Colorado in major media spotlight on John Oliver's 'Last Week Tonight'
The news behind the news in Colorado
It only took John Oliver about five minutes into his monologue on this week’s season finale of his HBO show to mention Colorado.
Mixing humor and research, the streaming-show satirist had dedicated 35 minutes of his “Last Week Tonight” program to a brutal takedown of Republican cuts to public media.
“This budget cut is devastating,” he said of the GOP vote in Congress to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at President Donald Trump’s behest. “This cut will be felt all over, but especially in rural, remote, and tribal communities.”
Oliver pointed to data predicting that up to 115 broadcast stations serving 43 million Americans could close within the next year.
“As a DJ at this Colorado station explains, these stations can fill a vital community role,” Oliver said as a graphic of KRZA in Alamosa appeared on the screen.
In the clip, volunteer DJ Marty Jones talked about public service announcements that inform the local community on meetings, events, and other information needs, like free Sloppy Joe lunches for veterans and people experiencing homelessness.
Riffing on the Rocky Mountain PBS video of Jones that he highlighted, Oliver said the DJ, who “looks like Santa Claus if he got just the right amount into the Grateful Dead” should “probably be public radio’s new mascot given he has the quintessential public radio voice, beard, and general vibe.” Oliver joked that if NPR’s next tote bag doesn’t have Jones’s face on it, they are leaving money on the table.
🎅 Fun fact: Jones told me over the phone this week that he actually does gigs as Santa Claus at local Alamosa events and plays the mandolin in a Celtic band. He hasn’t shaved his beard since the spring of 1980.
The segment has also had clear impact in Alamosa.
Since the clip aired, more than $2,000 in donations have come in to KRZA from around the country, the station’s general manager, Gerald Rodriguez, told me on Thursday. Many of them specifically mentioned John Oliver, he said.
Colorado’s influence on the “Last Week Tonight” segment, which has racked up nearly two million views on YouTube alone, didn’t end with KRZA.
Josh Shepperd, a media studies professor at CU Boulder, spent two months consulting with the “Last Week Tonight” team on the episode.
Oliver’s monologue “was a thorough overview of topics raised by Shepperd’s work,” Joe Arney wrote in an item for the school. “The producers even used the cover of his book, Shadow of the New Deal: The Victory of Public Broadcasting, as an on-screen graphic during the show.”
Shepperd said he thought Oliver and his team learned about the book through the press he’s been doing about it “because a lot of folks at the show have close ties and sympathies with the public media sector.”
The above video is certainly worth the watch, and Oliver makes a strong case about the key role the CPB plays for local news and information across the country.
“Frankly, it’s always been a bit weird how little we fund public media given how vital it can be,” Oliver said in the show, noting that the United States is a global outlier in that regard.
As for KRZA DJ Marty Jones, he said several friends and family from as far away as West Virginia have sent him messages after seeing the show. Some said they would indeed buy an NPR tote bag with his mug on it.
“It’s been unusual to say the least,” he said.
➡️ This newsletter is proudly sponsored by The Colorado Health Foundation. As a proud funder of Colorado Media Project, the home of Press Forward Colorado, the CHF understands that healthy communities need a healthy news ecosystem.
This year, The Colorado Health Foundation will be working to combat disinformation and misinformation, and helping nonprofits build media literacy.
Read our post titled “Getting in the News in a Changing Media Landscape” that includes five concrete steps that changemakers can take to build influence through local media.
Recently, the Colorado News Collaborative called our annual Pulse Poll a “trove of information useful to reporters.” The Colorado Health Foundation’s Katie Peshek talked to journalists across the state about the poll results, which you can watch here. We also have Pulse Poll slides here, showing how you can use what we found to guide your reporting on topics and bring facts and data to your stories. ⬅️
Boulder newspaper reports CU banned student journalists after they covered a protest
“The University of Colorado Boulder banned three student journalists from campus and charged them with code of conduct violations after they covered a pro-Palestine protest against Lockheed Martin in October.”
That was the original lead from reporter Olivia Doak in a Nov. 20 story for the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper.
After the story went online, the paper changed the wording, making sure to write that the journalists said that this is what happened and to not state it as a fact. The paper also added an editor’s note saying CU wouldn’t confirm or deny any temporary suspensions or exclusions.
More from Doak’s story in the Camera:
Sophomore Ašiihkionkonci Parker, one of the student journalists, was banned from campus for two weeks after covering a Students for Justice in Palestine protest against Lockheed Martin at a career fair on Oct. 16 in the University Memorial Center, records show.
