Every week, we bring you stories of system failures – companies failing to protect their workers, governments failing to protect their citizens, politicians failing to respect the work of scientists – and the way those failures affect people and communities. Today, we find ourselves amid a massive systemic failure at the global, national and local levels: the spread of a pandemic that already has brought the course of everyday life and commerce to a halt in areas across the world. Our journalists are working hard to bring you impactful, context-rich coverage of what led up to this catastrophe and what needs to happen to move beyond it.

We bring to our journalism a commitment to uplifting the stories of those who are being hit hardest by this disaster and holding those in power to account for their part in it. Over the past few weeks, we’ve reported on ER doctors, scientists and other caregivers fighting against COVID-19 from the front lines. We’ve brought to light communications from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ordering its staffers to continue coming to work. (Just hours after we published our story, the agency reversed course and closed all its offices until April 1.) We’ve covered the consequences of understaffing at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and we’ve just published a story that challenges the effectiveness of the 14-day quarantine.  

Yet we know the effects of COVID-19 are only beginning to emerge, and so we are only at the beginning of our work. 

Fortunately, we have many partners in this effort. I have never seen a story foster more collaboration among journalists over as large a scale as this pandemic has occasioned. In addition to widespread behind-the-scenes sharing of tips, knowledge and resources among reporters in newsrooms throughout the country, we’ve already teamed up on COVID-19 coverage with our public media neighbors at KQED in San Francisco and Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, California, and more collaborations are in the works.

In the weeks and months to come, you can expect a steady stream of reporting from Reveal on the virus’s impact on our health, economy and democracy, with a special emphasis on the most vulnerable among us. But we cannot do this work without your partnership above all. In a moment of massive uncertainty, your support helps to ensure we can keep uncovering facts that wouldn’t otherwise come to light. Our newsroom is deeply grateful for your support.

We invited our partners at KQED and The Texas Tribune to join in a conversation about how we’re all covering the COVID-19 crisis, including the challenges and opportunities that have arisen. Watch the webinar to experience the rich conversation and issues the editors at these media outlets are confronting.

Matt Thompson can be reached at mthompson@revealnews.org. Follow him on Twitter: @RevealerInChief.

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Matt Thompson

Matt Thompson was the editor in chief of Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and a contributing editor at The Atlantic. Prior to his arrival at Reveal, he served as the executive editor of The Atlantic, overseeing new editorial initiatives and planning, developing the magazine's recruitment and talent development operations, and guiding strategy for podcasting and digital membership. He's also one of the founding hosts of “Radio Atlantic,” the organization's pioneer podcast. Previously, as the deputy editor of TheAtlantic.com, Thompson oversaw digital coverage teams and developed editorial projects in conjunction with site editors.

Before joining The Atlantic in January 2015, Thompson was director of vertical initiatives (and mischief) for NPR, where he led the creation of several teams of broadcast and digital journalists, including Code Switch, which covers race, ethnicity and culture; and NPR Ed, which covers education. During his time with NPR, he worked with public radio stations across the country on editorial strategy and co-wrote the organization’s ethics handbook. Prior to NPR, Thompson worked as an editor and reporter for news organizations around the U.S., including the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, The Fresno Bee and the Poynter Institute. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for The Center for Public Integrity and is a co-founder of Spark Camp.