Independent Newsmedia Inc., USA consists of three small publishing and media groups: Arizona, Delaware and Eastern Shore Maryland, and Florida.
We care deeply about journalistic service, high ethical standards, and each other. We work hard because what we do builds good-will and makes a difference in our local communities.
The company is owned by a unique non-profit trust that is designed to preserve INI's independence and journalistic mission. There are no other stockholders and no outside investors. This company exists to serve, not to exploit or be exploited.
We serve our communities by reporting the news with purposeful neutrality, promoting community participation, and honoring the accomplishments of volunteers. On the opinion pages, we facilitate the community's discussion of local issues instead of pushing our own agenda. We have an insatiable appetite for local content; we intend to be the main provider of local news and advertising in every one of our communities.
INI's people run the company. It's greatest strength is its people. They earn positions of leadership by working hard, producing results, and helping to build our culture of journalistic service, continuous improvement, and shared leadership. They advance because of peformance and contribution, not connections. This is no place for inflated egos and stuffed shirts; our people take their jobs seriously, but not themselves. Nearly all of our top leaders have risen from the ranks, exemplyfing growth and performance within Independent while embracing values and delivering results.
INI's President & CEO and Board Chairman started as a journalist for a small newspaper, covering city council meetings and state legislature issues, crime and religion. She later became managing editor of the Arizona group, then seeking growth opportunities expanded her experience by learning advertising sales and manage circulation management before her promotion to Arizona Publisher. She was named President & CEO of INI in January 2022.
Our Corporate Secretary and Vice President of Corporate Services began her career as a typist in the composing and graphics department before moving to the classified advertising department. From there, she advanced to administrative assistant to the publisher, payroll and accounts payable administrator, billing and credit director, ultimately assuming her current executive leadership role.
Our Vice President of Printing Operations started his career an insert machine feeder. However, after two days he was asked to move into the pressroom to fill an open position on the overnight crew. He worked with that crew for a few years and then was promoted to team leader of the second shift. He was later promoted to lead the press operation and a few years after that promoted to general manager.
We expect a lot from our people. At every level of the organization, our employees are expected to be a self-manager who accepts responsibility for their own performance and productivity, share leadership with co-workers and includes them in decision-making, and help as we continually improve our company in every way.
INI is a close-knit extended family of dedicated hard-working people who support one another, share key values, and have a deep desire to serve their communities well and have fun celebrating successes.
MISSION: We publish purposeful newspapers that encourage and support meaningful community involvement, and that provide citizens with the knowledge and participation they need to make rational decisions about public issues.
SERVICE: We operate each of our newspapers as a public trust, in the public interest. We believe that our dedication to conscientious journalism is the best way we can help each of our communities become a better place to live and work.
ETHICS: We are committed to upholding high ethical standards in all of our dealings. We attempt to treat every individual with courtesy and respect.
PEOPLE: We intend to excel by attracting and encouraging people who share our values and are committed to achieving excellence.
STABILITY: We will manage conservatively to ensure the company's continuity and preserve its independence.
STRENGTH: While our mission is our driving force, we recognize that we must earn sufficient profits to ensure the company's continuity, independence, and growth. Since no dividends are paid, the company is able to thrive on profit margins below industry standards. All after-tax surpluses are reinvested in Independent's mission of journalistic service, commitment to the ideals of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and support of the community's deliberation of public issues.
GROWTH: We will expand when our existing operations are sound and when the expansion makes sense for us and for the communities we serve.
SERVICE: We strive to help our communities become better places in which to live and work through our dedication to conscientious journalism, and by providing a vigorous advertising marketplace.
ETHICS: We intend to be a company of which we can all be proud, known for its integrity, fairness, and respect for others. Our business relationships are built on honesty, service, quality products, and value. We seek all-win relationships. We believe we can be successful without victimizing anybody.
VALUE: We strive to provide our customers with valued products and services at competitive prices. We are constantly in search of ways to improve the value and service that we provide, and to increase our effectiveness and efficiency.
