It's gratifying to hear so much support when we're out in the community. But even though most people know the name "Copley Press" and can identify the corporation as the Journal Star's owner, we still hear one theme over and over.

 "Oh yeah, we have to retain local ownership."

It's an honest mistake because the newspaper reads as if it were locally owned. It's not. Copley Press is based in California. In the early days immediately following our sale to Copley, they had a Copley exec spend several months at the Journal Star. Hal Fuson did a lot of observing and chatting, and then he left.

Since then, what we've had is local control. It's been a pleasant combination of the deep pockets of Copley Press and the freedom to cover this region as we, the people who live here, know best. Our top administrators, publisher included, kept their jobs. Out top managers, managing editor, marketing director and advertising director included, kept their jobs.

We don't get a vote in the sale. Local ownership sounds great, unless the owner is interested in making the newspaper his or her personal mouthpiece. But local control trumps all.