Where can you get more than 20 coronavirus stories a day? Right here at The Star
Nine days ago, Big 12 tournament basketball was being played at the Sprint Center. Kansas City bars and restaurants were full. People sat next to each other at work, stood close in lines and still shook hands.
There was one reported case of coronavirus in the metro area. That was then.
Last night, in Missouri alone, nearly 20 new positive cases of the illness were reported. And if you saw that story this morning, it was probably from The Star at kansascity.com.
That’s because we’ve committed all of our resources to covering perhaps the most significant story in our community for many years. Over the last five days, we’ve written well over 100 coronavirus-related stories to keep citizens informed and, hopefully, safer.
That’s more than 20 per day. We’ve also filed many dozens of updates as stories have developed.
We’ve taken down our paywall in the interest of public safety, because we know more Kansas Citians come to us than any other local news site by far. And we find that readers are still subscribing, even though it’s free to view those stories online.
The Star has dozens of reporters and editors working around the clock to unearth information every day and to hold our leaders accountable for the decisions they make that affect millions in the two-state area.
We are committed to getting breaking news and updates to our audience immediately and first. The Star is here to help you navigate and manage this new world, whether it involves coronavirus testing, restaurant updates or what you need to know about paying your bills. When big events happen, like the recent Kansas school closings, we keep you connected with immediate reaction from the community. And we dig into deeper national issues, including the challenges ahead for our rural communities.
These stories - credible, useful, valuable - have brought a massive surge of readers to kansascity.com. And to McClatchy, where our company’s newsrooms have collectively averaged more than 350 coronavirus-related stories a day over the last week.
We’re gratified because, for us, this is public service. As we enter an eerily quiet weekend, rest assured that our journalists are on the job and you can find all the news you need on our home page, in social media or on our app.
For greater context, consider this: It isn’t our first pandemic. The Star was there in 1918 when the spread of influenza crippled the world. We’ve covered other health crises. And we’ll be with you throughout an uncertain 2020.
Thank you for reading and please be well.
