Mary Kelli Palka: Jacksonville needs the Times-Union. And the Times-Union needs our support.

Oddly enough, this isn't my first time leaving the Florida Times-Union.

But it will be my last.

I spent the vast majority of my nearly 30 years in newspapers at the Times-Union, a place I've loved.

I landed my first newspaper job out of college in 1995. By 2003, I had moved back to Jacksonville to work for my hometown paper. You see a lot in 20 years: Our worst moments — and our best. Mayors come and go, of course (I covered a few of them), but so many of the quiet people who make a difference in this city every day remain. I learned from many of them.

I'm happy to say, I have met more good people than bad along the way.

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I'm now saying goodbye, which I've done before — though not quite like this. After years covering local government and education, I left in 2012. But the time wasn't right: I was asked to come back as investigative editor. I did, quickly finding I wasn't done with the profession I've been hooked on since college.

This time, it's real. The time is finally right. I'm leaving the Florida Times-Union for something new, and I must say goodbye to you, our readers who support local journalism.

Focusing on the biggest issues facing our community

As a reporter, I spent a lot of my time digging into public records, reading laws or procurement rules and connecting the dots. While I loved it, I began seeing in 2013 that my passion — maybe my gift — was leading people. For every story I could write, I could help a newsroom full of people do many more.

As an editor, I spent time brainstorming with reporters, clearing roadblocks, finding resources to complete investigations and giving a push when necessary. The people who’ve worked with me will likely tell you I didn’t hold back what I was thinking. I said when a story wasn’t ready, but then we determined what was needed to publish. I tried to never point out a problem without helping to find a solution.

Since I became an editor in 2013, I focused much of my time on planning bigger projects. To do that, I matched the skills of our veteran journalists where we needed them most, hired talented new additions and helped put them all in positions to cover our community while also focusing on the biggest issues facing our community.

We covered nonprofits, education, the military, local businesses, high school sports, golf, Jaguars and other professional teams. We wrote heart-breaking stories about people killed on our streets to gun violence, on roads unsafe for pedestrians or due to illness and disease.

We’ve tackled public corruption. We dug into issues about racial inequities, pension reform, juvenile justice and concerns about the St. Johns River. And we wrote about local people, controversial newsmakers and everyday residents who make this community special.

On occasion, I took calls from people angry about something we wrote. We quickly corrected our mistakes when we made them. But I didn’t back down when we were right, not even to the bullies. Unfortunately, I encountered too many bullies.

Still, I loved this job, and I loved working with the people in this newsroom. I hope I taught them all something along the way, but I’m grateful for all they taught me.

I’m also grateful to those who helped me get to this moment. The college professor who sent me on scavenger hunts for public records. The editors along the way, who put up with this wordy reporter. The publisher who chose me to lead my hometown newspaper and taught me so much about the business side of the industry.

Mostly, I thank the people who worked with me, first when I was a reporter and then later who trusted me as their editor.

Responsibilities of reporters constantly changed

Journalism isn’t getting any easier.

The responsibilities of reporters have changed dramatically. We used to finish our stories, leaving them to others in the newsroom to add photos, videos and headlines.

Today, reporters write their own headlines (and must understand search engine optimization as they do), often take their own photos and videos and share the finished product on social media.

Editors help with all of that, plus prioritize and assign stories, read them when they’re done, often write many other stories themselves and use data to determine the best time and places to share each one.

They have been asked to do all of this often under some difficult circumstances, including during changes in ownership, community protests, hurricanes and the pandemic. And they delivered.

Still, we had about 90 journalists in 2016, the year I found I'd be the top editor. As I leave, there will be 22.

While you feel like you know several of our journalists, especially our columnists whose photos run regularly in the paper, you probably didn’t notice every byline or know about the people behind the scenes:

• The photographers who stand out in the rain or the hot sun waiting for the perfect photo. The images they capture could often tell a story with few words needed.

• The reporters who look for story ideas in neighborhoods throughout our community and who battled with public officials to gain access to information owned by the taxpayers. They’ve been called names, had doors slammed in their faces, been hung up on more times than they could count. But they keep going.

• The editors who worked for me but who got little of the public glory. The reporters they supervised would tell you it’s often those editors who are the heart of this organization, who catch as many mistakes as possible in our fast-paced world, who come up with new ideas or ways to make existing ones better, who help calm reporters when things aren’t working out the way they’d hoped.

And along the way, though most are gone from our newsroom, all of the producers, copy editors and designers who helped to get stories in print and on social media.

Nationally, journalism is under fire. Locally, however, these people are your neighbors. They rarely write about national politics. They write about what’s happening in your community. Without their stories, you'd likely not know what is happening with taxpayer money, important changes contemplated near where you live or what is happening in your child's school.

Most journalists I know are some of the hardest workers out there. They must be reminded to take breaks, put down their phones and prioritize themselves and their families. They’re smart and thoughtful. They go above and beyond to find the truth, seek more records and find more sources. They agonize over getting every detail right. And they’re funny, often incredibly funny. While newsrooms can be stressful places, they’re also places filled with laughter and camaraderie.

I have seen journalism improve Northeast Florida — from ending public corruption to watching neighbors come together to help someone in need. It’s an integral part of our democracy, and we can’t let it disappear.

What's next for me?

In recent years I added market leader for Jacksonville to my role, and this year, I became a deputy regional editor for Gannett’s North Florida papers, meaning I also oversaw newsrooms in Daytona Beach, Gainesville, St. Augustine, Ocala and Leesburg.

That meant I personally spent a little less time with Jacksonville journalism. But it also meant I was able to learn much more about the other facets of our business and work more with people in other areas, including advertising, marketing, production, human resources and finance. It’s all helped prepare me to serve my community in different ways outside of journalism.

This was a difficult decision for me, but I know the time is right for me to embark on a new career. Still, the hardest part is leaving these wonderful coworkers and friends I’ve made. I feel good knowing Managing Editor Paul Runnestrand, who will lead the newsroom in the interim, will still be here. He has been a huge help to me these last few years as my responsibilities have grown, and he’s done a great job. That will continue.

I don’t have another job; discussions about those can be complicated to have when sitting in this position. So now I start having those conversations. I’m excited about my future, but I’ve shed many tears as I prepare to leave the newsroom.

To be clear: I believe in local journalism. And I know that these Times-Union journalists are in a unique position to provide it at an unrivaled level in Jacksonville.

I also know that only remains true as long as our community supports their efforts. I will continue supporting them as a subscriber. It’s the best gift I can give myself this holiday season. And I know it’s something that will help my community.

If you’re not a subscriber, it’s not too late to subscribe now.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Mary Kelli Palka final Times-Union column: Support local journalism