The News 5 Cleveland Facebook Page just passed 500,000 followers. I’d like to take this moment to say thank you for making us Northeast Ohio’s fastest-growing news Page. Thank you for choosing us as your source for news, weather, investigations and, yeah, the lively banter we sometimes add in our comment section.
You may not know it, but you help steer our coverage every day. Some of the questions asked in our comments and the direct messages sent to us are developed into stories. Our motto is “On Your Side,” and we believe that listening to you brings us closer to being on Northeast Ohio’s side.
Here’s how you have helped guide our coverage. And when I say you, I don’t necessarily mean our biggest fans. Some of our stories come from our loudest critics. We hear you, too.
For example, when it first became clear to us that coronavirus was going to be a life-altering event, when many questioned whether it deserved coverage at all, we explained our decision to focus on it.
RELATED: Why we're doing so much reporting on coronavirus
When the state began releasing daily coronavirus data, we shared the data, but those raw numbers generated some confusion. So, we began releasing those numbers along with a series of charts and graphs and other contextual information, which took longer to produce but made for better reporting. We’re slow to share these numbers every day, and proudly so.
RELATED: Why we stopped publishing Ohio’s case and death numbers immediately
When we saw people openly questioning the veracity of the data being shared by public health officials, we asked public health officials how it was collected.
RELATED: How COVID-19 deaths are reported, and why there's so much misinformation about the process
These are just a few of the many examples of us trying to connect with your passions, needs and frustrations in order to report what is important to the people of Northeast Ohio.
In return, you’ve rewarded our Facebook Page with a growing number of Likes and follows, and we thank you.
Joe Donatelli is the digital director at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Facebook @joedonatelli1 and Twitter @joedonatelli. Have a question about how we report the news? Email joe.donatelli@wews.com.
