Colorado lawmakers want local news outlets to get priority in state advertising spending

The news behind the news in Colorado

The Colorado Capitol around 2016. Photo by the author.

Colorado lawmakers have done what they are constitutionally obligated to do: they passed a balanced state budget.

The roughly $47 billion spending plan came after “months of painful cuts to programs and key services across the government to make up a massive budget shortfall,” Sara Wilson reported for Colorado Newsline.

Notably, part of this budget signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis contains language that could help bolster the local news industry.

A footnote in the now-signed budget reads:

It is the General Assembly’s intent that any agency or department that receives an appropriation for marketing, advertising, or public outreach implement a plan to prioritize expending the appropriated money with Colorado-based members of the media and to ensure that the plan includes specific strategies for prioritizing print, broadcast, and digital news organizations primarily serving Colorado’s local communities.

Colorado Press Association President and CEO Tim Regan-Porter lauded the development.

The language in the footnote matters because “trusted local news outlets remain one of the best ways to reach and inform communities across our state,” he wrote in a statement on LinkedIn. “Strong local journalism helps communities stay connected, engaged and informed.”

He also said it happened because people showed up.

“Thank you,” Regan-Porter said, “to everyone in the broad-based coalition who helped make this possible through planning meetings, coalition discussions, conversations with legislators, outreach, advocacy and showing up for Local News Day at the Capitol.”

Local News Day took place in Colorado in March.

This year, public policy to support local news took root in multiple state legislatures. Channeling state advertising dollars toward local news outlets was one way.

Last month, Maryland became the first state to pass a law requiring state agencies to “direct 50 percent of their advertising budgets to eligible local news outlets and mandate public reporting of their ad spending,” according to the national group Rebuild Local News.

More from RLN:

A comparable measure in New York City – pioneered by the Center for Community Media at CUNY – redirected $72 million to community media over five years. As a result of this groundbreaking work, San Francisco and Chicago have instituted similar set-aside policies.

Rebuild Local News has since helped refine the approach and developed model laws for government advertising set-asides and transparency requirements, which it now advocates for across the country.

The next state to do something similar could be New Jersey. Might Colorado follow, or is this footnote enough? Watch this space.

Elsewhere on the legisaltive front, Jeff Roberts of the Colorado Freedom of Inforamtion Coalition offered an end-of-session wrap-up.

“Efforts to weaken the Colorado Open Records Act and give an open meetings law exemption to the state Public Utilities Commission fell short during the 2026 session of the General Assembly,” he wrote. “State lawmakers also restored access to funeral home inspection reports, addressed the opaqueness of municipal courts and reinforced a requirement that all criminal court proceedings be livestreamed. But they rejected an attempt to increase the transparency of their own legislative caucuses and watered down a bill intended to make sure parolee assessment records remain open for inspection.”

Find out what else lawmakers did here.

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➡️ 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 is working to combat disinformation and misinformation, and helping nonprofits build media literacy.

• ⛰ The Colorado Health Symposium in Keystone is open for registration. You don’t want to miss one of the best events of the year in Colorado.

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. ⬅️

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Did Denver police ‘knowingly’ target journalists during 2020 George Floyd protests?

Denver police have admitted that they “did something wrong” during the George Floyd protests of 2020.

That’s according to local news coverage this week in response to an appeals court’s decision in a lawsuit. The ruling upheld a $14.75 million verdict in favor of George Floyd protesters who sued over claims of police excessive force.

Denver “has admitted its police department violated protesters’ civil rights,” Kyle Harris reported for Denverite.

From his story this week:

The complaint, filed in 2022, names 13 plaintiffs and makes sweeping accusations about police conduct during the protests:

• Denver police knowingly targeted journalists and others recording the Denver Police Department’s violent behavior.

• The department also used an “overwhelming use of force without any reasonable basis” against thousands of people.

• Officers intentionally shot people in the head.

The 13 plaintiffs were “brutalized for their political expression.”

In its own reporting, FOX31 hedged more than Denverite when the TV station broke the news on May 7.

“Denver appears to admit liability in court filing as trial over police actions during George Floyd protests starts Monday,” read the headline of a story by Vicente Arenas.

• A note: Both outlets reported a trial was set to take place this week, beginning Monday, but there has been no local coverage of a trial. The last court filing on the docket available for review through the paid PACER court document service, posted May 8, reads: “Please be advised that the parties, through counsel, have agreed upon terms to settle this matter for all Plaintiffs. Undersigned counsel certifies that he has conferred with counsel for Defendants and that counsel for Defendants has no objection to this Notice. The parties request that the trial set for May 11, 2026 be vacated.”

