Greg Burton

Arizona Republic

We’ve covered Arizona for 129 years.

We were there at statehood and the dedication of Grand Canyon National Park.

We were there when Phoenix elected Adam Diaz, the city’s first Latino councilman and Margaret T. Hance, its first female mayor.

We covered the deaths of Army Ranger Pat Tillman and Army soldier Lori Piestewa.

We covered the attack on Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her staff and a crowd of constituents outside a Safeway in Tucson and the deaths of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots at Yarnell Hill in Yavapai County.

At every point, journalists on assignment for The Arizona Republic stood on the shoulders of subscribers. That’s where we stand today. In return, our promise is to chronicle the best of Arizona, expose the worst and deeply examine the issues that matter most to you.

As we’ve evolved, so has your support. Your interest in our work has generated nearly 300 million page views so far this year. The future of our business depends on more than casual readers, though – we need loyal, paying subscribers to continue our mission.

That’s why we’re grateful for the 5,000 new digital subscribers who’ve joined us since January.

To reward that commitment to our journalism, we’re rolling out a new program this week in which we publish a portion of our work exclusively for subscribers. That will include in-depth investigations by reporters like Craig Harris, Anne Ryman and Daniel González; insider interviews from reporters like Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Rachel Leingang and Lauren Saria; insightful perspectives from columnists like Greg Moore, Bob Robb and Laurie Roberts.

These “for subscribers” stories will showcase our best work – journalism that reflects a significant investment in time, expertise and craftsmanship. They’ll signify work that you can’t get anywhere else: local community watchdog coverage by reporters like Jen Fifield and Paulina Pineda; music and culture writing by Ed Masley and Bill Goodykoontz; sports exclusives from Nick Piecoro, Katherine Fitzgerald, Duane Rankin and others.

The majority of content published at azcentral.com will continue to be accessible to everyone through a meter that limits readers on how many stories, videos or galleries they can consume over 30 days.

We’ll also maintain the same access to work we publish on the environment, child welfare and bioscience that is supported with grants from the Arizona Community Foundation, Nina Pulliam Charitable Trust and Flinn Foundation.

And we’ll continue to provide free access to news that is a public service – emergency coverage of threatening fires or floods, breaking news that connects us as neighbors and Arizonans.

Our commitment is unwavering: cover the best, expose the worst, find solutions.

All three of those promises were met this week by reporters Rebekah Sanders and Robert Anglen, who covered the plight of disabled veteran Jim Boerner, whose mobile home was seized and sold after a mix-up over a few hundred dollars in back taxes.

Days after Rebekah’s first story, a GoFundMe account had opened for Boerner. After a Maricopa County mix-up, officials brokered a deal so Boerner can stay in his home.

Rarely does justice arrive as swiftly.

It took more than a year for reporters Uriel Garcia and Bree Burkitt to compile and review every police shooting in Arizona since 2011, fighting the public-document bureaucracy for details police and prosecutors wanted to shield from public view.

Their report is the only serious, and complete, accounting of police shootings in Arizona. That’s journalism that matters to us all, especially a year after Phoenix amassed more police shootings than the combined totals in New York, Philadelphia and Dallas.

That reporting has helped lead to reforms designed to limit violent conflict and save lives. The Republic’s investigation of police shootings is ongoing.

If you’re not a subscriber, I hope this work inspires you to join us.

If you are a subscriber, I want to thank you for supporting journalism that makes a difference.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.