One hundred and fifty-six years ago, Manuel Tavares de Resende founded Diário dos Açores with a demanding ambition: to give voice to an island community, to connect the islands to one another and to the wider world, and to make the newspaper a place where events are given meaning. Since then, this publication has served as a space of scrutiny, encounter, and memory. Every day, our pages record the facts of the present while leaving a trace for the future.

At a time when speed is mistaken for urgency, when opinion attempts to replace fact, and when disinformation seeks to install itself as a constant background noise, we reaffirm the importance of serious journalism. Readers’ trust is not requested—it is earned, edition by edition, through rigor, independence, and respect for those who read us.

These are not easy times for the press. Even less so in small markets such as the Azores, where logistical costs are high, advertising is limited, and financial sustainability often becomes a daily struggle.

For this reason, it is important to acknowledge the new public support framework for Private Media in the Azores, created by the Regional Government of the Azores, which strengthens and expands upon previous support mechanisms. The SIM—System of Incentives for Private Media—recognizes the public service role performed by private media in the region, helping ensure that we can carry out our mission in accordance with the Press Law and the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.

Many of those who passed through this newsroom fought difficult battles to keep Diário dos Açores alive when uncertainty outweighed hope. Our responsibility is to honor that legacy: to persist, to innovate without losing our bearings, to defend independence, and to continue serving our readers. We do so with gratitude for the daily efforts of everyone who keeps this newspaper alive—from the newsroom staff and contributors to those responsible for printing the paper.

A special word of thanks goes to our advertisers, subscribers, and readers, whose support justifies our daily work. We do not promise perfection; we promise serious and continuous work, day after day.

In a scattered archipelago, where distance is measured in miles of sea, a newspaper is a bridge—bringing islands closer together, linking the diaspora, and giving a human face to both problems and solutions.

As long as there are Azores to tell stories about, there will be reasons to practice journalism. And as long as there are readers who prefer rigor over noise, there will be, on this side, the same promise as always: to tell the truth of the facts.

Paulo Hugo Viveiros is the director of the newspaper Diário dos Açores. This newspaper just celebrated 156 years of existence. This was the editorial commemorating such an amazing milestone.