I don’t know about you, but we have had a routine week around here.
Just kidding! This has probably been the most uncertain and stressful week of my almost 40-year career.
With all that is happening locally, statewide and around the world, it’s hard not to feel a sense of panic over the spread of COVID-19. Now, I consider myself to be an unusually placid person and skeptical about over-hyped events, but I did find myself wondering if there might be a couple of spare rolls of toilet paper in the travel trailer.
Trying to tamp down this sense of panic is a big role for us here at The Columbian. We need to bring readers the information they need without triggering another round of panic-buying or other sorts of uncivil behavior.
We are also trying to do this while being respectful of our employees’ health concerns. One of the most enjoyable things about working in a newsroom is being in close proximity to smart, informed, engaged people all day long. But with social distancing as the order of the day, we have scattered. Drawing upon our pre-existing disaster plans, we have offered work-at-home options for nearly all of our newsroom employees, and the majority have taken us up on it.
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