By Robert Frank / Herald Forum
Having left The Daily Herald newsroom almost a decade ago, this is the first time I’m moved to write a letter to the editor.
The new, foreign ownership of The Herald – the Canadian majority investors — implies that the newsroom in Washington’s third-largest county can remain a vigilant community watchdog with just six news reporters, two sports reporters, and one photojournalist.
Vigilance is not specifically mentioned in the “operating principles” cited by the one-year-old Carpenter Media Group’s statement, which claims a “track record of success in this process.”
Highly productive people, who somehow deliver comprehensive coverage that “continues to improve and serve” are the anodyne goals Carpenter stated in The Herald’s Jan. 20 story about the deep staff cuts of two editors, eight reporters and two photojournalists; a move which contradicts such assurances.
(The layoffs story first appeared June 19 without any statement from Carpenter, but included one from The Herald’s publisher claiming readers wouldn’t notice the division-wide layoffs. But readers noticed when the story was ordered to be removed from Heraldnet.com on Jan. 20. It reappeared hours later with statements from Carpenter. Were no canned statements even prepared on Wednesday to explain the layoffs to the community?)
Laying off half of The Herald’s award-winning reporting staff, including one of the very few reporters still covering Olympia, and its experienced editors, doesn’t demonstrate any actual commitment to a community, or to the journalism that is critical to our community. Instead, it rings a dinner bell to any crook or comfortable incompetent in government to get into the pool where the tax money is deep, jobs safe for a lifetime, and you’ll never have to be held to account.
Watchdog reporting over the decades by Herald reporters specifically resulted in:
● The resignation of a popular county executive who used his office, and a taxpayer-funded position he created, to guide his re-election and pursuit of higher office.
● Exposing how top administrators at Harborview Medical Center spun cruel and demeaning lies, which spread around the world, about the response of Marysville first responders to the horrific 2014 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting.
● Dangerous, corroded, Popeye-era Washington State Ferries Steel Electric vessels being pulled from service to Whidbey Island before a disaster cost anyone their lives.
● Jersey barriers being installed along a stretch of I-5 after proving that existing steel-cable barriers failed to prevent several crossover deaths because they were installed incorrectly.
● And much, much more.
Watchdog journalism takes resources: Time, money, dedicated reporters and editors. It demands a commitment from ownership to truly value the community they serve, including the recognition that yes, they will notice when you slash half the staff.
I urge The Herald’s new owners to reconsider their staffing decisions and truly invest in the future of local journalism.
Robert Frank was The Daily Herald’s city editor from 2002 until 2016. He lives in Kirkland.
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