By Margaret Buchanan
Enquirer president and publisher

Editor's note: Greater Cincinnati native Margaret Buchanan returned to her hometown last May after a 16-year absence to become president and publisher of The Enquirer. In the keynote speech at Friday's 2003 Business Summit of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, she described her vision for the community's future. The following is an excerpted version of that speech.

I oversee one of the area's oldest institutions. Founded in 1841, The Enquirer is an important and influential voice in our community. And, let me assure you we take our responsibility as an information provider - and our watchdog role - very seriously. And, I am well aware of the need for The Enquirer - and its Cincinnati.com web site - to recognize how much Greater Cincinnati has going for it.

You may have noticed those bright purple boxes downtown and around Greater Cincinnati that are filled with our newest publication, CiN Weekly, a free magazine targeting readers ages 25 to 34. If you've read it, I hope you've noticed that its tone is upbeat and its mission is to showcase just how much good clean fun there is in this community for younger people and their families.

It says a lot about Cincinnati that so many of us do come back home. But we need to remind the next generation about the quality of life and the opportunities that are here right now. There is no reason to leave.

All of you come from varied backgrounds and have different roles. But we all share a common interest - an interest in building a healthy and vibrant Cincinnati. My job as publisher of this community's largest print and online information source has a lot to do with bringing us all together in that discussion each day.

We will soon be opening our editorial pages so that more people are able to express their opinions. We will give more people a voice in the newspaper. We know there are opinions other than ours that will help us all reach the right result. We will use the newspaper as an engine to rededicate our efforts to help and honor this great city, the Queen City.

Celebrating our successes

It strikes me that before we can convince "the world" that this is an inspiring place to do business, we need to convince many of our own that this is a stimulating, inspiring home for our families.

I can tell you that after 16 years of living in other places - very good places - Greater Cincinnati is all of that and more.

Yet I see a disconnect between the reality of what Cincinnati is and our own perceptions, which get passed on from one person to another, then another. And, yes, some of those misperceptions may have been caused by your newspaper for thousands around here and around the world to see.

But, remember, we have a responsibility to cover the not-so-good things as well as the good things that happen - to report all information of public concern. This is what gives us our credibility. We cannot pretend that some things do not exist. And often we use our editorial voice to prod public officials and other influential citizens to do better. Yes, we will criticize, but, hopefully, it will be seen as constructive so as to bring about change for the betterment of all of us.

However - what I also have been discussing with our editors is how important it is that we celebrate our rich assets and successes.

When I look out the windows in my office at Third and Elm streets, I see a stunning panorama.

• The "Renaissance on the River" has been sparked by world-class projects in downtown Cincinnati, Covington and Newport, Kentucky.

• Paul Brown Stadium - winner of an American Architectural Award.

• The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is emerging as a gleaming jewel on the river.

• Great American Ball Park is home to America's first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds.

• A vision is unfolding for The Banks, a 24-hour urban neighborhood of restaurants, clubs, offices, apartments and homes.

• Across the Ohio River, Northern Kentucky offers a multitude of floating riverboat restaurants, fine hotels, dramatic office towers, historical sites, crowded pubs and magnificent city residences.

• And while I can't see it from my office window, I know I am not alone in saying that the recently opened Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art is a breathtakingly beautiful $34 million structure designed by Zaha Hadid. The New York Times called it an "instant icon" and the "most important building to be completed since the end of the Cold War."

It should not take outsiders to tell us how great our home is. If we look, we can see it for ourselves. Indeed, we need to say it to ourselves and to the world with a common voice.

Sharing the vision

Imagine - just imagine - what Cincinnati USA will become if our public and private sectors actually work together on a shared vision.Entering 2004, it's exciting to see how the economic development assets of Cincinnati USA are beginning to align properly to support the development of the core and the region.

The recent work by the Valerie Lemmie/George Schaefer Task Force has resulted in significant changes inside and outside of Cincinnati City Hall.

The work of the task force led to the creation of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (referred to as 3CDC), headed by Procter & Gamble chairman, president and chief executive A.G. Lafley.

3CDC has three main working groups for three separate districts - Over-the-Rhine (chaired by Joe Pichler, the Kroger Co.); Fountain Square (chaired by Jim Zimmerman, Federated Department Stores); and The Banks (chaired by Jack Rouse, Rouse & Associates).

And yet another CEO has stepped forward to chair the Chamber's Partnership for Greater Cincinnati. I want to pause and congratulate Ken Lowe of the E. W. Scripps Company for taking on this important leadership role.

Partners in the future

The Partnership for Greater Cincinnati and its 11 economic development organizations - representing all the counties at The Business Summit and more than 200 investors - is the common voice that unifies the region's economic development strengths and resources.

The Partnership represents that shared vision: "Cincinnati USA will be one of the world's favorite American business centers."

We will need to work together to achieve that vision. As this new structure and alignment is taking place, each organization will need to know what role it plays and will need to stay focused on that role.

I know that my role as the publisher of The Cincinnati Enquirer will be an important link for how our efforts are communicated, close to home and to the world.

The Enquirer and I will work with you on these important goals. The city has been and will continue to be on the move - and if we can come together with a regional focus, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

And - it really is "good to be home again."