BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Cascadia Daily News reported today that owner David Syre fired executive editor Ron Judd on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, calling it “a major shake-up” at the Bellingham-based newspaper.
Earlier this month, CDN launched a new quarterly magazine called Cascadia Daily Life. Publisher Cynthia Pope said the company parted ways with Judd because he “did not see the magazine as a significant editorial product,” while she and Syre see it as a path to financial stability for the business.
The newspaper “would not be where it is today without Ron’s work and that of the staff,” Pope said. CDN will hire a new executive editor and add a marketing director position, she said, noting leaders will strive to maintain “the top quality newsroom that Ron Judd has helped us put together.”
Pope said finances only played a role in the decision to let Judd go “to the extent that the owner and I see a path forward that involves products other than just the newspaper.” The company has no plans to conduct further layoffs, she confirmed.
– Cascadia Daily (May 27, 2026)
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Newspapers have always had both hard (serious) news and fluff (features). Both help to draw paying readers. Hard news is what the Founding Fathers wanted to preserve when they wrote a guarantee for press freedom into the Constitution. Somebody’s gotta pay for it. Fluff is a way to help pay the cost of producing hard news. The very best wishes to Ron Judd and CDN as well.
I am unsubscribing to CDN. Ron Judd’s commentaries are what I enjoyed. This is really pathetic.