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“The bond readers have with the ‘Reporter’...has driven my work for the entirety of my journalism career.”
loosened and tightened again. As I write this, New Mexico once again is battling a surge of A Letter from COVID-19 cases, alarmingly Julia Goldberg high hospitalization rates As I traveled back to New and a new vaccination effort Mexico in February of 2020, for children 5-11. As has I looked around the Atlanta been the case since Day 1, my airport and noticed an uninbox pings with messages usual number of travelers from readers, seeking donning face masks. I had information, clarification just begun reading about and often supplying detailed the SARS-CoV-2 virus and, and incisive questions I looking around, suddenly felt incorporate into my weekly like a hapless extra in the film queries to state health officials. Contagion. As soon as I was back at We’ve all been in this together and my desk, I arranged to speak with experts at will continue to be so; that relationship— Los Alamos National Laboratory, the first of the bond readers have with the Reporter— what would turn out to be (checks calendar) has driven my work for the entirety of my 21 months and counting of near-daily rejournalism career here. porting on COVID-19. I began with the Reporter as an intern After New Mexico had its first cases on in the early 1990s, served as its editor for March 11, 2020, covering COVID at SFR more than a decade ending in 2011 and became a full-time endeavor for me and these days, as noted, keep myself busy much of SFR’s staff, whether it involved retrying to ensure our readers have access to porting on the daily numbers; the health the news that’s shaping all of our changing advisories; the business implications; and, lives. I also have the privilege of training the soon, tragically, the mounting deaths and next generation of journalists through the hospitalizations. Reporter’s nonprofit arm, work that has led For many of those stories, I relied on to inspiring collaborations with other Santa health and science experts here and beyond Fe institutions and national awards as well. as I—and everyone—took a crash course in Many media outlets made a point of lowepidemiology. One of those stories, “Model ering their paywalls for their COVID-19 covCitizens”—highlighting scientists’ quest erage, noting the importance for readers to to forecast the pandemic and featuring the have access to crucial information. That’s work of those same LANL scientists—latbeen the guiding principle for the Reporter er would win first place in the Society for since its inception in 1974: We believe our Professional Journalists Top of the Rockies readers always need access to the news, contest in its science and technology feawhether it’s about a public health crisis, electures category. tions, the arts or any of the events impacting In December of last year, New Mexico’s our engaged community. We believed that first vaccines arrived and I watched as before the pandemic, during the pandemic health care workers at Christus St. Vincent and will continue adhering to that mission Regional Medical Center received their first when we all get through these strange days. shots and wondered what the future would Just as we need your help to guide our bring. Still wondering. The state’s vaccinareporting, we also need your help to keep tion efforts became part of my daily reportthe Reporter going for the next 48 years and ing, both for SFR’s website, print edition beyond. I hope you will join us as a Friend and our weekday morning newsletter, The of the Reporter, and look forward to hearing Morning Word. The one-year anniversary from you and seeing you out there one of for COVID-19 came and went. Restrictions these days. This letter from Julia Goldberg is the first in a series about Friends of the Reporter, a new model for supporting our local journalism mission. Visit sfreporter.com/friends, to make a one-time or recurring donation or via check at PO Box 4910, Santa Fe, NM 87502. The New Mexico Local News Fund will match up to $3,000 in donations received through the end of 2021. Our website and weekly print edition each Wednesday remain free to all readers.
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