At issue in the reporting last week was a May 5 pre-trial federal court filing from the City and County of Denver that stated in part that “Denver has conferred with Plaintiffs extensively, and the parties have reached an agreement on Denver’s admission of liability.”

Denver’s “stipulation of liability will save significant time and resources,” the filing stated. “No longer will the jury need to clear their schedules for a three-week trial. The jury will consider evidence of Plaintiffs’ injuries and damages, not of Denver’s liability, which will expedite trial.”

The spring of 2020, in the midst of a destabilizing global pandemic, was already tense when video emerged of a police officer kneeling on the neck of an unarmed Black man in Minneapolis and killing him. Protests exploded.

In cities across the country, police fired projectiles at journalists covering the demonstrations. In plenty of documented cases, cops attacked, gassed, harassed, and arrested members of the press who were reporting. Making for a particularly sick metaphor, one photographer was blinded in the eye from a shot she says came from the direction of a police line.

Journalists in Denver took heavy fire as they covered protests downtown. At the time, this newsletter documented the various ways in which local law enforcement gassed, sprayed, and shot members of the press corps with pepper balls.

This section of the 2022 legal complaint from those who sued the Denver police outlines reports of police attacks on the press in Denver, though none of the ones named are plaintiffs in the case:

Throughout the Denver George Floyd protests, Denver police officers targeted accredited members of the press along with a multitude of individuals seeking to record police conduct. Time after time, they shot at individuals recording, seeking to limit the opportunity for those outside the protests to see their actions. And as we have seen over the past decade, the filming of police officer’s using excessive force has played a critical role in building a movement to stem the worst abuses.

On May 28, 2020, while he was covering the protests at the State Capitol, Hyoung Chang, a credentialed press photographer for The Denver Post, was struck two times by pepper-ball rounds fired by law enforcement personnel. One round cut Chang’s arm. The other shattered his press badge that was hanging around his neck. Mr. Chang was quoted after the event as saying, “If it was one shot, I can say it was an accident. I’m very sure it was the same guy twice. I’m very sure he pointed at me.”

On May 29, 2020, John Cameron attended the George Floyd protests in Denver in order to record footage as a member of the press. When DPD officers noticed him recording, and without warning, officers started firing pepper balls and rubber bullets. He turned and ran and they continued firing at him, hitting him in the back.

On May 29, 2020, at approximately 8:15 p.m., a credentialed cameraman for KMGHTV/Channel 7, was struck four times in the chest by rubber bullets fired by DPD officers. Officers also fired paintballs, hitting the front lens of his conspicuous professional-grade video camera, which was at head level when DPD officers fired on him. 37. On May 30, 2020.

On May 30, 2020, Jeremy Jojola, an on-air correspondent for KUSA-TV/9News was shot with a less-lethal projectile round while standing beside a professional cameraman from that station. The round struck Mr. Jojola’s backpack.

On May 31, 2020, Alex Burness of The Denver Post, was fired upon, without warning, by law enforcement and shot in the head and abdomen with rubber bullets. DPD officers fired at Mr. Burness just after he yelled out “PRESS.” He sustained a contusion on his head and right abdomen.

On May 31, 2020, DPD officers shot at Trevor Hughes face with rubber bullets without warning. Mr. Hughes was photographing and recording the protests near Colfax and Emerson at approximately 8:30 p.m. While recording, with the camera near his face, DPD officers shot Mr. Hughes in the hand with a rubber bullet. The shot broke and severed Mr. Hughes’s right ring finger, leaving it dangling. Mr. Hughes immediately left the protest and went to urgent care. Mr. Hughes had to have his finger surgically repaired.

Colleen Slevin of the Associated Press reported in 2022 that the trial was “believed to be the first for a lawsuit challenging the tactics of police during the protests that erupted across the United States nearly two years ago.” (The report didn’t say who believed it.)

This newsletter reached out to a Denver police spokesperson this week with a request to talk about local media reporting that authorities might have knowingly targeted journalists.

The Denver Police Department “does not comment on open litigation,” spokesman Doug Schepman said in an email. He also passed along a link to a document that laid out changes to policy and practice the department made following the 2020 protests.

One of them is that the department “discontinued” its use of “rubber-ball grenades” during crowd-control operations. Policy also now dictates the “direct-fired applications of pepperball during crowd control situations only in response to circumstances in which a person is displaying active aggression or aggravated active aggression.”

Colorado College students spotlighted in ‘Student Press Report’

If you’ve followed this newsletter long enough, you know the financial realities of local journalism can be a challenge, and the industry is in a constant state of flux.

This week, Colorado College journalism student Sydney McGarr, a student I advise, authored a piece in the Student Press Report about why some higher-ed students are still choosing journalism as a future career.

