The Fresno Bee is moving out of its office, working remotely through end of year
The coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the business world in profound ways, and The Fresno Bee is no exception. Today we announced that we have made the difficult decision to move out of our office in the Bitwise 41 building in September.
Since mid-March, almost the entire staff of The Bee has worked remotely. And we haven’t missed a beat, providing critical news and information to what has become the largest audience in our history. We know this because we see how our content is read and shared digitally. In many respects, the work of The Bee’s staff has never been more important or essential.
We’ve done this work through technology, which has kept us in close contact through video calls and other tools that allow for productive collaboration. Each day we have dozens of virtual meetings to stay connected as we create the latest and most reliable news and information. We also use technology to connect with and meet the needs of our advertising customers.
Our success at remote work has left the office largely abandoned and unnecessary. This decision keeps local journalists on the job and ensures that The Bee will continue to provide the essential news you need at this most trying time. Our highest priority is to preserve jobs and serve the community.
We make this move reluctantly as we recognize the incredible asset Bitwise is to downtown Fresno and its revitalization. The Bitwise buildings incubate a burgeoning innovation and technology ecosystem that we hope to be a part of in the future.
For now, this change will help ensure a sustainable future for The Fresno Bee.
In October 2022 The Fresno Bee will celebrate its 100th anniversary. At that time we will celebrate our proud century-long history in this community. We’ll also celebrate the new Bee, positioned well to serve this community for the next 100 years.
Over the last year, with community and philanthropic support, we’ve added 10 new local journalists in service to this community. We have launched the Education Lab, collaborated with a local nonprofit to launch the Fresnoland Lab and added two reporters through the national Report for America program. These efforts are helping to rebuild critical reporting that has been lost over the years – and we are just getting started.
Preserving existing journalists’ jobs and continuing to rebuild impactful solutions-oriented journalism in areas critical to the health and advancement of our community remains, above all else, our highest priority.
Here is how you can support local journalism:
We will continue to work remotely through the end of this year, at which time we will find new office space when it is safe to return to in-person work.
As always, we are accessible to you. All of our phone numbers and email addresses remain active.
If you would like to reach out to me directly I can be reached at 559-441-6060 or tritchey@fresnobee.com.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Tim Ritchey, Publisher