Nearly $1M flows to Colorado newsrooms from national Press Forward group

The news behind the news in Colorado

Oct 16, 2024

Nine local news outlets across Colorado will each haul in $100,000 from the national Press Forward fundraising campaign that seeks to bolster the state of local journalism.

The outlets are:

The Alamosa Citizen, Asian Avenue Magazine, Aurora Sentinel, El Comercio de Colorado, KVNF in the North Fork Valley, the Ouray County Plaindealer, the San Miguel Basin Forum, the Sopris Sun in Carbondale, and the World Journal in Walsenburg.

For local newsrooms operating on shoestring budgets, such an infusion is likely to ease some anxieties, at least in the short term.

Earlier this year, a report from the Colorado News Collaborative found funding for newsrooms here is not secure, burnout and shortages are affecting staff, and keeping up with journalistic best practices while maintaining quality is a struggle.

A $100,000 check is nothing to sneeze at.

“The grant recipients are a bright mosaic of independent, non-partisan sources reimagining what local news looks like across America,” Press Forward said in a statement.

Press Forward’s announcement noted that 40% of grantees across the nation are “headed by Black, Indigenous and other leaders of color.”

Meanwhile, the national group pointed out that 25% of recipients are “serving rural communities, including: The Ouray County Plaindealer in Colorado, where a husband-and-wife team covers an area of 5,000 people. Their reporting on the local sheriff’s office led to 93% of voters recalling him from office.”

Colorado’s nine recipients — notably, they are a mix of for-profits and nonprofits alike — are part of a larger cohort of 205 newsrooms across the country that attracted $20 million from Press Forward in this round of local news funding. The group reviewed nearly 1,000 proposals from U.S. newsrooms that have annual budgets of less than $1 million.

Press Forward, led by the MacArthur Foundation and a network of roughly two dozen big-money organizations, launched last fall. Together the groups want to raise $1 billion over the next few years to “catalyze a local news renaissance.”

This February, Colorado established its own state chapter of Press Forward with Colorado Media Project, which underwrites this newsletter, taking the lead.

At the time, CMP stated three organizations had made or planned to make financial commitments to help fuel CMP’s next phase. They are: Colorado Health Foundation, to the tune of $900,000, Gates Family Foundation for $900,000, and Democracy Fund for $800,000.

As for the Colorado beneficiaries of Press Forward’s inaugural funding round, some of those that made the cut issued statements about what they plan to do with the money or responded to questions about it.

Regan Tuttle, a local journalist who bought the San Miguel Basin Forum newspaper last year, said over email that she is “overwhelmed with gratitude,” and that the money will help with payroll, building repairs, and sustainability.

“Many of us editors/owners are not paying ourselves or doing so regularly,” she said. “For me, it’s helping us stay paid for a year, but finish the apartment in the back of the news building. A month ago, I almost sold our building. Now, we’re going to keep it, plus offer a long-term apartment for a local and use savings for payroll and other needs.”

Also on the Western Slope, KVNF was one of the 7% of community radio stations to win a grant, said General Manager Ashley Krest.

The money will help maintain “our news and public affairs programing which is currently a four day per week Regional Newscast, a set of public affairs shows, from a 45 years strong community radio station that covers 10,000 square miles and has multiple platforms that [it] distributes content on as a vital public service for the rural areas we serve,” she said.

She added that the funds will allow KVNF to expand local news coverage, serve underrepresented populations, enhance community engagement, and build momentum for the station.

Writing for the Alamosa Citizen digital site in the San Luis Valley, MaryAnne Talbott, CEO of Zepol Media Partners, LLC, said the funds will help grow the business.

“This important support from Press Forward and the Miami Foundation gives us additional time to develop a sustainable business model,” she said.

“We are honored and humbled by the Press Forward grant designation,” said Sentinel Editor and Publisher Dave Perry in a column about the grant. “We’re anxious to bring more reporting resources on board to continue our mission of providing trusted, fact-driven journalism for and about Aurora to everyone, without restrictions or paywalls.”

Erin McIntyre, co-publisher of the Plaindealer, said via text message she and husband Mike Wiggins will use the money to “keep publishing high quality journalism.” (They were scrambling to put out this week’s newspaper on Wednesday when the news became public.)

“This recognition reinforces our commitment to producing high-quality content that reflects the needs of our communities,” Jesús Sánchez Meleán, editor and publisher of El Comercio de Colorado, said via email. “We will continue expanding our coverage in print and digital editions, with bilingual content, to serve Colorado’s culturally Hispanic population.”