Parker received a tip that SJP would be protesting the career fair and decided to go and cover it with two colleagues. “We were there covering the story,” Parker said. “We were there taking pictures and stuff, and no administrator or police ever came and asked us to stop.”
CU Boulder did not confirm or deny that any student journalists were banned, citing federal student privacy laws.
Emailed letters from CU provided by Parker show Parker was suspended the day after the protest and charged with student code of conduct violations, unable to go to classes or anywhere on campus for two weeks. One of the letters from CU Boulder said Parker participated in the incident, specifically that Parker was filming the protest, and as a result would be suspended immediately.
Parker thinks the university mistakenly assumed the student journalists were members of SJP and taking photos and videos for the group, which was not the case, Parker said. The charges were completely unfounded, Parker said, and none of the student journalists there broke any rules.
CU Boulder “declined to answer questions about why the student journalists were suspended or excluded from campus and charged with code of conduct violations,” Doak reported.
“All students are held to the expectations provided in the CU Boulder Student Code of Conduct,” CU Boulder spokesperson Nicole Mueksch wrote in an email to the newspaper. “Federal student privacy laws prohibit the university from commenting about specific student cases.”
Here’s more from the Boulder Daily Camera:
Parker is a photographer and videographer for El Diario de la Gente, a historically Chicano student newspaper that was revived this fall after it stopped consistently publishing in the 1980s.
Parker, who said the student code of conduct charges were unfounded, had a hearing the week after the suspension took effect and asked the university to give an exact reason as to why it issued those charges.
“They couldn’t really say anything or pinpoint an exact reasoning,” Parker said. “They just kind of said it was (their) decision, and they really couldn’t give a reason.”
Mueksch declined to comment on Parker’s case, citing federal student privacy laws.
Doak reported that Parker was allowed back on campus with no restrictions earlier this month, according to correspondence from CU that the student provided. “But the student code of conduct charges have not been dropped, according to the letters,” Doak reported, “and the case is still open and ongoing.”
In the United States, defining whether someone is a journalist can be somewhat tricky.
Colorado state law might not define the word “journalist” but does define “newsperson,” stating it means “any member of the mass media and any employee or independent contractor of a member of the mass media who is engaged to gather, receive, observe, process, prepare, write, or edit news information for dissemination to the public through the mass media.” Colorado defines “mass media” as “any publisher of a newspaper or periodical; wire service; radio or television station or network; news or feature syndicate; or cable television system.”
In this case, the Boulder Daily Camera, the newspaper of record in this particular college town, initially stated as a fact that the university had banned “three student journalists.”
While the paper later hedged when rewriting the story’s lead, elsewhere it reported as a fact that the students were journalists. One might wonder if that could be a sticking point for the university.
While CU’s spokesperson wouldn’t comment when asked, citing student privacy laws, she did say that the university “supports our campus community’s right to freedom of the press and to peacefully protest. Both of those are covered under the First Amendment, and we respect that.”
For some higher-ed institutions elsewhere, getting crosswise with student journalists has turned into public relations and reputational quicksand.
Just this week, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national free speech group known as FIRE, is running a billboard campaign against Indiana University. Messages shame the school after it shut down its student newspaper and fired its faculty advisor. (That advisor once served at CSU Fort Collins, incidentally.)
The 2024-25 academic year saw a troubling trend of campus crackdowns on the student press.
In New York, Columbia University suspended and investigated student journalists who were reporting on campus protests over Israel and Gaza. In California, Stanford University officials urged local authorities to criminally prosecute a student journalist. The reporter had been arrested while covering pro-Palestinian protestors who had taken over the college president’s office.
Now, add this situation in Colorado to the uncomfortable list. Groups like FIRE and the Student Press Law Center have mobilized to support student journalists.
FIRE has already gotten involved in this case at CU Boulder.
Over the phone this week, Marie McMullan, an attorney who serves as the student press counsel for FIRE, said the organization is keeping an eye on how the disciplinary process plays out.
“We’re hoping that the public pressure guides them to make the correct decision here, which is to not punish Parker for exercising their right to gather news,” she said.
Asked to what extent FIRE might be looking at billboard rates in Boulder, she said they aren’t right now but would never rule out all of their options.
“I am so pleased to see the advocacy we’re doing in Indiana has gotten so much attention, but that’s a situation where the university had multiple First Amendment problems on various grounds,” she said. “And CU Boulder has the opportunity right now to step up and make sure it’s not acting like any of the universities that have caught more of our attention.”
