From the editor's desk: Why providing context matters

Yahoo

18-03-2025

A map of Pennsylvania counties showing federal workers as a percentage of counties' total workforce, not including active duty military members or post office employees. Federal workers make up between 0% (Cameron and Sullivan Counties) and 6.8% (Union County) of the workforce by county. Created with Datawrapper.
So about this news cycle….
With so much information coming at you at a rapid fire pace, it may be hard to stay engaged long enough to find the needed context so you can have a better understanding of what exactly is happening.
When our Ian Karbal approached me about some data he'd come across pertaining to the federal workforce in Pennsylvania, I leaned in a bit. With mass layoffs occurring due to the efforts of, Elon Musk, I was curious what we could glean about the more than 75,000 Pennsylvanians holding federal jobs. One caveat: The number doesn't include post office workers or active duty military. After all, this is an unprecedented move by a presidential administration – allowing one of the richest men on the planet, who is unelected and didn't have to go through any confirmation hearing, to make decisions on vital government work.
What the figures do show is that while one-third of these workers are in Philadelphia County, many are in parts of the commonwealth most dependent on federal labor supported President Donald Trump in last November's election. For example, federal employees make up nearly 7% of the workforce in Union County and a little more than 6% of Lebanon County's workforce is on the federal government payroll.
You can see how your home county or the congressional district you live in could be affected by going through a couple of interactive maps Ian put together. We hope data like that helps you understand Pennsylvania's role in this national conversation around how the government serves you, the taxpayer. But even more important is hearing how your fellow citizens have been impacted.
Check out the story here.
Another important point to make is that it was imperative to put a face to the numbers. These aren't just faceless bureaucrats, but friends and neighbors who perform tasks in your community that may be under-the-radar, but have real-world impact – from things like environmental work to assisting veterans.
Ian spoke to several people who lost their jobs due to the seeming randomness of the layoffs. But he had to navigate some tough waters, because most did not want to go on the record and be identified. Hoping to eventually get their jobs back, they were concerned that having their names out there may lead to repercussions and punishment.
Here's where I pull back the curtain a bit on our decision-making. Our parent company, States Newsroom, has a long-established Ethics Policy, available right there on our website. (A good tip for deciding whether a news organization is credible or not is if they make their editorial guidelines public).
In this case, we had several conversations over whether we should grant some of Ian's sources anonymity and turned to the policy which states:
A reporter may not agree to anonymity without first receiving approval from their newsroom editor and national editor. The person asking for anonymity must be told that his or her name will be shared with those editors, both of whom will keep the source's name confidential.
We must know the source to be reliable and to have access to the information being shared, and the story must make that clear to readers. (See 'not for attribution' below.)
We will, to the best of our ability, identify and report any bias the source may have.
The story must explain why the source can't be named and how the information was verified, preferably with multiple sources.
The source must be providing specific information, not speculation or opinion.
There should be an expectation that the information reported in such a manner will become public in a reasonable amount of time.
If we grant a person anonymity we will not use their photograph.
After discussing it with my boss and he, in turn, discussing it with his boss, we decided to grant anonymity to current workers, because of the threat of potential recriminations. Since former federal employees in other states spoke on the record with our sister outlets, we also determined it was important to be consistent with the use of anonymity and ask that they allow us to use their name. Only one decided to go public.
Now, rest assured this isn't a one and done kind of story. When I took over as editor at the Capitol-Star about a month ago, I promised we would tell the story of Pennsylvanians and how policies handed down by the state and federal government impact you and your communities. So, there are still layers to the reduction efforts to be explored and Ian would appreciate hearing from you if you are a federal employee in Pennsylvania, or have been impacted by federal workforce cuts. You can reach out to him by email at [e-mail] or by call/text/Signal at 847-946-9191 to share your stories or help inform our future reporting on the topic.
If you have any questions about our work, journalism, or anything else on your mind, I'm at [e-mail]. Please reach out. I'll do my best to get back to you, because you are the reason we are here. Our work is geared toward ensuring you have a better understanding of what is going on in the world around you.
Thanks for reading.
Tim Lambert
Editor, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
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