Judd out after shake-up at Bellingham's Cascadia Daily News

Five years after launching Cascadia Daily News in Bellingham, Executive Editor Ron Judd was fired by owner David Syre.

The move is a blow to what's become a notably successful newsroom, with award-winning coverage and strong circulation growth.

But the outlet has yet to become profitable and its publisher is pushing to launch additional products, including a regional magazine.

Judd declined to comment on exactly what transpired but posted today on Facebook that he was let go due to irreconcilable differences with ownership."

"I'm very proud of what I'm leaving there," he said in a phone interview. "These guys are just a tremendous team."

I heard from others that there was friction over the company adding more products without additional staff to handle the added workload. There were also concerns about maintaining standards as the business expanded, including the division between business and editorial operations.

"We're pretty shocked," said Audra Anderson, one of two managing editors. "The mood in the newsroom is a bit on edge."

Anderson came from North Dakota to work at the paper in 2022, lured in part because of Judd's reputation. He was previously a longtime reporter and columnist at The Seattle Times.

I couldn't reach Syre before deadline. The timber and real estate magnate turned artist published an alternative weekly before hiring Judd in 2021 to create a new print and digital newspaper to compete with Bellingham's anemic, chain-owned daily.

"Five years ago, I saw a crying need here in my home, a place where my family has lived for five generations," Syre wrote in a message to readers, posted on Cascadia's website today.

Syre's message reiterated his commitment to the publication. He also said community support has "helped to improve our financial picture."

"As I did last October, I assure you that, should we be so fortunate, any profits will be plowed back into our editorial products. I remain committed to supporting Cascadia Media Company and the publications that serve our community," he wrote.

Cynthia Pope, Cascadia's publisher, informed staff in a memo dated Tuesday that Judd is leaving the company and the managing editors, Anderson and Jaya Flanary, will take the reins for now.

Pope's memo also said the company "is greatly expanding its editorial products. And that means expanded editorial opportunities for all editorial staff."

She noted in the memo that the parent company is launching a new regional magazine, Cascadia Daily Life. It will give the newsroom journalists "expanded opportunities to do longer-form magazine journalism - the slower, deeper stories that don't always fit the news cycle."

Cascadia prints a weekly edition on Fridays and produces a daily online report. Judd said subscriptions grew 30% last year and the newsroom employs 16 people, including some part-timers.

The community's response "blows my mind on a weekly basis, on a daily basis," Judd said.

"I pass people on the street who say 'CDN, way to go, you guys changed the town,'" he said. "And that's just incredibly rewarding for me. You know, everybody works so hard to make this what it is. It's working in that sense, absolutely better than we ever hoped."

Judd is especially proud of the newsroom.

"That's been a super gratifying thing, for me to watch these people grow into their jobs," he said. "It's really rewarding, and to know that there are a lot of people out there who are young and bright and committed who still believe in journalism, and I think that matters.

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