For city news, people depend on us

The Thousand Oaks Acorn was cited as the primary source for city news and information by 41 percent of respondents in the city’s latest Community Attitude Survey (see story on page 1.)

Thanks to those who participated, this newspaper finished first, ahead of the Star , which was named by 29 percent of respondents. The Internet in general finished third at 26 percent, and the city’s website had 22 percent. The city’s newsletter was the choice of 14 percent of respondents.

We feel honored and humbled by the outcome.

First, we say thank you to those who named us. Your response is sincerely appreciated. All of us— the publisher, associate publisher, writers, editors, copy editors, photographers, typesetters and staff—are grateful.

Second, we promise that we will work even harder to keep your trust. We take seriously our responsibility to you, our readers, to deliver fair and balanced stories.

Perfection is the goal of almost every newspaper, and try as we may, we also know that we are human and mistakes do happen. As a former editor of a daily newspaper once said in journalism school, “Every day we try to produce a perfect newspaper, and every day we fail.” Keeping the standard as high as possible, though, is most important. We also promise to correct the record as soon as possible whenever a mistake is made.

Third, we rededicate ourselves to deliver comprehensive stories, even as our page count has contracted. We’re confident that the economy will improve, as will the size of your newspaper.

Fourth, we also thank our advertisers. They can be confident that the Thousand Oaks Acorn is being read and that people see their ads. The results of the survey should also open some doors for us.

In the meantime, we promise, as your community newspaper, to keep you informed about things you need to know.