When global becomes local: How local newsrooms in the U.S. are covering the coronavirus

On Thursday, Feb. 27, journalists at The Seattle Times held a meeting to talk about how they’d cover the coronavirus. Fifteen or 16 people gathered in a conference room in the middle of the newsroom, including editors, producers and photojournalists.

The purpose — to make it clear that the coronavirus would be a high-priority story for the next year, said managing editor Ray Rivera. The newsroom put together a small team to follow the news long-term.

That long-term plan had a short life.

On Feb. 29, Washington’s King County reported...