By GARY ACKERMAN

It’s hard to believe that 30 years have gone by since I proudly held the first issue of what was then the Flushing Tribune in my hands. When I look back, I am amazed at how much times have changed. Back then we wrote our stories on typewriters, not computers; we sent and received press releases through the mail, not over fax machines; using color photos was not a reality and the Internet was not even invented yet (although the Tribune’s Web Page looks great).

Trib Founder/Congressman Gary Ackerman

In addition, the millennium seemed light years away. Now, almost 30 years later, as we enter the next century, I am so pleased to see that the Trib is continuing to get better and stronger.

Although times have changed and the newspaper business has evolved dramatically, the Queens Tribune has remained committed to the initial pledge we made when we founded the paper: to honor the highest journalistic standards in order to serve the citizens of Queens.

Back in 1970, I was just a brash twenty-something school teacher. After a stint as the editor of a Queens College newspaper, I decided that I wanted to fill the need for a local community newspaper. The Daily News the New York Times, and the L.I. Press, were so big that local stories could not get coverage in them. So, I started a monthly called the Flushing Tribune. After two months, it went to twice a month and then immediately to a weekly.

All of a sudden, the concept of a regular weekly community newspaper in our borough was pioneered. And we were operating on a shoe-string budget in a humble real estate office on Main Street. We had a lot of kids working for free – college kids who wrote well and thirsted for a byline. Our philosophy was simple – local, local, local. Everything I told them was local. I remember saying that if the atomic bomb drops on Manhattan, the story we cover (and the only story we cover) is the traffic jam backed up into Queens. Everything is local angles, all journalism was local.

Today, I am proud that the Tribune continues this philosophy most of the time and has kept this a local paper in every sense of the word. They cover the city, the nation and the world, from potholes in Queens to the global opinions of the more than two million residents of our neighborhoods.

The Trib fights for and reports on issues that are important to Queens residents. Whether through the Queens Deadline page, Queens Profile, Police Blotter, the TribPix spread, or the leisure and events guide, the Tribune remains on the cutting edge of Queens news. In addition, the paper continues its tradition of being a community advocate, tackling the borough’s most critical problems through its editorial pages.

Of equal importance, it serves the needs of the local business, professional and merchant communities, getting their message out efficiently and economically.

Although I am now serving my country and my constituents in Congress, the Tribune has prospered over the years under the stewardship of the super-competent Mike Schenkler. The Tribune has also grown to include dozens of sister publications as part of a public corporation.

I still read the paper and feel proud to have laid the groundwork for their enormous success successes that have included everything from winning major awards to receiving praise from President Bill Clinton.

So, here’s to Mike and that great Trib Gang:

Ya done good!