The Boulder Daily Camera story has led to at least one Colorado attorney, Andy McNulty, to put out a call on social media.
“If you are a student who was banned, or know one who was, reach out,” he said, adding that he “would be happy to represent you in a civil rights suit. … this is outrageous.”
On his website, McNulty says he “spent his career using his legal skills to lift up those who are marginalized,” has “won significant verdicts at trial and obtained multi-million dollar settlements for his clients” while being “a master at harnessing the media.”
So, stay tuned.
Axios is expanding to Colorado Springs with a daily newsletter
Roughly a year after branching out from Denver into Boulder, the Axios Local daily newsletter company is moving into the Colorado Springs market.
“We are hiring a Reporter to cover Colorado Springs as part of our growing local news initiative, which is extending our mission to America’s hometowns,” Axios announced in a job listing this week. “We are looking for a skilled writer who cares deeply about local news and is obsessed with innovative ways to cover it.”
The salary range for the position is between $60,000 and $90,000. The Boulder job listing last year was $65,000 to $100,000. Boulder has a population of around 100,000 while the sprawling Springs has about five times that.
The Springs market, where I live, is ripe for more original local reporting as the journalistic output has retrenched in this growing city.
Along with four TV stations, the Gazette, owned by the conservative Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz, and the KRCC public radio station, which is operated by Colorado Public Radio, make up the dominant sources of daily news and information.
Two of those TV stations are set to merge, a recent collapse of the Indy alternative weekly left a gap in civic coverage, and the new SoCo Insider publication dedicated to arts and entertainment has made a business decision to avoid covering politics. The nonprofit Pikes Peak Bulletin has emerged as new player with a much-needed focus on the diverse southeast part of town and is finding its footing under new management.
For the past few years, the Axios Denver team has visited my “Inbox Journalism: Writing for Newsletters” class at Colorado College where students helped write the following day’s newsletter.
If Axios might be open to working with students in some capacity, I think that could be cool.
Writer offers ‘beginners guide to becoming a Colorado citizen journalist’
Recent controversy surrounding the anonymous social media account DoBetterDNVR has more people talking about “citizen journalism” these days.
For a recap on DoBetterDNVR, scroll down here and here in recent editions of this newsletter.
Last month, I helped organize a panel discussion at the Denver Press Club about citizen journalism hosted by the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Now, another self-described citizen journalist has offered his own take on how to become one in Colorado.
“The plain unvarnished truth is that being a citizen journalist and setting up an operation like mine is work, plenty of thankless work,” wrote Northeastern Junior College math and physics instructor Cory Gaines of Sterling in the digital outlet Complete Colorado.
Gaines publishes a Substack newsletter called Colorado Accountability Watch that often criticizes local media outlets that he believes are left-leaning or progressive. For a sense of his own orientation, consider a recent lament: “Imagine how our world would look if the media covered taxpayers in the same way as they do tax receivers.”
This week, in a column for Complete Colorado, the news and commentary arm of the nonprofit libertarian-leaning Independence Institute think tank, he offered some pointers for those who might be “frustrated with how their local media operates” and want to “get involved and contribute.”
See if that kind of thing is up your alley here.
9NEWS takeover by FOX31 ‘would be unfortunate,’ former KUSA man says
Gary Shapiro, who spent 50 years in the TV broadcast business and is semi-retired from KUSA 9NEWS in Denver, has added his voice to those concerned about the station’s future.
His comments came in a Q-and-A this week with the Bucket List Community Cafe digital news site in Denver.
They are notable since he still does feature stories and specials for 9NEWS and others at the station have not been publicly outspoken about a merger deal in the works. If it goes through, Nexstar, which owns KDVR FOX31 in Denver, would take over Tegna, which owns KUSA 9NEWS.
“Under current FCC rules, a company cannot usually own more than two top stations in a market,” Shapiro said in the interview. “That will probably change under the Trump FCC. I believe it would be unfortunate if it does, not only for my friends at 9NEWS who could be laid off in consolidation, but also for viewers who deserve diverse, vibrant TV news.”
Here are some more nuggets from the Q-and-A:
“Local news, like other forms of journalism, is under attack by people who aren’t happy with what they see and hear for one reason or another,” he said. “I think it just increases the desire on the part of local journalists to make sure they are factual and trustworthy. I believe it makes them work harder to hold government and businesses accountable and tell stories that affect people’s lives.”