He added that the plan his organization will implement includes reaching new urban areas in the north and south of Colorado.

“We are particularly focused on producing content for rural populations that are difficult to reach, and on providing relevant information for migrants who arrive in the state and need access to news in Spanish,” he said.

“These newsrooms are proof that we are seeing a moment of transformation, where new and longstanding leaders are stepping up to create a new story for local news,” Dale R. Anglin, Press Forward’s director, said in a statement.

“Each of these newsrooms plays a vital public service role in its community — providing trustworthy local news and information in places where no other sources may exist,” Anglin added. “Independent newsrooms need community support to survive. We hope that more people will subscribe and donate to them.”

As the advertising model for local news has collapsed, siphoned off by large tech companies, philanthropic funding has moved in to fill gaps and support sustainability.

Some might be skeptical about that.

Colorado journalist Kevin J. Jones, who has served as a senior staff writer for Catholic News Agency, has said “as someone who has dived into some of these grantmakers’ priorities, I’ll have questions about how they influence coverage in the media ecosystem.”

It’s always prudent for people to take into consideration who is funding news and information they consume, including what you read here.

In 2022, when Corona Insights surveyed Coloradans about how they wanted to see state and local news funded, 18% said “funded through philanthropic and community organizations” while 36% said “funded through advertising.” Moreover, 16% said news “should be free to access and funded by the government.”

Notably, researchers also found Coloradans of color, Spanish speakers, and younger residents “were all less likely than others to rank the advertising model first” and were “all more likely to rank the government funded model first.”

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A Colorado televangelist was the target of a ‘fake death story’

Last year, this newsletter reported on a creepy new phenomenon of fake obituary sites and how a handful of them inaccurately reported the death of a prominent Colorado journalist.

This week, a televangelist from Woodland Park found himself on the receiving end of some phony news — though of a different and seemingly more deliberate kind.

From reporter Debbie Kelley at the Gazette in Colorado Springs:

Prominent Christian televangelist Andrew Wommack, whose ministry is based in Woodland Park, was the victim of a false report by an online media outlet called newsstation2.com.
Released online on Wednesday, the article claimed that a plane crash on Oct. 8 had killed Wommack, founder and president of Andrew Wommack Ministries, the 30-year-old Charis Bible College and the Truth and Liberty Coalition.
“No aspect of the story is accurate,” says a statement Andrew Wommack Ministries issued. “Andrew Wommack was not in an aircraft accident and is completely safe,” the ministry spokesperson said. “We will not speculate as to the motivation of this false report.”

Wommack and his Charis Bible College were last year the subject of a multi-part reporting investigation by writer Logan M. Davis of the progressive nonprofit Colorado Times Recorder site.

National report: Colorado’s local news scene has ‘strong support networks’

A national firm that evaluates the impact of initiatives this week published a major report about 10 local media ecosystems, including Colorado.

Impact Architect’s chapter on Colorado of the full 280-page report, titled “Democracy in Local News & Information Ecosystems,” offers a deep dive into our state’s media landscape. The findings drew on “quantitative data and information gathered through interviews and primary research.” (I gave a phone interview to a researcher, and the report cites this newsletter’s reporting several times.)

This is from the summary of the part about Colorado:

Colorado’s local news ecosystem is characterized by statewide connection across a variety of organization types and strong support networks.
It is home to nonprofit and public media organizations that aim to serve the entire state, and news organizations themselves share resources and services, indicating a high level of collaboration among Colorado media. Despite this strong support, newsrooms face capacity and staffing challenges that put the information needs of communities, especially those outside of the Denver metro area, at risk. In particular, the relatively sparsely populated areas in the Rocky Mountain region and the Eastern Plains would benefit from greater connection and mutual support.

