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.

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.

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 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.