Welcome to this special series of the GBH Collective podcast, where we'll be checking in with members of our global team to keep you updated on unfolding events surrounding COVID-19. I'm Ashley Rodriguez.

We're consuming news at a rapid rate. The front page of the New York Times is totally dedicated to COVID-19 coverage, and many other outlets have shifted to focus on the current global pandemic.

I wanted to understand how folks who work in breaking news cover stories. We've shifted our editorial platform dramatically, so I'm first chatting with Kate Bernot, lead contributor to Sightlines, our news vertical. Kate has years of experience reporting on breaking stories, and we talk about how this moment is different—and the surprises she's uncovered through a week of nonstop reporting.

Then we shift to Alyssa Pereira, GBH contributor and staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, a news outlet primarily serving the Bay Area and Northern California. From their computers to yours, we talk about how to cover such an unprecedented event, and how you can look at the news through the eyes of a reporter. Here's Kate to kick us off.