Here are some nuggets from the full 23-page section on Colorado:

“Philanthropic investment in local news in Colorado is quite high, with the per capita investment from 2020 through 2022 being $3.05, the highest among the ecosystems analyzed in this study.”
“Colorado is home to a handful of left and right leaning partisan outlets, although it does not appear to be a defining characteristic of the ecosystem. Partisan journalism has commingled with key elements of journalism in the state.”
“Colorado could be a good candidate for a Documenters program — a program that trains and pays residents to attend and summarize public meetings for community consumption.” (“A local community journalism program similar to City Bureau’s Documenters Network, which trains and pays residents to attend and write about public meetings, operated for about a year but appears to have flagged.”)
Colorado Media Project, which underwrites this newsletter, is “currently considering how its support of public media and other organizations, such as Rocky Mountain Community Radio, can be used to strengthen the ecosystem as a whole through shared services and capacity building. This would be particularly needed for getting resources to places outside of Denver, particularly small towns in the Rockies and the less wealthy counties in the Eastern Plains and southern Colorado.”
The Citizens Project in Colorado Springs produces a voter guide “in response to the closing of Colorado Springs’ long-standing alt weekly in 2023, which previously provided a means for freely distributing such information.”
“Colorado newsrooms are successful at generating small donations.”
“Melissa Milios Davis, former Director of the Colorado Media Project, states that in response to the calls to action, CMP has made 73 Advancing Equity grants totaling $998,090 to strengthen service to Colorado’s communities of color, non-English speaking residents, and rural residents.”
“Anecdotally, stakeholders said that newsrooms in Colorado are not as diverse as they should be. The little public information available about the actual breakdown compared to the population appears to support that position.”

The report also includes a brief case study of the nonprofit El Sol de Valle newspaper in the Roaring Fork Valley.

The other states explored in the full report are Arizona, Chicago, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington, D.C.

Read the whole thing here.

Kyle Clark in the belly of the beast: ‘Stop by and say hello’

Last Friday, 9NEWS ‘Next’ anchor Kyle Clark, someone not well-liked by some conservatives in Colorado, announced he would be reporting from the Donald Trump rally at the Gaylord Hotel in Aurora.

“Please stop by and say hello,” he told some of his online trolls prior to the event, including one who said he was working on his “Kyle Clark banner” for the rally.

Once there, Clark encountered some of his critics who photographed and video recorded their interactions with him.

“Heard a wide variety of shouted insults today, and ‘gay’ figured prominently in a lot of them,” he said afterward. “I didn’t realize people used ‘gay’ as an insult in the year 2024.”

It probably didn’t help that Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert at one point said from the stage, “In Colorado we don’t need Kyle Clark and 9NEWS to tell us what’s happening in our own backyard.”

Following the rally, the news anchor who is known for the witty way he handles critics on social media, responded to those who shared photos of him along with their own commentary about what had transpired when their worlds collided.

Here’s a sample:

Twitter user Shiba Lover: [With photo] “At the Trump rally yesterday in Aurora, Colorado, and that lying sack of shit Kyle Clark was standing extremely close to me and I heckled his pathetic ass until he left!”

Clark’s response: “Hello, anonymous friend. I’m sorry we didn’t have the chance to have a conversation. Feel free to come up and introduce yourself next time. Hope you enjoyed the rally!”
Twitter user Never Surrender National: [With photo] “We had words today! He tried to shake my hand. I replied "no we're not doing that." Then I let him have it! He's actually worse in person!”
Clark’s response: “Great meeting you! You’re right. I did try to shake your hand. It’s how I was raised. I appreciated our direct conversation and I look forward to the next one. Maybe a handshake that time! Hope you enjoyed the rally today!”
Roger D. Hudson: [With photo] “Wouldn’t call this a friendly space for @9NEWS anchor Kyle Clark… The often Republican foil has been called out from the stage TWICE (so far) — uncomfortable for most but seemingly enjoyable for Clark. #Aurora @realDonaldTrump”
Clark’s response: “Met lots of friendly people yesterday. You’re always welcome to take a photo from a distance, Roger, but next time come up for a handshake and a hello! It would be good to see you again. Hope you enjoyed the rally!”
Anthony Chavez: [With video] “BREAKING: Kyle Clark gets roasted finally for being a propaganda artist! @9NEWS @nexton9news” (Editor’s note: You might want to click, but it’s not really worth it in my opinion; no real roasting.)
Clark’s response: “Nice meeting you yesterday, Anthony. You’re clearly a passionate advocate on a variety of issues. Feel free to send me that documentation you mentioned. Hope you enjoyed the rally!”

Clark will be speaking on Oct. 22 at the University of Denver about democracy and the media.

A new AI tool that turned this newsletter into a podcast really surprised me

Last month, Google unveiled a new tool for its NotebookLM artificial intelligence program that can turn documents into “engaging discussions with one click.”

Colorado Press Association CEO Tim Regan-Porter tipped me off to the tool about a week ago, and after playing around with it I found it one of the most surprising AI developments I’ve encountered.

