📰 Inside CDN 03/02/26

Welcome.

Some of you might be new to CDN; all of us are new to this newsletter, which will be hitting your inbox on Monday mornings.

Here’s its purpose:

“Inside CDN” will be an extension of something I’ve endeavored to do since this hyperlocal news project began in mid-2021: keeping readers informed about how and why your local newsroom goes about its work.

In a word: Transparency.

In the (unfortunate) post-truth age, where broad distrust of information is the norm — increasingly for very good reasons — I see transparency as a vital nutrient for the credibility of any news organization. A collection of columns about our mission and many of our operating principles and policies can already be found online, under the tag “Inside CDN.”

This newsletter will build on that, providing a regular opportunity to take readers further behind the curtain.

Why do we name some subjects of crime or lawsuits and not others? How do we ensure a broad range of sources for any given story? What information are our journalists themselves drawing on to inform their news decisions? All of those things, plus a lot more, will have a place at this table. I’ll also dish up occasional opinion, as well as interviews with, and/or guest appearances by, other staffers, to give insight into what powers their work.

I’ll also be discussing industry matters and trends in the ongoing effort to save independent local news: Is public funding of local media a good solution to the news-desert crisis? What’s an adequate line between a publication’s business and news operations? What qualifies a “news outlet” these days as a professional organization with accepted ethical standards?

I’d like that to become a conversation with you. I’ll be posing a question or poll here every week hoping for your feedback, both in shaping content here and in CDN in general.

It’s a notable day in our Bellingham newsroom: Today marks the fourth anniversary of CDN Vol. I, Issue I, our print newspaper, which hit the streets and coffee shops of Whatcom and Skagit on March 2, 2022.

We had been online for more than a month by then, but the rolling of the presses in Mount Vernon was a special occasion. Particularly so for me, a veteran of four decades in the news business who still had some amount of ink flowing through his veins up on launching CDN.

When discussions about our Bellingham news startup began in summer 2021, I was adamant: We need to have a print paper at least once a week. Amid the sea of online startups, a print paper is a tactile/tangible product that lends an air of permanence — and credibility.

Printing and distribution are increasingly spendy, yes. But many readers and advertisers tell us it still matters in our market.

That day, capped by a handful of us making the drive south to watch the first paper roll off the presses, seems both a long and very short time ago. It’s been the trip of a lifetime for many of us, especially the last three remaining members of our inaugural eight-person staff: myself; Managing Editor, Visuals/Design Jaya Flanary; and photojournalist Andy Bronson.

It was a labor of love and will remain so for our current, more-robust team until we are convinced otherwise.

Thanks for supporting your local newsroom. It matters.

As a publication, we’re 4 years old, going on …? As we grow longer in the tooth, in which directions should our content grow, flow and evolve? Be nice, but send me your thoughts.

Netflix: “The New Yorker at 100.” As someone long blessed with the opportunity to work in the unique micro-culture environment of various newsrooms, I was fascinated by this glimpse inside the journalistic bubble that is the century-old New Yorker. My takeaway: It’s striking to see the similarity of characters and motivations that build the vibe in news operations, be they intensely locally focused (like CDN) or globally focused. Non-newsies likely will enjoy the way that disparate personalities can still meld to build a product with a character all its own.

The Atlantic: “AI and the Future of Work,” by Josh Tryangiel (paywall). “Hey Claude, is it normal to be completely freaked out feeling the sands of AI shifting beneath our societal feet in directions we probably can’t return from? Yes it is, Ron. Let me help make that worse with some thoughts of dubious origin!”

John Kenney, novelist: “I See You’ve Called in Dead.” From last spring, funniest book ever written, hands down, about an obituary writer. (Also a poignant exploration of making the most of short human life.)

FT Strategies, in partnership with the Knight Foundation: “The Local News Playbook: Creating Value for a Sustainable Future. It’s a big, fat white paper on the subject. One of many. Skimming and scheming, day job bleeding to night. Yikes.