There’s much to be said for an organization’s longevity — particularly when it comes to how that organization has served our Upper Ohio Valley. We here at The Intelligencer pride ourselves on being not only the oldest daily newspaper in the state of West Virginia, but for being the Upper Ohio Valley’s trusted source of information. That service to our community — providing information that helps you navigate your daily life ­– is something we take very seriously.

Today, as the world around us moves at a blistering pace, we pause to mark a momentous occasion — our 171st birthday. While the way we deliver the news has come a long way since that first edition hit the streets of the small frontier outpost of Wheeling, Virginia, on Aug. 24, 1852, the principles that have served this newspaper for nearly two centuries remain the same: a daily search for the truth; accountability for our government leaders; fact-based, unbiased reporting; and an unwavering commitment to inform Ohio Valley residents about the latest and most important happenings in our communities.

That mission has not changed since our very first edition, where we proclaimed that, “All that the people require in order to arrive at proper conclusions is light and information.”

Through the years, that has been the goal of thousands of men and women who have worked at The Intelligencer. The formula has worked well, to the benefit of our communities, region, states and our business partners.

We continue to strive for that today. No other medium provides the comprehensive, in-depth coverage of local happenings that is available every day in The Intelligencer. And, at a time when some media sources have raised questions about reliability and frankly driven a political wedge between neighbors, our news pages have remained a source of accurate, unbiased, here’s-what-happened reporting.

Our goal each day is to provide you with the facts surrounding an issue, and then let you make up your own mind on what it means to you.

At the same time, a separate mission of ours is one of leadership and encouraging thought about local, state and regional affairs. Our editorial pages provide a variety of viewpoints while taking stances aimed at improving the lives of local individuals and families, often through better government at all levels.

Our editorial leadership is guided solely by devotion to the best interests of our readers, without regard to any political party or ideology.

Take, for instance, two editorials we penned last year that judges determined to be two of the three best in West Virginia. We received top honors statewide for leadership on issues impacting our communities — downtown Wheeling’s future, for one, and another on how public education is delivered in Ohio County. Our leadership role is one we take very seriously.

Ideals such as ours may seem quaint to those that have become accustomed to blatantly slanted reporting and staunch, unquestioning support of certain candidates and ideologies. But our philosophy has served readers much better than such misguided policies, which have no business masquerading as journalism.

For 171 years, The Intelligencer’s foundation — service — has not wavered. That is worth celebrating as we mark another year of service and look forward to many more.