Why we've launched Premium access on The Yorkshire Post website: James Mitchinson

Funny word that, isn’t it? Trust. It is almost impossible to define what it is, yet it holds so much power over how we live our lives - the choices we make - and in an era of fake news, devious politics and technological propaganda, trust is everything.

Ever since I was fortunate enough to be asked to edit this now 266-year-old newspaper, it has been my mission to focus our journalism much less on right and left and much more on right and wrong.

Upon taking the reins almost six years ago, I knew that chief among my ambitions was to encourage the team to create a Yorkshire Post that would really make the people of this county proud of their newspaper, not because of how old it is or because of the stories it has broken previously - important though those things are - but because of the way it conducts itself … the way its staff conduct themselves.

Make no mistake, The Yorkshire Post is and always has been a bastion of regional journalism but - as I suppose every editor does - I wanted to give my team the confidence to achieve more.

So when the industry’s watchdog on trust, PAMCo, made The Yorkshire Post - for the first time in its history - officially The Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain, I was enormously satisfied. It must not be underestimated, at a time when it is fashionable to attack journalists with abuse and to denigrate journalism as a scoundrel’s game, how important it is for you as our precious readers to have a news outlet that you believe in.

The way we - you the readers and my team of journalists who inspire me on a daily basis - work together has become critical to the fortunes of the county and the region.

We care about the North because we live here. Our children go to school here. We spend our wages in the shops, bars and restaurants that make Yorkshire the most amazing, inspiring, diverse county there is. We champion Yorkshire because the better it becomes, the better the prospects are for all of our families. We are just like you.

And so at this juncture I want to say thank you. Thank you for your support and thank you for the faith you place in us. I will assume by virtue of the very fact you are reading this, you too believe there is a place for properly crafted, fact checked, objective journalism done for the betterment of the communities it serves. Journalism that has a just cause at its heart.

But it is no secret that journalism of the type we undertake comes at a cost that is higher than other types of so-called journalism, and times have changed so much that we too are having to adapt in order to protect your journalism - because that is what it is; yours.

Which is why today you will see some changes to our website. Quite simply, to protect The Yorkshire Post - and all of the journalistic values it stands for, in order for future generations to get the same benefit from its campaigning voice that you do, I am asking you to contribute by subscribing.

As more subscribers back us, we will become more able to represent you. After all, this newspaper belongs to the county. We are merely fleeting custodians charged with making The Yorkshire Post the best in the country. With your help, we can maintain that special county tradition.

To support us, click here.