Journalism

A growing and divisive mistrust of the truthfulness of news media raises serious concerns for the local community and the wider society.

Local journalism is not optional, but essential, for healthy communities and democracy, asserted speakers in the “Trust 2022” online forum March 17 sponsored by Salish Current and Village Books. Two nationally respected journalists and Washington’s attorney general spoke to how local news coverage can help rebuild trust in democratic institutions.

The online forum “Trust 2022: Why Independent Local News is Important to a Strong Democracy” to be held on March 17 will be dedicated to the memory of journalist and educator Floyd McKay, who died in Bellingham on March 4.

The urgent issue of supporting local news to help ensure a strong democracy will be addressed by two leading journalists and Washington’s attorney general in a free online forum next month organized by nonprofit local newsroom Salish Current in partnership with Village Books.

A new digital and print publication launching this month will make Bellingham a two-newspaper town once again. The publication launches into an information environment much different from the last time the town had two papers, and observers look forward to the prospect of seeing more local news on government, agriculture and other topics.

Salish Current is not done fundraising for matching funds yet; we still have a few thousand dollars more to raise — but we’ve come a long way with the votes of confidence cast by donors in our Publisher’s Circle. The Circle’s grown and shows the breadth and depth of support from readers in Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties.

A local newspaper owner has announced he will launch a new for-profit local news site supplemented by a weekly print piece in Bellingham in January.

Nonprofit local news organization Salish Current is celebrating its one-year anniversary of incorporation on June 5, and continuing on its mission to fill gaps in covering vital news and provide a forum for civil discourse in Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties.

The proliferation of media platforms where facts, news and opinion swirl and mix often creates ideological divides and culture bubbles. In launching Salish Current, we thought it important to make clear distinctions between news and opinion.

Journalism that embraces a larger vision of the international corridor will best serve the Cascadia bioregion’s constituents by setting up the region up to tackle the big challenges of the next century.

Reporters at Washington state’s McClatchy Company-owned newspapers, including those at the Bellingham Herald, have moved to unionize.

Local dailies in Northwest Washington are turning into ghosts — ghost newspapers, existing in name but no longer having the staff or the commitment to cover local and regional news. The trend is part of a national crisis that’s been accelerating at warp speed since 1990.

Salish Current, a startup local news nonprofit organized to provide more local journalism in Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties is participating in a national giving campaign that runs through December. The site’s mission is to provide information needed in order to make informed choices about civic life and to strengthen democracy.

As a reporter for Salish Current, I reached out to WA3%’s website in September, looking to speak with a Whatcom County chapter member. I wanted to know who these members were in our community, how they had come to believe what they believe and how they see themselves.