From the story:

Layoffs ripple through major U.S. newsrooms, local papers shutter at an alarming rate, politicians sharpen their attacks on the press and AI technology threatens to make journalists obsolete.

Yet, 10,073 students graduated with journalism degrees in the U.S. in 2023, according to a report by Data USA. What keeps these graduates motivated?

In this season of graduations, here’s what college journalists from around the country had to say about their career plans and their ideas about the future of the field.

“Democracy needs reporters,” Colorado College student Veronica Bianco, another advisee of mine, told McGarr for the piece. “If we turn away from the profession, the federal government wins and democracy erodes.”

Read what other college journalism students from around the country told McGarr for her story in the Student Press Report at the link above.

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🌿 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

💰 The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley is launching a “new media fellowship supporting high-quality reporting on bridging and belonging in Colorado.” The center “will award up to 15 one-year grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, for a total of up to $150,000, to Colorado-based content producers working across a range of media, including radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, websites, podcasts, and social media. Fellows will join a community of practice which begins with an in-person convening.”

🎒 A journalist at Colorado State University was inspired by a Steve On Your Side investigation into prices at Denver International Airport by Steve Staeger at 9NEWS. So, Lauren Jones did price compaisons for food on campus and off. “Her story, published last month in the Ramspondents newsletter, found restaurants inside the Lory Student Center on CSU’s campus charged the same or less than their comparable locations off campus. The biggest surprise – the Subway on campus was priced about 20% less than at least two off campus locations.”

⚖️ A Denver activist who was sentenced to jail time for violating Colorado’s anti-doxing policy “raises questions about First Amendment rights,” Ava Kian reported for Colorado Public Radio.

💸 There’s a broad movement among policymakers and media advocates across the country “to shine a light on where public ad dollars actually go,” Rebuild Local News reported, adding that “early data from Minnesota and Colorado show that much of that spending flows to Big Tech and out-of-state platforms rather than local news organizations.”

🤞 The MATCH Lab at Colorado News Collaborative has been named a national finalist in the 2026 Next Challenge for Media & Journalism. “This is a big deal,” COLab director Laura Frank said. “The Next Challenge, from American Public Media, is the largest competition open to nonprofit and for-profit media startups in the entire country — and we’re in it! Five finalists. One winner. And we have a shot at $50,000!”

🆕 Kate Kampner is “headed to Vail, Colorado to be a general assignment reporter with Vail Daily,” she said on social media.

🏆 SPJ Colorado Pro’s friends at the Denver Press Club are honoring five media legends “with induction into its Hall of Fame. Tickets are available for two extraordinary evenings this week recognizing five luminaries who have shaped Colorado’s stories.”

🏔 Andrew Maciejewski, the regional team editor of the Colorado mountain newspaper group that includes Summit Daily News and its sister papers, wrote a personal column this week about trust and the media.

🏔 The nonprofit Ark Valley Voice newsroom has struck a unique partnership with the nonprofit Colorado Firecamp for affordable housing in Salida and is looking for an intern to live and report there this summer. Get in touch with founder Jan Wondra if you’re interested or might know of someone who is.

⚙️ Analisa Romano, a senior reporter at the Denver Business Journal since 2022, has left, “and is now freelancing,” Talking Biz News reported. “Romano covered the airport and airlines, economic development, money, health care and other professional services.”

🏆 The Colorado Springs Gazette chose Pine Creek High School valedictorian Emma Luu, a journalist, for its “Best & Brightest.” Luu “has always been fascinated by stories about overlooked moments and lives. In childhood, she lovingly chronicled the lives of the bugs and insects in her family’s garden, beginning a lifelong passion for journalism,” Rachel Wright wrote.

🆕 The Alamosa Citizen is welcoming its fourth cohort of interns to its online newsroom. “We are grateful to the funders of this year’s cohort, including the Robert Hoag Rawlings Foundation,” the outlet stated. “The Rural Journalism Institute of the San Luis Valley is the nonprofit partner of Alamosa Citizen and helps us raise critical dollars to grow a new generation of journalists working in small communities.”

🥊 They’re still trading jabs, folks: A Denver Post headline from January: “Attorney General Phil Weiser, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet trade jabs.” Four months later from the same publication: “Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser trade jabs.”

🆕 Jessica Sachs is joining the Summit Daily News after graduating from the University of Colorado in Boulder. “Since moving to Colorado as a teenager, I’ve made it a point to grab a copy of the Summit Daily’s newspaper every time I found myself in the area,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “I’ve always been so inspired and impressed by the amazing work they put out. It’s so surreal and exciting to know that now I’ll be seeing my byline on those very same pages.”

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 more than a decade, I’ve 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. I also write the twice-monthly Community Newswire newsletter for the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont. 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.