Since its founding in 1885, The Omaha World-Herald has been owned by Omahans.
That has been good for Omaha, for the Midlands and for the readers we serve.
That will not change.
This important tradition of independent local ownership, rare in today's media environment, continues unbroken with the newspaper's pending acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway, a company that also is deeply rooted in this community.
In announcing his purchase Wednesday, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett echoed previous generations of owners who believed in the future of the newspaper and of their hometown.
"There is no question it is affected by the fact that I am extremely bullish on Omaha, Nebraska. We live in a vibrant economy here. ... It's prosperous, and it's a community that has a sense of community," Buffett told a meeting of World-Herald employees.
"It's an important institution. ... You are important to the people of Omaha and Nebraska in telling them about a whole lot of things."
During 126 years of publication — from the 78 years under founder Gilbert Hitchcock and his family, to the 16 years under Peter Kiewit, to 32 years of employee ownership and soon as a part of Berkshire Hathaway — stewardship of The World-Herald has stayed in Omaha. Few cities in America can say the same.
The World-Herald's owners, like the newspaper's readers, have lived in the city, worked in the city, shopped in the city and cared about the city.
The newspaper and its employees have always strived to provide fair and accurate news reporting, to offer thoughtful and balanced commentary on issues, to help build community, to perform a public service, to play an enduring role in the civic life of the city, the state and the region.
Such local stewardship was so important to Kiewit that when he learned his hometown paper might be sold to an East Coast-based chain in 1962, he hurried to buy it instead. At that time, the construction giant said, "Our interest is primarily an investment in our home city."
Buffett himself suggested that Kiewit — who preserved local ownership after his death by handing the paper over to employees and the Peter Kiewit Foundation — would approve of this latest investment in the city:
"He wanted an independent, locally owned and vibrant newspaper, forever, in Omaha, Nebraska. We would be the logical consequence.''
Buffett emphasized that "the editorial independence that Nebraskans and Iowans have come to expect from The World-Herald will continue." As has been his practice when acquiring other companies, he said current management would remain in place.
A new owner does not mean a change in the newspaper's role.
Today, as for the past 126 years, "Omaha" is staying in The World-Herald, and The World-Herald's ownership is staying in Omaha.
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