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FRANKLIN

The Tidewater News staff has been working hard in recent days to ensure that we remain — both in print and online — a trusted source of information in scary and uncertain times.

As the global story and its impact on this community unfolds literally by the minute, online publishing becomes more important than ever by providing timely, accurate information to citizens. To that end, we are providing even nonsubscribers unlimited free digital access to coronavirus-related coverage until further notice. News stories about the virus won’t count toward nonsubscribers’ allotment of five free online articles per month.

That said, this would be a good time to purchase a digital subscription and support your hometown newspaper, which will feel the pinch of what is expected to be one of the worst economic crises in our country’s history. Subscribe at www.thetidewaternews.com/subscriptions/.

Similarly, we are reducing by half the cost of advertising space for for-profit entities to provide coronavirus-related information to the community. We will also devote as much news space as needed to provide important information from governmental and nonprofit organizations.

Here are a couple of things that will be different for The Tidewater News readers and customers until things return to normal:

There will be no Sports section in the print edition, as all high school, college and pro sports have been suspended until further notice. Until competition resumes, we will continue to publish relevant sports news as it occurs, but it will appear on other pages of the newspaper.

Hours for walk-in customer service at our office on Armory Drive will be restricted as we heed Gov. Ralph Northam’s advice to have as many employees as possible work from home until the virus threat subsides. Telephone and email customer service should not be affected. For those who typically come to our office to purchase a newspaper over the front counter, we will put extra copies in the newsstand outside our front entrance and a basket for church news and community items.

Readers are asked to contact us via our telephone number — 757-562-3187 — or the respective email addresses:

Publisher: betty.ramsey@thetidewaternews.com

Business manager: michelle.gray@thetidewaternews.com

Advertising director: mitzi.lusk@thetidewaternews.com

Calendar and church news: events@thetidewaternews.com; church@thetidewaternews.com

Newsroom: stephen.cowles@thetidewaternews.com; stephen.faleski@thetidewaternews.com.

We appreciate Franklin, Southampton and Isle of Wight government and civic leaders, the business community and citizen volunteers for their collective efforts to guide our area through whatever challenges await in the days and weeks ahead. We stand proudly with them in journalistic service to our area.

BETTY J. RAMSEY is publisher of The Tidewater News. Her email address is Betty.Ramsey@TheTidewaterNews.com.