Our COVID reporters have told stories of recovery, struggle. Help us do more for Columbus.
.png "Brittany McGee, left, and Madeleine Cook will cover coronavirus for the Ledger-Enquirer through nonprofit journalism program Report for America.")
One of the beauties of local journalism is exposing readers to stories in their community that they otherwise might not know about.
Did you know that over 3,000 evictions were filed in the city through the first six months of the year, and less than 100 were held dude to the CDC’s moratorium?
Or why Columbus’ two hospitals won’t release COVID-19 patient data? How about what it’s like to be an ER nurse during a pandemic? Or what the recovery process is like when someone comes off of a ventilator?
Those stories, and more, are made possible by our team of COVID reporters, Madeleine Cook and Brittany McGee. They’re able to work with us because of non-profit partnerships.
Cook and McGee are corps members of Report for America, a national non-profit that’s placed hundreds of journalists in newsrooms across the country. RFA pays for a portion of each reporter’s salary, and newsrooms are expected to pay the remaining portion through fundraising.
Here in Columbus, we’re lucky to have great partners in the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley who understand the importance of supporting local journalism. Through CFCV’s Local News and Information Fund, along with donations from passionate readers, we’re able to bring more great, specialized reporting to the Columbus area.
To help us fund another year of reporting, we’re coming to you in this season of gratitude and giving to ask for your help again.
If you’ve donated in the past, our staff offers a sincere thank you. Our work is all about readers and the community at-large, and seeing the words of encouragement the people leave with their donations inspires us to keep pushing through hard days.
If you haven’t donated before, here’s what your funding really supports: A trusted, smart team of local journalists who are looking for the stories that no one else can tell. We’re your fact-checkers, interviewers, writers, videographers, editors and more. We’re here to help find the answers you want, but might not know how to get.
Ready to help? Visit www.ledger-enquirer.com/donate to make a tax-deductible donation, or mail in a check made payable to “Journalism Funding Partners” or “JFP.” Put “Ledger-Enquirer” in the memo line, and include your email address so we can send you an acknowledgment email. Mail to: McClatchy, 1601 Alhambra Blvd, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95816.
Our community still battles COVID-19 every day, and Madeleine and Brittany want to be there to capture it all. Your donations make it possible.
