As the Bradenton Herald closes out its 90th anniversary year, we're reminded of how far this newspaper has come in all those decades. From its birth in 1922 with the merger of two weekly papers, the Manatee River Journal and The Bradentown Herald Weekly, this publication has evolved considerably over the decades alongside the entire newspaper industry.

Known as the Evening Herald for four years, the company adopted "Bradenton" into its name in 1926. In 2006, the Lakewood Ranch Herald debuted to provide the growing community out east with its own zoned edition.

Reporters and editors long ago traded manual typewriters for electric ones until the computer age arrived. For many reporters out on assignment today, laptops and tablets have replaced paper notebooks and pens.

The arrival of the digital revolution altered the way people consume news, features and commentary. As the Internet spread across the information landscape, newspapers joined the new medium with websites to display reports and images.

Today, that evolution continues with even more advanced technology in the form of smart phones and tablets that provide wireless access to all the information the public seeks. More than a decade ago, Microsoft's Bill Gates predicted the demise of the printed page in favor of electronic news delivery by now. Yet newsprint survives -- and will well into the future, we believe.

Our digital content is viewed millions of times a month at all hours of the day. As a result, we have changed the way we approach delivering news -- with the online component now our top priority. We post breaking news as quickly as possible, and we send out email news alerts to people who sign up for those.

We're committed to serving Manatee County with high quality journalism. And we plan on continuing this mission while also continuing to evolve alongside whatever the future holds.