“Finally, how do I feel about the future of local TV? I think it will be around for a long, long time, but maybe not in the same form. People depend on local news for everything from the weather forecast to knowing whether I-70 is shut down again. Local sports are extremely popular in this market.”
“Viewers want information on voting and the candidates. Investigative journalism is the heart and soul of local TV news, and the watchdogs at local stations try and keep people up-to-date when things aren’t what they seem to be.”
We’ll see to what extent more investigative journalism and watchdog reporting happens if indeed FOX31 takes over 9NEWS. Some are not holding their breath.
Read the whole interview with Shapiro here.
🌿 This week’s newsletter is proudly supported by PR firm Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency™, founded by Ricardo Baca (ex-Denver Post, ex-Rocky Mountain News, and current Colorado Public Radio board of directors). We understand journalists because we were journalists — and we’re here to help. Need expert sources or compelling stories? Our diverse client roster includes beloved Colorado institutions (Naropa University and Illegal Pete’s), innovative wellness brands (Boulder County Farmers Markets, Naturally Colorado, Eden Health Club), bold natural products businesses (Wild Zora, Flatiron Food Factory, Flower Union Brands), and other purpose-driven organizations. As creators of the Colorado Journalist Meet-Up and longtime champions of quality journalism, Grasslands recognizes the essential role reporters play in our communities. Our team is ready to connect you with sources, data, and unique perspectives that elevate your reporting.
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More Colorado media odds & ends
🎥 Former New York Times journalist Charles Blow is producing documentary-style videos for Press Forward to help “inspire investment in a local news revival.” One of them focuses on Colorado Media Project, which underwrites this newsletter.
📺 Nexstar chair and CEO Perry Sook “went out of his way to praise President Donald Trump while asking regulators to approve a $6.2 billion deal to buy rival Tegna,” Al Tompkins reported for the Poynter Institute. Nexstar owns FOX31 in Denver, and Tegna owns 9NEWS. “The merger would make Nexstar by far the country’s biggest owner of local TV stations and would require the government to relax long-standing rules limiting station ownership.”
🎂 Colorado Public Radio said this week it is “celebrating a major milestone for one of its most recognizable voices.” Ryan Warner, the senior host of the daily news show Colorado Matters, “has been delivering reliable and relatable Colorado news to listeners across the state for 20 years.”
📰 “Here in Colorado, I remain a supporter of the Aurora Sentinel, and I’m encouraged by the strong reporting coming from the Colorado Sun,” wrote Democratic State Sen. Tom Sullivan of Aurora in a guest column. “These outlets prove that principled journalism is still alive — though at times hard to find. I encourage you to seek out and support these independent voices. If you follow others you believe are doing meaningful investigative work, I’d love to hear about them.”
🗣 The National Coalition For Dialogue And Deliberation this week co-hosted a webinar titled “Talking Democracy (or Not): How Local Newsrooms Choose Their Words” with Martin Carcasson, director of Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation and former NCDD Board Chair. “Held just over a week after Election Day, this timely session brought together journalists and dialogue practitioners to explore how language shapes the public’s relationship with local news and civic life,” the NCDD wrote.
🪦 Sandy Lee died at 69 at her home in Windsor last week. “She held a number of journalistic positions involving agriculture, including writer, ad salesperson, and editor, from areas in Minnesota, Colorado, Florida, and New Jersey,” an obituary reads.
💰 The Center for Community News at the University of Vermont, where I’m doing some research consulting, is looking for its latest batch of Faculty Champions. Fill out a form here to apply and let’s see Colorado’s journalism faculty represent for another year.
I’m Corey Hutchins, manager of the Colorado College Journalism Institute, advisor to Colorado Media Project, and a board member of the state Society of Professional Journalists chapter. For nearly a decade, I reported on the U.S. local media scene for Columbia Journalism Review, and I’ve been a journalist for longer at multiple news organizations. Most recently, I’ve been contributing to Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab and The Conversation. The nonprofit Colorado Media Project is underwriting this newsletter, and my “Inside the News” column appears at COLab. (If you’d like to underwrite or sponsor this newsletter, hit me up.) Follow me on Bluesky, reply or subscribe to this weekly newsletter here, or e-mail me at CoreyHutchins [at] gmail [dot] com.
Love that the John Oliver story is netting the radio station some dough and it's volunteer some fame!
"Shock me," from my non-duopoly leftist place, that another large librul university is cowards on Palestine.