December 20, 2003

Congratulations to generations of dedicated men and women who, by ensuring the prosperity of a fine newspaper, have provided the mortar that has held together the building blocks of Salisbury's success.

Twenty years ago, in the biggest revolution to hit journalism since the invention of the printing press, local newspapers feared extinction at the hands of local radio and television. Ten years later it was the arrival of the internet that threatened to usurp their function of communicating news and comment to our community.

The Journal need not have worried. Their readers stayed loyal because only by holding the newsprint in our hands and scouring its columns could we satisfy our thirst for so much more than a passing news story.

This newspaper has been recording our news for 275 years. Often it has been making it.

The Journal has thundered, campaigned, comforted and congratulated our proud and vibrant community. It has done more than that.

The proprietors, editors, journalists, photographers, typesetters (who created the paper for most of its distinguished history), designers, advertising managers and receptionists, have invested in our Journal a depth of understanding and breadth of history that is surely unparalleled in England.

Thank you - and here's to the next 275 years!