Here’s how Google describes the feature, called Audio Overview:

With one click, two AI hosts start up a lively “deep dive” discussion based on your sources. They summarize your material, make connections between topics, and banter back and forth. You can even download the conversation and take it on the go.

To experiment with it, I gave the Audio Overview a link to last week’s newsletter. Within minutes, out popped a 12-minute podcast.

What’s remarkable is that it’s not just a recap. Two hosts, sounding like a man and a woman, clearly used the newsletter as a starting point, but also went beyond — way beyond — what I’d written to discuss the individual items in it. It seemed clear to me the research for the discussion also went outside the text I had provided as if it were reaching out into the broader internet. (My sense is it might have crawled for content all of the hyperlinks I used in the newsletter.)

The banter sounded authentic.

Here’s an excerpt of the two unnamed hosts discussing my item about journalist Pam Zubeck’s new column in which she throws out questions she’d like to see local reporters answer.

Female host: Do you think a model like this could work in a bigger, more fast-paced news environment, though?
Male host: Hmm, that’s definitely interesting. Zubeck’s approach sounds like a good fit for a small publication like the Pikes Peak Bulletin, a publication that’s really connected to its community.
Female host. Hmm.
Male host: Not sure it would have the same impact in a huge city newspaper. Could easily get lost in the shuffle.

That’s not something I explored in the item about Zubeck’s column. The AI tool developed its own opinion about it. The hosts also riffed on the idea of independent journalistic newsletters like the one you’re reading — something else I didn’t note in last week’s edition and the hosts decided to get into on their own.

“It’s a chance to get news and perspectives [readers] connect with, often from writers they trust,” one host said about newsletters. “And on the flip side, for journalists, it gives them a level of independence and creative control that you don’t always get in a traditional newsroom setting.” (Editor’s note: Hear, hear!)

“Pretty wild,” said one Colorado journalist when I posted the audio and asked for takeaways on LinkedIn. “That’s striking,” said a Colorado College journalism student. “This is remarkable,” said an open-government advocate. “I’ve heard this was coming but wow,” said a former alt-weekly journalist.

If you want to listen to this specific AI-generated “podcast” and see if we’re exaggerating, check it out for yourself here. Tell me what you think.

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More Colorado media odds & ends

🛩 This newsletter is in travel mode, so content might be lighter than usual and I might not be as quick to respond to emails, voicemails, or DMs.

🆕 Michael de Yoanna, who the nonprofit Colorado Community Media recently laid off amid a restructuring, has become the managing editor of the Mountain West News Bureau. “Our mission is to tell stories about the people, places and issues across the Mountain West,” he said on LinkedIn. “We explore topics such as land and water management, the growth of its cities, Western culture and heritage, rural-urban divides, and the impact of climate, especially on tribal communities.”

🗞 The Sentinel newspaper in Grand Junction “has arrived at a necessary modification,” Managing Editor Dale Shrull wrote this week. “Today is the first day of our two-print day schedule for the week. Wednesdays and Saturdays will be the print days moving forward. It’s not what we want, but it’s a necessary move.”

🗳 Colorado Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold this week reminded voters to rely on “trusted sources” in the lead-up to the Nov. 5 presidential election as ballots begin to go out in the mail. “As the election nears, Colorado voters should be aware of disinformation related to elections such as scams perpetrated online, via email, robocall, and text message – including with artificially generated media such as ‘deepfakes,’ read a release from her office. Among other things, she urged Coloradans to “Seek information from trustworthy and reputable media and social media sources, considering the author and their intent.”

📰 Gus Richardson wrote a first-person column for the nonprofit newspaper in Carbondale headlined “The Sopris Sun and me.”

🇻🇪 “Media and government officials are downplaying the impact of Venezuelan gangs in Aurora, Colorado, says one woman who moved out of her apartment earlier this year due to increasing violence,” reported Hannah Ray Lambert for Fox News Digital.

☄️ Colorado photographers captured “dramatic images” of a once-in-80,000-years comet, Logan Smith reported for CBS Colorado.

I’m Corey Hutchins, manager of the Colorado College Journalism Institute and a board member of the state Society of Professional Journalists chapter. For nearly 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. Colorado Media Project is underwriting this newsletter, and my “Inside the News” column appears at COLab, both of which I sometimes write about here. (If you’d like to underwrite or sponsor this newsletter hit me up.) Reply or subscribe to this weekly newsletter here, or e-mail me at CoreyHutchins [at] gmail [dot] com.

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