On September 10th, McClatchy Media announced plans to lay off 7 union journalists at the Tacoma News Tribune, Bellingham Herald, Olympian and Tri-City Herald as part of a nationwide reduction in force.

These severe cuts will gut local newsrooms that serve hundreds of thousands of readers across Washington state, and risk the creation of news deserts. McClatchy-owned newspaper staff will shrink by one-third across the Pacific Northwest.

These reporters served as local government watchdogs, passionate scribes of high school sports, traveled the road to cover each play at Seahawks games, detailed crime in your neighborhoods, and focused on niche beats like Latino-Hispanic communities and climate change.

Without them, your stories in the Puget Sound and Mid-Columbia go untold.

And now they need our help.

Please chip in with any amount you can. All funds raised here will go to help workers directly impacted by layoffs. They will keep families fed and help pay bills while these talented reporters find new jobs in a tough job market.