Editorial: Building on our successes to keep you connected

What a year.

As 2014 draws to a close, I have taken some time to reflect on another big news year and some of things we have achieved here at the Bay of Plenty Times.

It is appropriate that I start with the newspaper itself. We are in healthy shape and this year has been a strong one for us in terms of retail circulation.

Readers are clearly still finding the Bay of Plenty Times the Bay's leading and most authoritative source for news and entertainment.

Our front pages have been lively and engaging and we have continued to refine our coverage of local news and events. The morning compact format has found favour and its place in the community.

We are continually reviewing the daily paper in an effort to improve it and 70,000 people on average read it each week. We have struck a good balance between hard news that must be told and optimistic, bright stories that are great to tell. Our unduplicated readership across the daily and Bay News is 97,000 readers a week.

But the Bay of Plenty Times is now more than just a newspaper.

Our online audience has grown hugely throughout 2014 with thousands more people realising they can get their credible local news wherever they are and whenever they want. The number of average weekly unique browsers who visited our site has grown this year, with one week nearing 100,000.

This, combined with our newspaper audience, provides a powerful reach - one that our advertisers find attractive.

We have added in more digital editorial resource to ensure bayofplentytimes.co.nz is fresh and packed with interesting local content. Our Facebook page now has more than 10,000 likes, providing another avenue for discussion and engagement.

Digital will be an exciting area for us in 2015, so if you haven't visited our site I encourage you to do so - and watch this space.

The Bay of Plenty Times continues to play a vital role in bringing you news without fear or favour. But our role is wider than that - something we have demonstrated with two major community campaigns this year.

The first is the Bay of Plenty Times Gives Back.

Our journalists collectively gave up more than 300 hours volunteering and writing about 26 community organisations. Each writer spent up to a day volunteering at a charity or community organisation and wrote a news feature about their experience.

As the title suggests, this was our way of giving back to the community and helping wonderful charities that help people so much.

It has been a rewarding experience.

The other campaign is our Christmas Appeal, raising money and food for Tauranga Community Foodbank.

This year was the fourth in a row that we have conducted this appeal. This year, we have so far raised more than $83,000 and we have raised more than $289,000 in total since it started in 2011.

I'd like to thank everyone who has donated. You have made such a difference.

Both campaigns have helped people and made a difference and we are proud of them.

As Christmas approaches, it is also a good time to take stock of the year and the year ahead.

Christmas is a time for sharing with family and friends, celebrating the people around us and remembering those who are no longer with us.

The Bay of Plenty Times print edition continues to publish through the festive break, except Christmas Day and, of course, Sundays.

You can click on bayofplentytimes.co.nz for the latest news throughout any day.

Our journalists will be out in the field reporting on the important news and digging up great stories to tell. Some of our liftouts will stop for a while or be published in a smaller format. See the advisory story on page 3 today for details.

On behalf of the Bay of Plenty Times management and staff, I would like to say a huge thanks to all our readers and advertisers. Thank you for your support this year and we look forward to serving you and working with you in 2015.

I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.