In 2019, Colorado Media Project published a path-leading report, “Local News is a Public Good: Public Pathways for Supporting Coloradans’ Civic News and Information Needs in the 21st Century.” New research and recommendations — produced by a working group of civic leaders in media, business, public policy, philanthropy and higher education — sparked conversations in Colorado and nationwide, on the proposition:
Free and independent local news is a public good that is vital to democracy, and all Coloradans, including community leaders, should seriously consider public support as one of the necessary vehicles to sustain and evolve local public-service journalism.
Our paper was one of the first state-level attempts to look at new public policy ideas, new approaches, and new products and services to help reimagine local civic news and ensure the survival of high-quality journalism in Colorado, especially in underserved communities. It also provided, for the first time, a clear picture with data quantifying the decline in local news employment, ownership, and the harmful impacts on Colorado communities.
Download the full report
Download the executive summary
Colorado continues to be a hotbed for promising entrepreneurial efforts by existing news organizations and digital native upstarts that are injecting a spirit of innovation that can serve as an example to the nation.
Many of the ideas contained in this paper have been implemented or iterated upon, and continue to inspire more Coloradans to envision what’s possible for local news and civic engagement in the 21st century.
Members of our working group penned columns from various perspectives. View and comment on our Medium page.
A co-authored piece from Gregory Moore and John Temple, former editors of the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News respectively: "Colorado journalism needs public support and collaboration" ran in publications across the state
Jeff Roberts, Executive Director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition: "Skeptic turned believer on public funding for local news"
Nancy Watzman, Director, Colorado Media Project: "Divided we fall: How strengthening Colorado local news fights polarization"
Craig Aaron, President and CEO of Free Press: "Why platforms should pay for polluting our civic discourse"
To introduce the white paper, Colorado Media Project hosted a “Local News is a Public Good” panel discussion at CU-Denver School of Public Affairs with members of our working group, moderated by Corey Hutchins. View the October 2019 event in its entirety below.
““Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.””
ongoing conversation
The ideas contained in this paper are not the endpoint, but just the beginning. We invite you to join the discussion. On social media, use the hashtag: