🦃 🥃 Colorado media odds & ends - Holiday hangover edition
The news behind the news in Colorado
🥧 This week’s newsletter was produced in holiday travel mode, so it’s in roundup form. Hopefully, it complements your hangover or food coma. Happy holidays and safe travels.
📡 “Across Colorado, public media stations hang on,” Kyle Cooke reported for Rocky Mountain PBS. The outlet has created an interactive map of its recent coverage about public media in Colorado and the impacts of Republican funding cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
💨 The Denver Post has stopped delivering the newspaper to Durango, according to a note at one of its former drop-off locations. One Four Corners source said the Sunday print copy was $5.50 and wondered if it was becoming too much for some people.
📺 Last week’s newsletter about Colorado’s influence on the season finale of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO with John Oliver got plenty of attention. And it turns out the Colorado connection goes even deeper. Public Media Bridge Fund, the organization Oliver’s team is using to raise money for public media through an auction at the end of his segment, is a philanthropic initiative operated by the Colorado-based nonprofit Public Media Company.
😬 A Colorado “MAGA podcaster” named Joe Oltmann has “called for the execution of several Colorado Democrats by name,” 9NEWS anchor Kyle Clark reported this week. “I think all of these people should be tried for treason and hung,” the podcaster said. “I think Jared Polis should be hung. I think Jena Griswold should be hung. I think Phil Weiser should be hung. I think they should hang by their neck until dead.” The comments came as Republican President Donald Trump is pressuring Gov. Polis to release to federal custody former Mesa County election clerk Tina Peters. The Oltmann ally is currently serving time in the state pen for what the Associated Press called “a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.”
🦠 John Moore of the Denver Gazette reported that things posted on Facebook that read “breaking news,” including about some Coloradans, are not always real. “Fake news made up by fake Facebook pages with one insidious goal in mind: To draw you and millions of other gullibles into spending more time actively engaging on Meta’s social platforms,” he reported. “It’s a toxic social-media phenomenon — and it’s working. Every one of those absurd Facebook posts has drawn hundreds or even thousands of likes, shares and comments from fooled users.”
🤐 When federal officials held what they called a “press conference” to talk about a fentanyl seizure in Colorado but then refused to take questions, 9NEWS journalist Jeremy Jojola called them out. “They called the local press downtown, they made this big announcement, and at the very end they just marched out of the room as if they expected all of us just to parrot everything that they said,” Jojola posted on social media. “I pushed back against their spokesperson.” While he acknowledged some people might not like his take, he explained, “I am not a government mouthpiece. … the U.S. attorney’s office and the DEA agents here all have badges and guns, and they should be able to handle questions from a guy who carries a notepad.”
🎙 Todd Landfried of The Local, which aims to reinvent local TV news and has chosen Colorado for its pilot, spoke this week with Northeastern journalism professor Dan Kennedy and longtime Boston Globe journalist Ellen Clegg for their “What Works” podcast. “Landfried’s idea, called The Local, is to develop statewide newscasts in Colorado, and eventually in all 50 states, that would be carried on the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube,” they wrote.
➡️ 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. ⬅️
💨 This week was Matt Schubert’s last as sports editor of the Denver Post. “It’s difficult to describe how difficult it is to leave such a talented and dedicated newsroom filled with smart, passionate journalists,” he said. He called the job “one of the great honors of my career” in a social media thread.
👏 Two Coloradans have been chosen as part of the Poynter Institute’s “32 journalists selected for final Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders cohort of 2025.” They are Scott Doane, executive producer of KDVR in Denver, and Eli Klyde, a journalism professor from the University of Northern Colorado.
👀 The editorial board of the Criterion student newspaper at Mesa University on the Western Slope harshly criticized a $50,000 new documentary about the school in an editorial. “Perhaps it doesn’t fit the branding to acknowledge that Mesa has become a degree factory for rich kids from Denver whose parents are looking to save a buck,” it read. “From the story told in the documentary, the school’s history cares more about appearing to struggle in the face of adversity while selling degrees to anyone that can sign the dotted line.”
📭 The owners of the Ouray County Plaindealer said they learned that most of the newspapers for Ridgway P.O. boxes and most of another route had not been delivered this week. “It’s not clear what happened to the papers after they were taken to the Ridgway Post Office,” co-owner Erin McIntyre wrote on Facebook. “What is clear to me is that the level of service at the Ridgway Post Office has declined terribly, we have no control over this and we miss the former workers who retired, who cared about service. We also need people to read the e-edition they already get when they subscribe.”
💰 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting this week announced an additional $507,000 investment in the Mountain West News Bureau, “extending the regional journalism collaboration through June 30, 2028, and enabling the addition of a new digital editor to strengthen its multi-platform reporting. This brings CPB’s total support for the project to more than $1 million.”
🎥 A new documentary “Truth Be Told” aired earlier this month that follows multiple Colorado journalists as they produce their work for a newspaper, a digital site, on the radio, and on local TV.
