When the history of this newspaper is considered in some distant future, the John Hughes era will have a special prominence.

Hughes, who announced Friday he will be stepping down at the end of the year after 10 years as editor, came to the newspaper with the most impressive credentials of anyone who had occupied the position. He is a Pulitzer Prize winner, as well as the winner of the Overseas Press Club Award for his work investigating international narcotics trafficking. He was editor of the Christian Science Monitor and held important positions in the Reagan administration as well as at the United Nations.

But those all were things he had done in the past. It would have been easy for him to sit on his laurels and let the newspaper continue as it was — a quality paper struggling to hold readers with afternoon delivery.

However, as employees here know, he seldom sat anywhere for very long, let alone on any laurels. Over the past decade, Hughes led the charge to change the paper to the Morning News, with all that the name entails. He developed a hands-on approach in all departments that led to numerous investigative stories and series that have won regional and national awards.

He made it clear from day one that his primary interest was in publishing truth without fear or favor, and he has done so without sacrificing the paper's reputation as a publication concerned with upholding standards of decency and morality.

Today, the Deseret Morning News is one of the few newspapers in the country with a growing circulation. It also has a growing reputation. It is a product that will bear the signature of John Hughes for many years to come.

Come Jan. 1, Joseph A. Cannon will become the editor. He told the staff Friday that he is fully aware of whose shoes he is filling, and there is great reason to believe he will carry on and add to the momentum that has been started.

Cannon is perhaps best known in political circles. He was chairman of the Utah Republican Party, and his brother, Chris, is a congressman. But he comes from a heritage that has its own prominent place in Deseret Morning News history. His great-grandfather, George Q. Cannon, was editor from 1867 to 1873, and his grandfather, Joseph J. Cannon, was editor from 1931 to 1934.

For his part, Joe Cannon has been a member of the paper's board of directors for 10 years. He understands the business. He has said his first commitment from now on is this newspaper, and that he looks forward to leading it into an age when its scope and influence can be felt worldwide through Internet technology.

The rest of the 21st century looms as a challenging and uncertain time for all traditional news media. But this paper is well equipped to continue as a trustworthy and credible source that is important to the lives of its readers. Newspapers always have served to bond communities of diverse residents even as they expose problems and offer solutions. A prominent plank in this paper's mission statement is its commitment to relate facts with courage and compassion.

Cannon is poised to continue that sacred charge.