Investing in Herald’s staff will return investment

We have all watched with a mix of horror and sadness the devastation of the Daily Herald’s newsroom.

The Herald is singular, without any other publication of its type or coverage in our community. None of us who rely on the Herald as a pillar of our local democracy can imagine how the Herald will survive these cuts and the inevitable decay in quantity and quality of locally produced content.

Without an adequately staffed Herald, many local governments will have no one watching their decisions, attending hearings and meetings, or holding the powerful to account. While I have not always agreed with every detail of the Herald’s coverage, I have always been grateful for its willingness to cover local government when virtually all other media outlets stopped and moved toward content that could generate more clicks.

While I understand the financial challenges the Herald and other smaller publications face, I’d urge the new owners to consider investing more into the Herald and see if you don’t generate more revenue. I’ve been told that sometimes it takes spending money to make money.

In the meantime, I will continue to read the Herald for as long as it is available.

Dave Somers

Snohomish County Executive

Monroe