To our readers: In a time of crisis, we need your support
The last few weeks have introduced changes to our daily lives unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before.
As a news organization, the stay-at-home and social distancing orders present special challenges as we go about our daily work.
Most of our reporters and editors are doing their jobs from home to limit public exposure, but our visual journalists are still out and about telling the stories where they happen.
To assist in our newsgathering, we’re taking advantage of all the tools at our disposal, communicating by teleconferencing, reaching out to sources by phone and email and engaging with readers through online Google forms.
To report a story about a SLO County native living in Italy, reporter Nick Wilson conducted the interview via Skype. When Monica Vaughan wanted to know what doctors were experiencing on the front lines, she created a Google survey to solicit their responses directly. After video journalist David Middlecamp kept hearing calls for medical aid involving people with possible coronavirus symptoms, he decided to dash out and capture those scenes to go with a story by Matt Fountain about how first responders are handling the outbreak.
Every day, we attend the county’s public health news conference so that we can talk to decision-makers in person and ask the important questions that will keep you updated about the latest developments.
In early April, Kaytlyn Leslie and Laura Dickinson went out to talk with Dignity Health nurses to hear stories about the shortage of personal protective equipment at local hospitals.
The conditions we all face are very fluid. We don’t know yet if they will get better or worse, but rest assured, we will be here telling all the important stories that will keep you not only informed, but safe.
How we’re responding to the coronavirus crisis
As the story changes, we’ve also adapted how we’re sharing the news with you.
When we first realized the gravity of this outbreak, we decided to provide access to all of our digital content for free to ensure everyone who needed information could get access to it.
Changes were coming fast at the beginning, and the developments were surprising and dramatic every day. It was the right thing to do.
In that time, we have produced hundreds of stories, videos and photos, answered reader questions about all kinds of concerns, and reached out across the county to see how regular people are being affected.
Now, however, our coverage is evolving along with the response to the outbreak and the very business climate itself. As a result, our approach to how we provide different types of content must as well.
The difficult fact is that we are not immune from the frightening impacts that have shuttered so many shops and businesses in San Luis Obispo County.
When local businesses close, they don’t spend money on advertising, exacerbating what has already been a challenging environment for news organizations.
Fortunately, we have another channel to fund our First Amendment mission, and that is through our subscribers. While you have heard this before, we depend on that support now more than ever. This is not an exaggeration.
The audience for our journalism has never been higher. In the last few weeks, we repeatedly have seen online traffic at double or triple our normal levels.
But because we have made all of that content free, we are not seeing as many new subscribers as the overall readership numbers would suggest.
How you can support local journalism
As this crisis draws out, we need to shift back to a more balanced model, which means we will begin restoring the paywall on some of our journalism.
We aren’t going completely back to normal yet, not while the health of our communities is still very much at risk. Stories of critical importance to the your safety will continue to be free.
But much of our other content — deeper, premium reporting on how people are coping, how public officials are managing the crisis, and how we might find joy and triumph in the face of tragedy — will require a subscription.
Know that we realize many of you are suffering tremendously right now, and that you simply may not have the ability to spend money on news when you don’t even have enough to pay rent. You will still be able to turn to us for the most vital coverage, including our daily updates story and major developments that affect the well-being of the public.
For those of you who already have a print or digital subscription, you are covered for everything. Nothing else is needed.
If you don’t yet subscribe and are able to, we are asking you to sign up at this link and invest in the vital role we play as the sole business entity whose mission is written into the U.S. Constitution.
If you’ve already subscribed and would like to help further, we have set up a local news fund where readers can make tax-deductible donations that will go directly to our newsroom’s coronavirus reporting. Any amount is appreciated. Click here to donate.
We take our journalism mission seriously, and we thank you so very much for your support to keep it alive and vibrant.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 2:25 PM.
