On Background is a weekly podcast that demystifies the decisions made every day at Cascadia Daily News. Hosted by Alana Marcum and Bree Zender, each episode features a roundtable discussion with CDN reporters, editors and photojournalists. Learn how this hyper-local newsroom handles reporting on Whatcom and Skagit counties effectively.
It's your chance to get to know CDN in a new way.
Cascadia Daily News is a locally owned newspaper in Bellingham, Washington, covering Whatcom and Skagit counties.
Ep 11: Showing the local color of Whatcom and Skagit counties
Stories in CDN’s living section focus on the people who live in Whatcom and Skagit counties and make Northwest Washington unique. Lifestyle editor Cocoa Laney often highlights old traditions of towns and local makers or artisans, but her section also tells you where to find the best karaoke and how to find community. In the final episode of season one of “On Background,” listeners will learn how Cocoa brings the local color into Cascadia Daily News.
2 Jun 2026
Ep 10: Keeping young athletes in the paper
Most local and regional news organizations don’t cover high school sports like they used to — but Cascadia Daily News strives to keep young athletes in Whatcom and Skagit counties in the paper. In this episode of “On Background,” listeners will learn how sports editor Nick Zeller-Singh and staff photographer Andy Bronson cover prep sports in Northwest Washington. Andy also ranks the best high school gyms for photography.
26 May 2026
Ep 9: A different flavor of storytelling — the impact of CDN's visual journalists
How do visuals help tell a story? In this episode of “On Background,” CDN visual journalists Finn Wendt and Santiago Ochoa talk about how photography and video elevate news, sports and living stories in Cascadia Daily News. Listeners will learn how visual journalists collaborate with reporters and why it's important to put community faces in the paper.
19 May 2026
Ep 8: Checking the agenda — how CDN covers 14 school districts
Whatcom and Skagit counties are home to 14 public school districts, and CDN’s Charlotte Alden keeps up with all of them in addition to covering universities, technical colleges and community colleges. In this episode of “On Background,” Charlotte walks listeners through how her collegiate experiences prepped her to cover education in NW Washington.
12 May 2026
Ep 7: Addressing barriers of trust in rural communities
What’s it like for a journalist to cover a community that they aren’t familiar with? CDN’s Sophia Gates talks about it in this episode of “On Background.” Sophia highlights the importance of covering rural communities in Whatcom and Skagit counties and why access to local news is beneficial. Sophia's position is supported by the Murrow News Fellowship, a state-funded program that places reporters in Washington newsrooms. All of her stories are available for free, outside CDN’s paywall.
5 May 2026
Ep 6: The use of language in crime reporting
Crime can be a divisive topic for local news reporters to cover. There’s a lot to consider when reporting respectfully on those accused or guilty of a crime, potential victims and how crime affects the broader community. Reporter Annie Todd treads these waters every day as CDN’s criminal justice reporter. In this episode of “On Background,” Annie explains CDN’s crime-reporting policy (https://www.cascadiadaily.com/crime-policy/) and her personal approach. She also talks about reporting on Whatcom County’s planned Justice Center and on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in CDN’s coverage area.
28 Apr 2026
Ep 5: A reporter vs. a local journalist
We’re talking investigations—all about building trust with your sources, tips from community members and public records requests with Isaac Stone Simonelli, CDN’s investigative reporter. Isaac is one of the most seasoned reporters in the newsroom and has a wealth of knowledge and stories to share. We also touch on the catastrophic flooding of 2025 in Whatcom and Skagit counties, as well as the differences between a reporter and a local journalist.
21 Apr 2026
Ep 4: For the people who care about health care
Cascadia Daily News has the only journalist covering public health and health care systems full-time in NW Washington. In this episode of “On Background,” CDN’s Owen Racer talks about the challenges and surprises of covering public health and health care in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Owen’s reporting is supported by Report for America.
Listeners who want to support Owen’s coverage can make a tax-deductible donation at cascadiadaily.com/donate (http://cascadiadaily.com/donate).
14 Apr 2026
Ep 3: The glamour of local government
Do residents get anything out of local government meetings? The short answer – yes. Meetings that are typically deemed mundane or boring are among the best ways to stay up to date on what local officials are doing. In this episode of “On Background,” CDN reporters Julia Tellman and Annie Todd discuss the role of a local journalist when it comes to covering city council, county council and port meetings.
7 Apr 2026
Ep 2: Creating a "sense of place"
In this episode of On Background, CDN's managing editors, Audra Anderson and Jaya Flanary, explain how the phrase "a sense of place" guides the newsroom's hyperlocal coverage of Whatcom and Skagit counties. Anderson and Flanary are the brains behind the daily news operations. Listeners will get a feel for how they navigate the daily news operation and how they've grown professionally alongside the paper.
31 Mar 2026
Ep 1: What’s the Deal with CDN?
What's the appeal of starting a hyperlocal news enterprise? In episode one of On Background, Ron Judd, executive editor of CDN, breaks down the newspaper's origin story and gives listeners a look into the newsroom's dynamics. Alana Marcum and Bree Zender also discuss the intent behind CDN's first podcast.
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