🗳 The Rocky Mountain Voice, a conservative media outlet run by Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl, posted an item about campaign finance complaints filed against three top Democratic statewide office holders. “Yet again, not a single newsroom outside RMV has touched it,” RMV wrote in a Nov. 23 newsletter. Marianne Goodland of Colorado Politics had a story up about it later in which she reported: “Using artificial intelligence as [an] analytical tool, a resident of Longmont has filed complaints against two prominent Colorado Democrats, alleging multiple campaign finance violations.”
📲 An “influencer” asked for up to $2,000 to promote a Colorado politician on Instagram. Then this happened.
➡️ As a board member of the Society of Professional Journalists Colorado Pro chapter, I’d like to invite you to join the nation’s foremost organization for journalists. SPJ is a fierce national advocate for First Amendment rights, journalistic ethics, and other values important to a free and vital press. The Colorado Pro chapter offers professional training programs and events, including the four-state Top of the Rockies competition, the region’s broadest platform for honoring journalism excellence. Each year, the chapter provides thousands of dollars in scholarships to the young journalists of tomorrow. At a time when journalists are under fire from all sides, joining SPJ is your chance to make a stand for journalism. Learn more about the chapter here. ⬅️
⚙️ Colorado Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for governor, is hiring a press secretary for the campaign. Pay is $4,750 to $5,500 per month.
🏔 Danielle SeeWalker, an artist who won a First Amendment settlement from Vail, is planning a trip to the West Bank to paint a mural, Elaine Tassy reported for Colorado Public Radio. “We’ve handled a lot of First Amendment cases at the ACLU,” her lawyer said. “I can’t say we’ve handled one just like this.”
🍻 The Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains is holding a holiday party on Monday, Dec. 8 at Colorado Tap House in Arvada. “We’ll have a private event space with food, fun, and festivities for SWARMies,” the group writes. “Paid-up SWARM members will also receive complimentary drink tickets, while others can access the cash bar.”
📼 “Discussion that occurred in what the Summit School District said is an unintentionally released executive session recording sparked backlash from the Summit County Education Association,” Kit Geary reported for Summit Daily.
📡 The Colorado Broadcasters Association is hosting an “engaging discussion on the ways in which the Trump Administration is challenging long-established First Amendment norms” on Dec. 9 at noon. Register here for the webinar by Dec. 5.
😮 In a “Look Back” column in Colorado Politics, columnist Rachael Wright wrote about how Republican state treasurer candidate Dick Sargent in part blamed local media for his loss 35 years ago to Gail Schoettler. “Sargent … blamed the state’s daily newspapers: the Rocky Mountain News, the Pueblo Chieftain, and the Denver Post,” she wrote. “Sargent was particularly frustrated by the Post’s Assistant Editorial Page Editor Bob Ewegen, who had interviewed him and then wrote the Post’s endorsement in favor of Schoettler.” Ewegen “‘misconstrued everything I said and printed outright misstatements of truth in the endorsement,’ Sargent told the Colorado Statesman. In response, Ewegen said, ‘I understood Dick perfectly. I just didn’t buy what he was saying.’” Sargent “concluded his remarks to the Statesman, ‘When every newspaper supported only one candidate for state treasurer, that’s got to tell you something.’”
🌿 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.
Have a story you’re working on? Email Ricardo directly: ricardo@mygrasslands.com. Together, we’re crafting better narratives — one story at a time. 🌿
📍 Researchers in neighboring New Mexico have released a project mapping their state’s local news and information ecosystem. Source New Mexico’s Julia Goldberg spoke with New Mexico Local News Fund Executive Director Rashaad Mahmood, who commissioned the work. “While national studies in recent years have taken the measure of local news systems, Mahmood wanted a report that would analyze New Mexico at a more granular level, and specifically highlighted Colorado’s News Mapping Project at the outset as a model,” she wrote.
🎙 The Colorado Matters statewide show on Colorado Public Radio published “Trust Matters: A conversation about record-low levels of trust in the media,” which included a panel discussion among host Ryan Warner, former Denver Post Editor Greg Moore, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition Director Jeff Roberts, and me.
🤦♂️ A social media user with 50,000 followers who goes by the screen name “Forest Mommy” posted false information stating that Jon Caldara, who runs the libertarian-leaning Independence Institute think tank, is on the board of the progressive nonprofit Colorado Times Recorder digital news site. “New to me,” Caldara said. “I guess that’s what AI tells you,” said CTR’s founder, Jason Salzman. “Proof that the AI bubble will burst imminently. I wish it were true bc Jon would bring in much needed money. He drinks bourbon with the big donors while we celebrate the solstice with cheap shrooms and prayers for Soros gold that never arrives.” (Media literacy tip: Check primary sources, like in this case the website of the Colorado Times Recorder, to verify information before sharing it if you worry about earning a reputation for sharing bogus info.)
📺 Friday, Nov. 28 was Chief Meteorologist Matt Meister’s last day at FOX21 in Colorado Springs after 30 years in broadcasting and communications. Colleagues said goodbye to him on the air in a series of video clips. “I feel like I’m at my own funeral,” he said.
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.
Oltmann is an abysmal person