JUST LAUNCHED: COVID-19 Coverage By The News And For The News

For centuries, journalists have done the hard work to serve the people of this country, providing objective and accurate reporting, safeguarding our democracy, and arming the people with the knowledge that empowers and enriches them. The Coronavirus pandemic is no different: the journalism industry is stepping up to provide critical information while often risking their own health and safety, and now facing hard hits from layoffs, salary reductions and newspaper closures. In light of this evolving crisis, the Save Journalism Project is launching COVID-19 coverage on the state of the news that will provide these crucial updates on newsrooms’ operating status as well as providing Americans donation opportunities to support your local news outlets. 

The developing page will track the closures, layoffs, and furloughs that are sweeping the journalism industry and also highlight the powerful work that journalists are doing nationwide to meet the demands of the crisis and shed light on the glimmers of hope during this pandemic. As newspapers provide free COVID-19 coverage by dropping their paywalls, we must do what we can to support their journalism and the news industry as a whole. 

The following is a statement from Laura Bassett, former Senior Politics Reporter for HuffPost who was laid off in January and co-founder of the Save Journalism Project:

“The thankless work of journalists during this crisis lays bare the dire need to ensure journalism’s vitality. From protecting our democracy, to keeping authority held accountable and in this current state, combatting a pandemic sweeping our globe, the news has always been there for us. Just as newspapers continue to update their readers on crucial developments amid the crisis, we want to be able to provide further insights on the state of the industry. This crisis is pushing the newspaper business to the brink of collapse while many journalists are risking their own health and safety to provide critical information in the public interest. It may not be all gloom and doom in the news industry, but we want to ensure that the public at large knows what’s at stake for journalism.”