On Thursday, Sept. 10, 13 journalists were laid off from the Lexington Herald-Leader by our parent company McClatchy.

These layoffs gutted more than half the positions in one of Kentucky’s oldest remaining statewide newsrooms.

Many of the impacted journalists have families. Others are early in their careers and moved to Kentucky for their job at the Herald-Leader. The proceeds of this fundraiser will help our colleagues maintain some financial stability during this abrupt transition.

Experience levels of those laid off run the gamut. The longest serving laid off reporter joined the Herald-Leader in the early 2000s. Two others who were laid off joined the paper in the last year.