From the publisher: Thank you readers, advertisers, family and friends

Merry Christmas, everyone, and Happy New Year, too!

Our Dec. 27 issue is our Navajo Times 2018 Year-End edition as this is the last week of the year. In five more days we will be ushering in the brand new year of 2019 and letting go of 2018.

Our editorial staff has worked diligently this month to come up with a good variety of stories and photographs from this past year. I hope you enjoy what they chose to present to you as a reflection of 2018.

Every person has his or her own view of what was the big major story or event of the year, and for many of us, it’s a personal choice. In fact, there is no set timeline or deadline for reflecting on the past and remembering what was most important, or moving to you. It could be something from this past spring or from many years past, or from decades ago.

It’s just human habit that as a set year in time ends and a new one is ready to begin, there is this monumental movement by people all over the world to take a look back at the past 12 months and think seriously about what was most important to them, or their family, or their tribe of people.

It is a good human habit actually to collectively remember what was most striking or controversial or excellent or beneficial.

The media has done this for ages. Look at the many radio and television news programs that are now talking about what Donald Trump did and said in 2018. One disturbing thing is that he called the media “an enemy of the people.”

In my view, nothing could be further from the truth. The media are not an enemy of the people, but rather a living, resourceful and necessary part of the people of this country and the world.

As working journalists – especially Native journalists – we have responsibilities, ethics and rules of the craft that we must uphold to the best of our ability. If we knowingly fail in those areas, then we deserve to be criticized and corrected.

But if we are simply doing our jobs the best way we know how, just like the rest of this country’s working men and women, then we are not anyone’s enemy.
This past October, the Arizona Newspapers Association voted the Navajo Times as the “2018 Arizona Newspaper of the Year,” for non-daily publications. This was the third time in a row that we were honored as such and it is a huge accomplishment for our staff, our readers and for the Navajo people.

In 2019, we will do our best to earn that honor again through the support and acknowledgment of our peers at ANA who come from all nationalities, cultures and colors. They are our neighbors and fellow journalists, and not our enemies.

Thank you readers, advertisers and all of our family and friends for your many years of appreciation and confidence. The newspaper publishing business is going through some struggles and tough times these days but with your continued support, the Navajo Times will be here to stay for many more years to come.

On behalf of the staff and carriers of the Navajo Times, I wish you much prosperity, good health, lots of happiness and many blessings in 2019.

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