By RICHARD WALKER
rwalker@soundpublishing.com

At the Bremerton Patriot and Central Kitsap Reporter, we believe you should do more than just read the newspaper.

You should be able to plan your day and week with it. It should be with you when you shop. Important stories should be circled and shared. Photos of relatives and friends should be cut out and pasted on the fridge; ditto for calendars and schedules and public meeting notices. You should feel compelled to share your view on issues of the day on the Opinion page.

By the time the next edition is off the press, last Friday’s issue should be well worn and in the recycle bin. (And if you want to line your bird cage with it, well, that’s OK too.)

We’ve made some significant changes to help us produce a newspaper that is a reflection of the community it serves, a newspaper that you’ll use. We can’t cover every story out there (we wish we could!). But we can cover the stories that matter the most. We can cover the stories that most inform and inspire. We can do reporting and write editorials that hold those in power accountable.

We’ve done some restructuring that will help us do that.

Robert Smith, editor of the Port Orchard Independent, is now directly overseeing the Port Orchard and Bremerton newsrooms.

The Port Orchard Independent, Bremerton Patriot and Central Kitsap Reporter are still separate, individual newspapers. But the Bremerton and Port Orchard newsrooms are located only nine miles from each other (and staff members in both offices live in those communities), so Smith is working with both offices on story planning to ensure stories of common interest are covered. Some of those issues: Port of Bremerton (which includes Port Orchard), economic development, Sinclair Inlet and the health of the marine environment, State Route 3, and the U.S. Navy. Contact Smith at rsmith@soundpublishing.com.

Mark Briant joins the Bremerton newsroom as a reporter on June 27. In a career stretching back to 1977, he’s reported for The Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and San Diego Union-Tribune; served as assistant sports editor of the Anchorage Daily News and night city editor of the Bellevue Journal-American; and for the last 20 years owned and operated a marketing communications firm.

“For me, this represents a return to my professional roots in community newspapers,” he told us. “I’m also excited because of the growth I’ve observed in the Central Kitsap region and especially in Bremerton. There is a lot happening, and one of the most interesting parts of the news business is finding yourself in the middle of it all.”

Briant succeeds Chris Tucker, who resigned to concentrate on some entrepreneurial projects. You’ll be able to email Briant at mbriant@soundpublishing.com.

Reporter Michelle Beahm is also in the Bremerton office, covering all things Bremerton. You can contact her at mbeahm@soundpublishing.com.

Leslie Kelly, special sections editor, is devoting a day a week to business reporting for the Bremerton Patriot and Central Kitsap Reporter. She is a former editor of the Patriot and Reporter. Contact her at lkelly@soundpublishing.com.

Sara Miller, sports and education reporter for the Port Orchard Independent, is also covering sports for the Patriot and Reporter. This former soccer standout at Linfield College lives within earshot of her beloved Pumas and Bluejackets. You can contact her at smiller@soundpublish ing.com.

I am managing editor of Sound Publishing’s newspapers in Kitsap County. But in the Bremerton newsroom, I’m stepping back into more of a support role; one of those roles is that of editorial page editor. Publisher Terry Ward and I serve as the editorial board. (I also edit the newspapers’ “B” section, Kitsap Weekly.) I’m available at rwalker@sound publishing.com.

In the circulation department: Tane Sorensen (tsoren sen@soundpublishing.com) is the Central Kitsap Reporter’s circulation manager. Robert Zollna (rzollna@soundpublish ing.com) is circulation manager for the Bremerton Patriot and the Port Orchard Independent.

In the advertising department: Jessica Martindale (jmartindale@soundpublishing.com) and Mary Mollahan (mmollahan@soundpublishing.com) will soon be joined by another member of the multimedia marketing team.

The Bremerton Patriot and the Central Kitsap Reporter are well-positioned for growth; this team approach will help us in our mission to produce a newspaper that is an important and useful part of your life.

We want to be your primary source of local information. Let us know how we can better serve you.

Have a great week in lively, upbeat Bremerton and beautiful Central Kitsap. And travel safely.