A love letter to The Yorkshire Post as I say farewell after 14 glorious years - Mark Casci

That’s right, today marks my last column at The Yorkshire Post.

After more than 14 years at what I sincerely consider to be the best newspaper in the country I am moving on to a fresh challenge.

Ever since I was a small boy when I used to observe large cars pull into the carpark of my local newsagent and its occupiers purchase one if not one of the following items; a packet of cigars and a copy of the Yorkshire Post. From a tender age it was burned into my psyche as a newspaper read by serious people of both talent and influence. More than 30 years later my opinion on this matter remains unchanged.

When I arrived in Leeds as a scruffy undergraduate student I found occasional freelance work with a magazine published under the title’s umbrella.

Whenever I ventured into town to pick up my cheque I would sit in the reception of the old headquarters on Wellington Road and marvel at the blown up renditions of splashes chronicling seismic events such as the end of World War II, the moon landings and even such improbable occurrences as Leeds United being named champions of England. “This is where I want to be,” I thought.

Fast forward to 2008 and, with the scruffy kid having become a scruffy man, I got my chance and joined fulltime as a staffer, covering the rural affairs beat. As the years rolled on I became deputy news editor, head of news and, eventually, in 2016, landed my dream job as the title’s business editor. It has been an incredible journey and one I will neither ever forget or stop being grateful for.

It is a job that has taken me all over the world, from walking along the Great Wall of China to riding horses through Croatian forests. It has seen me interview Prime Ministers, Chancellors, Bank of England governors and the leaders of some of the biggest businesses in the world. Through the platform of this newspaper I have witnessed my words and reporting be republished in the New York Times and the Today Programme. Perhaps above all it has seen me speak to ordinary people exposed to incredible events and circumstances and allowed me to tell their stories. As long as I have breath in my lungs I cherish all of these memories.

It has seen me work with countless phenomenal colleagues, past and present and sadly for the purposes of space too many to mention, who shaped my career and character. In my 14 years I have worked under three editors and in two separate buildings but the culture has remained consistent. It has always been about doing the best possible job but in the right way. The support and camaraderie among staffers at the YP is unequalled in British journalism. While other newsrooms maybe home to cutthroat competitiveness and backstabbing, the YP's offices have always been about the paper's readers and the public interest. Everyone comes together to share ideas and contacts. And they do so while laughing hysterically at everyone's outstanding sense of humour. Truly, it has been a joy.

The same goes for everyone in my contacts book, who advised in confidence “you might want to take a look at this” or “you didn’t get this from me but..” regarding important matters of public interest. Every time someone trusted me like this I not only put my heart and soul into uncovering this information but always protecting my sources. A tiny titbit of information can lead to an exclusive splash and inside spread of copy that shines a light on a crucial difference on a vital matter of national importance.

So to anyone who trusted me with private information, who plucked up the courage to tell me their story - no matter how painful, who messaged me to say how much they liked something I had written or simply picked up a paper I say to this: thank you for giving me such an incredible gift. I will never forget it. Even the trolls on Twitter and elsewhere, presumably typing from their mother's cellar, never ceased to make me laugh and stay safe in the knowledge I was on the right track (this was particularly true when I was called a 'lefty idiot' and 'Tory scum' regarding the same article - guess I was right in the middle that day).

Saying goodbye is a wrench I have never known the like of. But all good things must come to an end.

And while I may be leaving The Yorkshire Post I am certainly not leaving Yorkshire's business community. In fact quite the opposite. From September 1 I take up a new role at West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce at which I will be continuing my labour of love which is making the case for a better tomorrow for the county that has given me everything.

From Thursday August 18 Chris Burn will be taking my place, moving over from the political editor brief. He is a person whom I have inordinate respect for, not only as a first rate journalist but as a man of unimpeachable character and integrity. In handing over the reigns to him I know with 100 per cent certainty that the office I have held for six years is in the safest possible pair of hands. Please give him your unqualified support.

But to conclude I will pay one final tribute to my outgoing employer.

In 1954 a historian wrote of the Yorkshire Post as “a paper of international repute and influence, quoted all over the world”. What was true in 1954 goes double in 2022. Ever since its first edition in 1754 it has been a special newspaper, reporting on the world through White Rose tinted glasses. In an era in which less people set aside time to less time to read a thoroughly researched and sourced article and devote more time to snippets of information on social media, publishing information to create a well-informed citizenry is more difficult than ever. However the skill, talent and tenacity of the YP's writers, photographers and designers ensure it continues to do so, albeit under heavy fire. And it always will do. It doesn't know how to do anything different

I look forward to cheering it on from the sidelines. May it reign supreme for another quarter a millennium. And you can help it to do so by subscribing here.

But for now, I can only say thank you. And farewell.