BY RICHARD L. CONNOR

Editor and Publisher

Good morning, central Maine.

You are holding the first edition of your Morning Sentinel published by a new owner and my new company, MaineToday Media Inc.

Much has been written about this acquisition over the past year. Too much for my liking, but those of us in the press love to write about ourselves. My preference is that we find news and report it, not make it.

The Maine newspapers -- the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram -- all share deep traditions of providing quality newspapers to their audiences. Collectively, they also are the dominant online news source in the state.

Our challenge will be to maintain the best practices of these newspapers and their online components. Once we have done that, we plan to grow them in print and online.

I know Frank Blethen and I've known his associates here. I've known members of the Guy Gannett family for many, many years. I consider them friends and great members of our newspaper fraternity. We all hold some things in common. We love newspapers and still believe in them. We love Maine, too. MaineToday Media Inc. will work hard to be worthy stewards of the foundation they have built.

Frank Blethen phoned me late on Monday to congratulate me. It was a kind and generous gesture. As I told him, timing is everything. We believe we have been allowed a great opportunity to buy a newspaper when others are not buying them. Our newspaper business in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is growing. Last year was a record for us in profitability, despite having a direct competitor in our market.

Our combined audience of print and online is the fourth-fastest growing of any newspaper in the country. And our experience in Wilkes-Barre -- although the two companies will be separate -- gives us confidence that we can grow here, as well.

We make no lofty predictions or promises as we begin the tenure of our ownership other than to say we will work hard to gain your trust and support. Much like the great example set by L.L. Bean, we believe in superb customer service. Hard as it may be to believe, that concept is foreign to many newspapers. Our employees are our customers. Our readers are our customers. And our advertisers are our customers. We treat all of them with respect. The paper is theirs, not ours. They are the real owners.

Our job is to tell you about where you live. Everything. Good and bad.

We do, however, come to this task with a premise. You live in your communities because you love them and you love your state. We will celebrate those things we all love about our towns and our state. I have owned property in this state my entire life.

It is an honor now to own Maine newspapers and to have the chance to serve you.