I’ll get this out of the way quickly and right up front. I am “from away.”

I worked for the past 17 years at the Boston Globe where for the better part of my career I served as general manager of Boston.com.

But late last year, I began my new job as chief executive officer and publisher of MaineToday Media. I wanted to take a few inches of your Sunday paper to introduce myself and let you know how excited I am about the opportunity to lead an institution with such an important past and bright future.

We recently celebrated both the 150th anniversary of the Portland Press Herald and the beginning of a brand-new chapter for the paper and the rest of MaineToday Media, which includes the Maine Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel, The Coastal Journal, and MaineToday.com.

When the first Press Herald rolled off the presses, Abraham Lincoln was president and Maine’s own Hannibal Hamlin was vice president. One hundred and fifty years is a long, successful run for any business. There is much to learn from history as new ownership, new leaders and committed employees begin writing the next chapter for Maine’s largest media company.

The exciting thing for me, for our team and for our readers is that the next chapter for this paper and all of MaineToday Media looks uniquely bright and strong.

While most newsrooms across the country are downsizing in terms of both staff and resources, our company has been investing in top talent and top-notch resources. MTM majority owner Donald Sussman is committed to seeing these papers and the people who work for them continue to serve Maine communities. As a result, readers are already benefiting from new reporters, editors and strengthened local coverage. I hope you have had a chance to enjoy some of the new video features we have added to the websites or watched one of the high school basketball games we streamed online.

Our mission is to deliver quality, trusted journalism how and where you, our readers, want it. It’s clear that Mainers, more so than in other regions of the country, cherish the experience of reading the paper, ink-stained fingers and all, from cover to cover.

But the device that carries the content is irrelevant. It is the quality of the content that matters whether you read it in print or on your computer or your smartphone.

Therefore, there are two guiding principles we need to carry forward from 150 years of history: delivering quality journalism readers can trust and innovating in how we deliver it.

In 1922, Press Herald publisher Guy Gannett, a Republican, faced criticism from his own party for “allowing” reporters to run stories accurately quoting Democratic attacks on incumbent Republican Gov. Percival Baxter. In response, he wrote in an open letter to readers: “The American people think for themselves. They want and should be given the news and all the news fully and uncolored by any personal or political consideration.”

Those are the same expectations I will vigorously insist on as CEO and publisher. As Executive Editor Cliff Schechtman has eloquently put it, we will produce “probing, public-service journalism without fear or favor.”

We must also be committed to innovation. The technology and business of reporting, printing and distributing the news has changed wildly and dramatically since 1862 and will continue to change at a rapid pace — that is certain.

Without prejudging what the future holds or what is right for Maine, we will strive to be innovative not only in how our readers get the news and information they need and want but in how we deliver for businesses who advertise with us. We also will be innovative in how we work internally and with more than 3,000 external vendors across the state.

I have already begun immersing myself in the business community and have been heartened to hear the tremendous support there is for the newspapers. I will continue to seek out and listen to neighbors, business owners, community leaders and readers from all over the state.

I’m thrilled to be in Maine. My husband, an avid outdoorsman, and our family are excited to finally be settled in here and become part of the community. We’ve been spending summers on Great Pond in the Belgrade Lakes. Now we can call Maine our home for more than just two weeks in August.

I invite you to share your thoughts and ideas on how our newspapers and websites can better serve you. Please email me at publisher@mainetoday.com. I welcome your suggestions.

To all our dedicated employees, loyal advertisers, and our valued readers, I wish you a happy, healthy new year.

Lisa DeSisto is CEO and publisher of MaineToday Media.