Engaging Communities in an Election Year … and Beyond

Engaging Communities in an Election Year … and Beyond

Colorado’s local and statewide newsrooms and nonpartisan community and civic groups are invited to join forces with Rocky Mountain Public Media, Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation, the Colorado Press Association, Colorado News Collaborative, and the Colorado Media Project in a statewide campaign to reclaim and reimagine the public square across all of Colorado’s 64 counties.

All Colorado newsrooms are invited to participate in this project to the depth of their choosing. This could range from promoting the initiative and encouraging your audiences to participate in regional events, to asking your community the common questions (to be developed in conjunction with participating newsrooms), to reporting the results and ensuring your community is represented in the statewide reporting, to joining a cohort that will receive additional training and support for community listening and engagement, and/or joining the steering committee for the project.

Announcing More Than $360,000 in Grants to Advance Equity and Inclusion in Local Colorado News

Announcing More Than $360,000 in Grants to Advance Equity and Inclusion in Local Colorado News

Today Colorado Media Project is announcing 27 new grants totaling $368,300 that will support Colorado newsrooms, journalists, and media entrepreneurs in launching new projects and strengthening existing efforts to build a more inclusive local news ecosystem that reflects and serves Colorado’s diverse communities.


Reimagining the Public Square: Coloradans Deserve Better

Reimagining the Public Square: Coloradans Deserve Better

Against the headwinds of divisive national rhetoric, increasing polarization of local communities, digital overwhelm and social isolation we believe it’s time for pragmatic, solutions-focused Coloradans to reclaim the public square from political pundits and conflict entrepreneurs. As the new documentary “Join or Die” puts it, building “community connections could hold the answers to our democracy’s present crisis.”

The Future of Printing: Findings and Solutions from a Collaborative Working Group

The Future of Printing: Findings and Solutions from a Collaborative Working Group

What happens when one of Colorado’s few remaining commercial printing presses stops? This new report, commissioned and published by Colorado Media Project (CMP), summarizes research, findings, and recommendations from an industry working group led by the Colorado Press Association (CPA) and the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab) throughout 2023.

Reimagining Colorado's Public Square: The 2023 CMP Summit & Report

Reimagining Colorado's Public Square: The 2023 CMP Summit & Report

Why should concerned citizens and residents, including state and local officials, care about what’s happening in Colorado’s local journalism industry? This 2023 white paper updates key data points on local news deserts and ownership from CMP’s 2019 report, “Local News is a Public Good”; spotlights what we know Colorado communities want, need, and expect from local news; and challenges all of us to rise to the occasion.

Meet the 28 Colorado Community Newsrooms Poised to Collaboratively Raise $1 Million for Local News This Holiday Season

Meet the 28 Colorado Community Newsrooms Poised to Collaboratively Raise $1 Million for Local News This Holiday Season

With support from the Colorado Media Project, 30 Colorado newsrooms aim to raise over $1 million to support local news this holiday season.

CO Engaged Elections Fellowship: Tune up your political coverage ahead of 2024!

CO Engaged Elections Fellowship: Tune up your political coverage ahead of 2024!

This fall, up to 12 Colorado newsrooms will be selected to receive training, cohort support, and coaching from Hearken to develop a winning strategy to surface and respond to their public’s critical information needs related to elections. Each participating newsroom will also receive a $1,000 stipend to support their engagement strategy. Apply by Aug. 7.

Community News Innovation and Sustainability: Join Us to Explore Five Wicked Problems

Community News Innovation and Sustainability: Join Us to Explore Five Wicked Problems

Today, Colorado Media Project is excited to announce $360,000 in new commitments to ecosystem partners who are dedicated to helping our state’s local newsrooms explore and pilot innovative solutions to wicked problems that they are facing right now, in communities across the state. And we invite you to join us.

Fighting To Be Seen: A Call From Colorado’s AANHPI Communities for Equitable and Just Local News

Fighting To Be Seen: A Call From Colorado’s AANHPI Communities for Equitable and Just Local News

In a new report, 30 journalists and community residents of different Asian, South Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) provide four key recommendations for more accurate representation in local media.

Announcing $350,000+ in Grants to Advance Equity and Inclusion in Local Newsrooms Across Colorado

Announcing $350,000+ in Grants to Advance Equity and Inclusion in Local Newsrooms Across Colorado

Recipients of our 2023 Advancing Equity in Local News grants will address three overarching priorities identified by community members and journalists of color through the Voices Initiative, led by Colorado News Collaborative with support from Colorado Media Project since 2020.

Frente a Frente: Two Dual-Language Newsrooms Team Up for Statewide Coverage of the 2022 Candidates and Issues

Frente a Frente: Two Dual-Language Newsrooms Team Up for Statewide Coverage of the 2022 Candidates and Issues

"Frente a Frente con los candidatos" — or “Face to face with the candidates” — is a special section published in Spanish and English in print and online by CMP grantees El Comercio de Colorado (an award-winning publication covering the Front Range, including the newly created 8th Congressional District) and Enterate Latino (which serves Western Slope communities from Grand Junction to Parachute).

New Funding Available for Advancing Equity in Local News Projects

New Funding Available for Advancing Equity in Local News Projects

CMP has opened the second round of Advancing Equity in Local News grants for applications. The purpose is to build newsroom and community capacity to address inequities, and to harness a wider array of partners and community assets to create a healthier, more inclusive public square in Colorado, and the application deadline to receive funding for 2023 projects is December 1, 2022. Learn more and apply here!