Insights from Brenda Mann Harrison on The Daily Herald’s Community Giving Success
Posting: Monday, November 28, 2022
Back in August 2021, The Daily Herald in Everett, WA, with Journalism Funding Partners acting as fiscal sponsor, set out to raise funds through community giving campaigns. The purpose of the funds raised would be put to increase investigative and environmental/climate change reporting above the levels of coverage prior to March 2020.
The Daily Herald would put funds raised towards adequate staff salaries for reporters and writers working in the investigative and environmental/climate field, hiring professional services such as consultants and freelance writers and towards any other expenses required for in-depth journalism in the related fields.
To say they met their goal is an understatement.
As of now, The Daily Herald managed to raise over $80,000 in both online donations and mail-in donations. With Everett having a mere population of only a little over 110,000, this is a massive success to see how much a community supports their trusted local news source. And The Daily Herald didn't just stop at meeting their goal, they blew right past it- much like The Little Engine that Could.
This act of community support shows how a community can come together to help a local news source to continue its dedicated reporting to what matters for their community. With this level of support, The Daily Herald promises to bring even more extensive and reliable news to their dedicated readers.
We reached out to The Herald’s Journalism Development Director, Brenda Mann Harrison, to talk more about running a successful community-giving campaign.
Q. What impact have you seen in investigative and environmental reporting over the last year?
The biggest impact of community support is that The Daily Herald is able to publish stories on the local impacts of and adaptation to climate change, hold those in power to account, and uplift the voices of those that often go unheard. This is information our community gets nowhere else. We also know our community values The Daily Herald’s investigative
and environmental reporting because these stories often make the most-read list on HeraldNet.com and generate emails, letters to the editors and voice messages that express the impact of this type of information on readers.
Q. Over $80,000 in community giving is huge. What does this mean to you and the newsroom seeing so much support for The Daily Herald?
The financial support of our community demonstrates the importance of The Daily Herald’s public service journalism. It confirms the public’s trust in our reporters and the need for more local reporting that makes our community better and keeps our democracy healthy.
Q. Have there been any obstacles reporters have run into while reporting on the environment/climate change and investigative reporting?
The biggest obstacle remains a lack of resources. Snohomish County is the fourth largest county in Washington. There are a lot of important stories that should be told. Even with the financial support of our community for increased environmental reporting and investigative journalism, we still face difficult decisions about how to juggle existing resources to cover the most important stories now.
Are there any other journalistic topics you feel need reporting on that you hope to see in The Daily Herald’s future?
We heard about many topics the community would like The Daily Herald to cover as a result of a listening survey and online community conversations we had earlier this year. Health and wellness issues – including mental and behavioral health, rural healthcare, and health equity – are a top concern.
What advice would you give other news organizations about running a successful community campaign?
It’s not about you. It’s about the community. Show the impact local journalism has on your community and the difference it makes. Remind them why local news matters and that your reporters live and work in your community – a community they care about. We recently held a special event that gave a behind- the-scenes look at how our community stories are told and the response was overwhelmingly favorable. One guest at the event said she went away with an even greater appreciation for the dedication and integrity of the Herald’s staff and the care we all have for our community.
About The Daily Herald: The Daily Herald is the leading source of news in Everett and Snohomish County, Washington, and has served the community with trusted, local journalism for more than 100 years. The Daily Herald is deeply committed to fulfilling the press’s role as a watchdog and getting to the heart of stories that matter most. Originally a family-owned business, The Daily Herald is now one of 49 newspaper titles owned by Everett-based Sound Publishing, Inc., the largest community media organization in Washington state. Sound Publishing is a subsidiary of Black Press Ltd. of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
###
Media Contact for The Daily Herald: Brenda Mann Harrison, Journalism Development Director | brenda.harrison@heraldnet.com | (425) 339-3452
Media Contact: Rusty Coats, Executive Director | rusty@jfp-local.org | (813) 277-8959
