions are.

Which brings us to another favorite, old principle at our core: Ask the questions, record the answers accurately and put them (edited to AP style as best we can) into print. As we’ve said before, this running a newspaper thing is, literally, that easy.

And that ease of publishing is most strongly supported by the paramount principle of any media outlet: The domains of advertisers, editorial and content never cross into one another’s territory. Each arena is sacred and separate from the others. And in 25 years of printing The Business Times, we’ve been resolute with maintaining this bedrock foundation.

Now some may say, “But you do stories on your advertisers all the time.” Our response, “We do.” Because our advertisers know we are a reliable source in which to press release their stories, and they know those stories will be told as comprehensively as possible.

Put it this way, if you send us a press release about your company, chances are, we’re going to give it the proper coverage. Sometimes it’s a business brief, other times a short story, and occasionally it ends up on the cover. But the main point is this. It will get covered if we believe it is of interest to our readers or falls under the public’s right to know. For most press releases we receive, they do.

“But what about your bias?” you ask. Our first response? “Thanks for reading Craig Hall’s column.” After all, that’s what opinion pages are for: opinions. And we like to publish opinions that get read.

Sadly, for some – but happily and of much interest to others – that’s Craig’s column. We’re hoping to expand on that arena with more letters to the editor and op-eds as we continue to grow the product. Interaction with the community is the heartbeat of any newspaper. And we want to feel the thump. So, keep those cards and letters coming.

And keep reading. We don’t take that for granted. We know it’s built on trust. A trust we’ve spent a quarter of a century building. It’s much appreciated, and we know this one, final truth in newspapers: We can’t do any of this without you. 

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of The Business Times. Reach him at  424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com