Last week, in the pages of What’s Up, we ventured outside the lines of arts and entertainment. On the center spread, usually reserved for local artists, authors and performances, we got a bit introspective. Using the local Bainbridge Island-based Yes! magazine — a publication with an unapologetic agenda — we springboarded into a look of what the future of print journalism might be.

The story concluded that local print journalism — that with a focus on intensely local stories — fills a unique niche. As the saying goes, every life has a story; it’s the local journalist’s job to tell it. In the case of What’s up, for example, we are the only long-standing print publication with an intensely local focus: We specialize in arts, entertainment and culture strictly within the confines of Kitsap County.

The only exception being that once month, we stretch the geographic boundaries in the name of road trip fun, when writer Bill Mickelson packs up his family of four in his Astrovan and heads out for a day trip Beyond Kitsap.

In the past year that I’ve been honored with the task of overseeing the publication, our methods have changed a bit, but our mission has — and will — not. In addition to the print piece that comes out on Friday, we have beefed up our presence in the entertainment section of www.northkitsapherald.com, and have claimed a presence on MySpace, Facebook and yes, even Twitter.

These don’t negate the importance of the print piece — they’re complementary avenues that raise our accountability and “shelf life.” And, the fact is that there will always be a need for a community to read about its own current events. Local print journalism is a part of the communication landscape, and, like the local arts scene, What’s up also is a necessity.

Simply put, we know the local scene like no one else. Be it local bands big and small, local authors or local artists, if they are your friends or neighbors, they have a home in the pages of What’s up.

I can promise that we will remain steadfast and true to our mission, which is to focus on Kitsap-based or Kitsap-born and -bred artists and entertainers. We’ll also treat all entertainers and artist with an even-handed pen, making sure that the big names — like Bremerton’s Ben Gibbard, frontman for Death Cab for Cutie — are treated just as the artists and authors who turn blank paper and canvas into conversation-worthy pieces.

In short, to stay in tune with the local scene, all you have to do is read us every week. We’ll do the groundwork so you can enjoy the local entertainment coverage to which you have grown accustomed.

That’s what we do, that’s who we are.