IMPROVEMENT: We set only one goal: continuous improvement. But we do lots of measuring of trends, so we also know how we are doing.
CONSULTATIVE SALES: We reject manipulative sales approaches in favor of a consultative approach.
RESOURCES: We make maximum use of our resources and capabilities to pursue our mission. We abhor waste. We continuously seek to improve quality and efficiency. We intend to continue to be environmentally responsible.
EQUIPMENT: We take pride in getting optimum performance from our equipment through careful use and good maintenance. We stand ready to upgrade or replace our equipment whenever such an investment can be cost-justified.
SUPPLIERS: We want our outside advisors and suppliers to be committed and valued partners in our success. We seek long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. In return for our loyalty, we expect our suppliers to treat us as most favored customers.
INTERNAL CUSTOMERS: When our divisions do business with one another, they charge the same competitive prices that they would charge outside customers, and provide the same level of service. Our ability to attract outside customers for these services provides proof of our efficiency and effectiveness.
ADMINISTRATION: We try to design the company's business policies and practices so that they support our mission and values. We look for effective solutions and brilliantly simple systems. We take pride in meeting our legal and financial requirements in the least bureaucratic ways possible, and in providing an atmosphere in which Independent's values can flourish.
PURPOSEFULNESS: We encourage and support meaningful community involvement, and provide citizens with the knowledge they need to make rational decisions about public issues. We emphasize local coverage. We try to provide understanding of key issues. We write for the residents, not for officials. We select our content for relevance and usefulness. We recognize individuals who are involved in the community and highlight community events and charitable organizations.
RESPONSIBILITY: We report the news with honesty, accuracy, fairness, objectivity, fearlessness and compassion. Our opinion pages provide a vigorous forum for community discussion of public issues, within the bounds of fair play. We maintain a reputation for purposeful neutrality, and guard it zealously.
HUMILITY: We constantly strive for the truth, but never claim to possess it. We treat people with respect, courtesy and compassion. We correct our errors and give each correction the prominence it deserves. We provide a right to reply to those we write about. We disclose our own conflicts of interest of potential conflicts to our readers.
FORMAT: We use a standard format to make it easy for readers to find what they want. Content is carefully organized for usefulness and time efficiency. We make sensible and creative use of graphics, illustrations, indexes, charts, and color when available.
ADVERTISING: Advertising creates a marketplace in the newspaper's pages which not only serves readers and advertisers, but also helps ensure a vigorous local economy. Advertising is a critical part of our total package, and is organized for reader relevance, usefulness and convenience. The newspaper's advertising should help our readers make intelligent choices about the goods and services they wish to use.
PRINTING: We take pride in producing products that are printed crisply, dependably and efficiently.
DELIVERY: No matter how good the quality of the newspaper, the effort is wasted if it does not get delivered on time. We must make it as easy as possible for readers to subscribe to our newspaper, delivery must be consistent and timely, and the methods of payment and customer service must be as hassle-free as possible for our readers.
COMMITMENT: We strive to attract people who are enthused about Independent's mission and who share our values.
SELF-MANAGEMENT: We expect each individual to accept personal responsibility for his or her own success and for the company's success.
LEARNING: We expect each individual to make a commitment to continuous learning, accepting responsibility for his or her own continuing growth. The company makes appropriate training material available for individual self-education.
COURTESY: We expect each person to treat every other individual with courtesy, and to uphold the highest ethical standards.
TEAMWORK: We expect each individual to be a team-player, team-builder and consensus-seeker. We all share responsibility for the company's success, for maintaining pleasant and safe working conditions, and for recognizing fellow staffers who are upholding the company's values and contributing to its success.
EQUITY: We insist that people be judged by the quality of their work and their contribution to the company's success, without regard to their race, color, gender or other extraneous factors.
STABILITY: We strive to provide stable employment except for performance-based termination, career advancements or transfers.
LEADERSHIP: We strive for leadership, not for supervision. People in leadership positions challenge and coach their associates to grow within their roles.