As death tolls rise, new testing information surfaces and doctors race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, breaking news is not in short supply.
The constant influx of new information and endless questions from communities trying to adapt to the circumstances have newsrooms across North Carolina working harder than ever before. But while more readers are relying on the service of local news, advertisers are withdrawing their funding and making budgets tighter.
Host Anita Rao talks with Paola Jaramillo and Robyn Tomlin about how newsrooms are overcoming the challenges of providing essential information to their communities. Jaramillo is the co-founder and executive editor of Enlace Latino NC. She talks about the need for Spanish-language news and resources in the Latino community and the innovative ways her organization is sharing that information.
And Tomlin is the president and editor at The News & Observer and the Durham Herald Sun. She speaks about The News & Observer’s all-hands-on-deck approach to coronavirus coverage and what the pandemic may mean for the future of local news sources.