Dear Whatcom, we’re in this together
The reporters, editors and visual journalists at The Bellingham Herald are working day and night, mostly from their homes around Whatcom County, to bring you news about the coronavirus pandemic.
Whatcom County was hard hit early, with the first case March 10 and first death March 19.
With your help, we’ve been able to go beyond the numbers to tell you where the cases are coming from.
And while the stories about cases and deaths have been our most read, we’re also bringing you useful information about where you can shop for groceries, where you can still get outdoors, how the border has been impacted and which businesses are closed and which restaurants are offering to-go service and delivery.
We’ve kept after St. Joseph hospital for information and, thanks to reporter Robert Mittendorf’s deep sourcing in the community, we’ve brought you information the Whatcom Unified Command has yet to release.
We are committed to covering the COVID-19 crisis in a thorough, fair and detailed manner. That means examining all aspects of our community’s health care system and facilities for the elderly, a population that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. We believe in journalism that illuminates critical problems facing the public – including government oversight of skilled nursing homes such as the story today by reporter Denver Pratt.
We haven’t gotten to all the stories but I promise you our five Bellingham-based reporters are all in on this coverage. We live here and love this community too.
We understand the pain of those whose jobs are gone and wondering how to pay their bills. We know small business owners are wondering what the future will bring. Business reporter Dave Gallagher has the best sources in the county and he’s on the job.
Our readers have responded. In March our news page views were up 2.5 times to 3.9 million.
More people are reading our work than ever before — in part because we’ve exempted all of our coronavirus coverage from the metered paywall that limits the number of stories non-subscribers can read.
We made that decision a month ago to ensure everyone had access to timely, accurate information that can help keep them safe.
Now, many businesses that advertise with us are shut down due to the stay-at-home orders. That’s had a dramatic effect on our advertising revenues.
And since most of our stories have been free for everyone during this time, readers have purchased fewer subscriptions than they might have otherwise. Subscriptions are absolutely critical to our ability to sustain the level of coverage we’ve provided in the months to come.
That means that in the days ahead we will start to reinstate the metered paywall on our coronavirus coverage.
For now, stories that address critical health and safety information will remain free.
Many of you reading this are already subscribers, so this won’t change anything for you. We thank you for your continued support and interest in keeping community journalism alive.
For those who aren’t already subscribers, we’re asking for your help. We need you to invest in our work by subscribing to our digital and/or print editions.
I realize that many in our community are hurting right now, and we’re just one of many organizations asking for support. For some, a subscription just isn’t an option. We understand that. Know that we will continue working to provide you with critical resources and information for free for as long as we can.
But for those who are able, please consider supporting our work. Our ability to continue serving this community depends on it.
Reader questions answered
Several readers have asked about the coronavirus numbers and how they change.
Be sure you’re reading the freshest news. If you’re looking at the e-Edition online, those stories appeared in print and are from the previous day. The freshest numbers are on the bellinghamherald.com website.
Our print deadlines are earlier than ever to allow carriers a longer time to pick-up papers. Staggered arrivals at our distribution site allow for good social distancing.
We want your carriers to stay healthy so that newspaper delivery can continue.
Now, back to those ever-changing coronavirus numbers you’ve asked me about.
They are reported by the Whatcom County Health Department and Washington state Department of Health on different schedules, which may result in differing numbers in news stories published at different times.
Also, the health departments do not release names or other identifying information on individual patients due to federal health privacy laws.
We rely on local businesses and our readers to tell us where confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths have occurred. It’s often unclear if or when those reported directly to us are included in county and state numbers.
If you know of confirmed cases or deaths, you can email us directly at newsroom@bellinghamherald.com or use the online tip form if you wish to protect your identity.
Finally, I would ask that if you send us a question or tip that you include your contact information in the email. We won’t use your name without your permission. But we can’t answer your question or ask more about your tip without a way to reach you.
We love hearing about the ways you’re coping and helping each other. We’ll keep those stories in the mix as well.
With stay-at-home orders extended to May 4, it’s likely to be another long month for Whatcom residents. Please continue to send us your questions and ideas. We’ll get through this together.
Stay home. Be well. And many thanks to the essential workers who are working so hard to keep us safe and healthy.
