At the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Kentucky Derby is an all-hands-on-deck affair. This year was different, says Editor Peter Baniak by email:
“The first Saturday in May would normally be the weekend when we would have mobilized most of our staff to focus on the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. It is always one of our biggest undertakings of the year. This year, the Derby has been postponed until September.
“Inspired by plans for a similar section at the Miami Herald (a fellow McClatchy newsroom), we decided that it would be a great idea to use this time to celebrate Kentucky heroes engaged in the fight against COVID-19, and the special section was born.
“The section has contributions from our lead Opinions columnist Linda Blackford and news reporters like Jeremy Chisenhall. It also has a huge contribution from our award-winning sports staff, led by Sports Editor Mat Graf, with stories by sports columnist John Clay and sports writers Jerry Tipton (our UK basketball beat writer), Josh Moore (our UK football writer), Jared Peck (our high school sports writer) and Josh Sullivan. It was a true team effort.
“Here are links to a few of the stories in it (we’ll be posting more throughout the week):
- These heroes have always been all around us. Sometimes, it just takes a crisis to see them.
- ‘We were called to this profession.’ Cut off from son, Lexington nurse fights pandemic.
- UK’s mother-son roommates cope with pandemic the only way they know how — together
“One other note: Our local/regional advertisers stepped up and showed great support for this section as well, and we certainly appreciated their support for this effort.”