Stray Ferret Focus: Snowfalls and paywalls – our response to this week’s weather

When heavy snow was forecast last weekend, we put plans in place to provide comprehensive coverage.

A dollop of the white stuff appeared inevitable on Sunday morning so we rostered our journalists to run a live blog of rolling news from 6am to 10pm.

During this time, we published a one-stop-shop of updates that included details of bus and flight cancellations, a hospital appeal for 4x4 drivers to bring staff to work, the closure of recycling depots, a tree across the road at Huby, the latest weather forecasts, school and business closures, GP surgery messages and more.

The updates were laced with some fantastic photos sent by readers, such as this one of giant snowman taken by Sarah Khanye.

By the time the blog ended at 10pm, we had provided some 65 updates. We also published separately a photo gallery and a news article about a group of walkers from Harrogate that had to be saved by mountain rescuers. We have published several more live weather blogs this week since as well as a raft of ice-related stories.

We aim to provide a valuable community service but some people on social media have questioned why they should pay for this and that these articles should be free. Our weather coverage has been available to subscribers only this week.  The answer is that producing such a comprehensive news service costs money and we are not publicly funded. We need subscriptions to survive - like many news services now across the UK. 

Fortunately, most people understand the need to charge, which in the case of the Stray Ferret is just 14 pence a day if you pay annually. 

We exist to provide a platform for readers - so this week we have metaphorically snowed under North Yorkshire Council with questions on issues such as grit bins, the state of pavements and side roads and why access to schools and health centres have not been maintained.

Our digital format enables us to provide news and views in a rapid and responsive manner, seven days a week. 

Subscriber numbers soared this week; we have been sent some fantastic photos and we have had a steady stream of callers and visitors asking us to take up their concerns and thanking us for keeping them updated.

We are hugely grateful to subscribers and will continue to strive to earn your support.

If you don't yet subscribe, please consider doing so here. You will get the best local news service and be investing in independent journalism that holds people in power to account.