When people are going through hard times, the seemingly little things can sometimes make the biggest difference.
“My name is Joyce Wood and I am a volunteer at Providence Colby Campus.” That was the first line of a handwritten note dropped in a collection box The Daily Herald had on display in October at the Edge of Amazing event, hosted by the Providence Institute for a Healthier Community. We were asking individuals to share their story about how The Herald impacts their life.
Joyce went on to write, “I want to pass along the info of how much the hard copy Herald newspaper being handed to a patient or a family member means to these people.… The normalcy that is brought with such a simple act of handing out a newspaper is amazing and in a very simple way does help with healing everyone!”
I had a chance to talk with Joyce, and she went on to describe how reading the newspaper as a family member in the waiting room or as a patient in a hospital bed gives them a chance to stay connected with their community through the local news and an opening line to interact with another human being by asking, “Did you read about …?”
Local stories have the power to connect us in more ways than one. And their impact extends beyond our personal lives. Trustworthy reporting told through our local newspaper impacts our community and our democracy.
That’s why Joyce’s final sentence in her note about the Herald’s impact are a call to action for us all. She wrote: “Keep the Herald coming.”
Without your support, The Herald can’t keep connecting you through our community’s stories, providing you with information you need in your daily life, or helping you understand the issues and how problems can be solved. Without your help, we can’t keep informing you about public affairs or reporting the news that holds local leaders in politics, business and other institutions accountable for their actions.
Why does a newspaper like The Herald need you to financially support it beyond what you might already pay for a subscription? The financial model that once put reporters on the streets no longer works. Newspapers once relied on advertising revenue to fund the newsroom, but now that big technology companies monopolize the advertising market, it’s tough for local news media to keep covering all the information that communities depend on.
So newspapers across the country are asking their communities to support the local journalism that supports the public good. The Seattle Times led the way in this approach and now has a third of its newsroom supported by donors. The Columbian in Vancouver has five reporters whose salaries are paid by donations.
At The Herald, donations made to our journalism funds provide the news resources for three reporting positions, and we’re working on expanding community funding to add a fourth position.
Currently, you can designate your financial gift to support health, education, investigative or environmental and climate change reporting – or all of them! Each of these journalism funds were established based on community need for more local reporting on these topics.
When you give to a Herald journalism fund, your money goes to one of our nonprofit fiscal sponsors, making your donation tax deductible to the extent the law allows. Those fiscal sponsors also ensure The Herald uses your donation as intended. Your gifts are never used for general operating expenses.
Regardless of how much a donor contributes in support of local journalism, the Herald maintains editorial control over all content produced with fund resources. That means donors have no access to what stories are being planned and cannot view articles before publication.
Here’s one more important thing to know about giving to a Herald journalism fund: Your gift helps you get the local reporting you need and want. And your donation not only benefits you, it also impacts your neighbors and community in ways you most likely will never anticipate, like helping patients and their families regain a small sense of normalcy while in a hospital.
Invest in yourself and your community today with a donation that supports local journalism. Learn more and find the ways you can give now at heraldnet.com/local-news-impact.
Brenda Mann Harrison is the journalism development director for The Daily Herald. To learn more about the impact of local news and how you can join others in supporting community journalism, go to heraldnet.com/local-news-impact, send an email to brenda.harrison@heraldnet.com or call 425-339-3452. The Daily Herald maintains editorial control over content produced through community-funded initiatives.
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