Press Club shuts down in Southern Colorado, citing a ‘decline in participation’
The news behind the news in Colorado
A Colorado journalism support organization in Southern Colorado is closing.
“In recent years, we’ve seen a decline in participation as the media landscape in Pueblo has shifted,” wrote Southern Colorado Press Club Board President Jayson Peters.
While Peters wrote in a recent event program for the group that it would close “for now,” he was less hopeful about the situation in an email.
“There’s a feeling among many veteran members that it may have run its course,” he said.
Notably, the press club is shutting down on its 50th anniversary, which Peters described as a “bittersweet milestone.”
Gregory Howell wrote about the development for the nonprofit Pueblo Star Journal.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Southern Colorado Press Club, long a hub of camaraderie, scholarships, and media mentorship, has officially decided to disband at the conclusion of its 2024–25 term.
Eight local students recently accepted scholarships during a luncheon at a downtown Pueblo restaurant where the press club held its 45th annual Sheepdip Awards.
“Since its inception, the Southern Colorado Press Club has been a pillar of excellence in the fields of PR, Press, and Marketing,” the organization states on its website. “Founded on the principles of community engagement and professional growth, we have continuously evolved to meet the changing needs of our members and the industry.”
Journalists from the major newspaper in the area, the Pueblo Chieftain, haven’t been actively involved since before Peters moved to Pueblo in 2012, he said in an email.
“When I was on the board the first time, and when I was at the Chieftain, I worked hard to refocus its programming more on journalism and was relentless in courting their participation, but it had really shifted to more of a marketing social club,” he said. “It was always a challenge getting TV journos and anyone from the Springs to come down and participate. With all the challenges newsrooms have to navigate, maybe it’s just time to clear the board and let something else emerge, if it can.”
The closure comes as the media scene changes in a part of Colorado that tends to get less attention than Denver, Boulder, and other parts of the Front Range.
Two hours north of Pueblo, the Denver Press Club remains the “oldest press club in the United States,” according to its website.
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Podcast: ‘A postmortem for the Indy.’ But what about the archives?
This week, former employees of the Colorado Springs Independent called on the new owner of the paper’s brand to do whatever he can to preserve its three decades of archives.
Former Editor Matt Schniper, who now runs the “Side Dish” Substack, offered some insight about how hard that might actually be to do.
“I don’t think we will see them come back at this point from conversations I’ve had,” he said. “I’ve been told it would be extremely expensive with uncertain outcome to get them functional again.”
What happened, he said, is that each time the Indy went through a transition — and there were a few — the paper switched internet vendors. The migration, he said, was “botched.” Articles ended up all carrying the same date, photo cutlines disappeared, headlines and subheads got mangled. “It became unreadable to an extent,” he said, “but also most importantly unsearchable.”
That’s really unacceptable.
We’re talking about the civic memory from 30 years of an alt-weekly in the 40th largest city in the United States. And there are likely plenty of fat cats and powerbrokers in the Springs who are just fine with a lot of what the paper reported vanishing into the ether and no longer easily found online.
Former Publisher Carrie Simison said that she had walked through the old Indy building within the past couple of months. (In classic alt-weekly office style, she was there to pick up a kegerator.)
“In the basement are still the physical bound copies of the Independent,” she said. “I don’t know how far back they go.”
On Facebook, former Indy reporter Pam Zubeck recalled some print copies through around 2018 exist at the Pioneers Museum.
“Publications evolve and grow and change and even cease publishing,” said former Editor Kathryn Eastburn in a social media conversation. “But losing the archives? That’s just plain sloppy. And a huge loss.”
I joined the podcast discussion, along with hosts Dave Gardner and Al Brody. The show is called “Loving the Springs” by Studio 809. They’d convened a roundtable of former employees of the Indy to talk about the latest developments involving the publication.
Listen to the whole hourlong conversation here.
‘Stripped for Parts’ film comes to Denver
Filmmaker Rick Goldsmith’s documentary “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink” will have a screening in Denver on June 5, followed by a Q-and-A with some Coloradans featured in it.
Kimberly Spencer, director of the Colorado Media Project, which underwrites this newsletter, will moderate the discussion among the filmmaker, former Denver Post Editor Greg Moore, Colorado Sun reporter Jennifer Brown, and ex-Denver Post Opinion Page Editor Chuck Plunkett.
Here’s how the Sun describes the film in an events listing:
“Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink” is a gripping exposé of how one secretive hedge fund is gutting America’s local newspapers for profit — and the journalists who refuse to let them win. Investigative reporter Julie Reynolds, Denver Post editorialist Chuck Plunkett and a handful of others, backed by the NewsGuild union, go toe-to-toe with the faceless Alden Global Capital in a battle to save and rebuild local journalism across America. This film documents the high stakes battle over who will shape the future of our news: corporate profiteers or those who believe a free, independent press is the backbone of democracy?
Find out more information about the event here and about the film here.
Rick Goldsmith has told this newsletter that much of the action in the film takes place in Colorado.
🔎 Sponsored | Spotlight: Colorado | Colorado Media Project 🔍
Colorado Media Project believes our democracy works best when the public has transparency into powerful institutions. That’s why accountability journalism is so important to our civic infrastructure. We chose to sponsor this section of Corey’s newsletter to showcase some of the important watchdog work Colorado journalists and their news organizations have been producing recently. Corey chose which ones to spotlight.
Recent Colorado accountability coverage:
Denver Post reporter Sam Tabachnik produced a deeply reported (and deeply troubling) investigative story about a 7-year-old boy in a rural community whose “parents used olive brine as punishment” and who, according to the story, “likely died from drinking too much olive brine.” In all, “at least seven separate entities reviewed the case over the past five years, including one outside county investigation that found the parents had committed ‘fatal medical neglect,’” Tabachnik reported. “The local district attorney, however, declined to bring charges.” The “suspicious circumstances surrounding Isaiah Stark’s death and subsequent revelations about the ensuing investigations have prompted serious concern from child welfare workers, who question whether officials in the rural Colorado county adequately and impartially probed the child’s fatality.”
“Private judges hired to handle divorce cases in Colorado suppress them from public view at far greater rates than in cases that rely on district court judges, leaving some legal experts wondering whether affluent clients are simply buying their way into secrecy,” David Migoya reported for the Denver Gazette.
“It currently takes around a year and a half for Colorado to test DNA evidence submitted from rape kits, delaying the finalization of criminal investigations and potential criminal charges,” Bente Birkland reported for Colorado Public Radio. Weeks later, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced it would start publicly tracking its progress to address the rape kit backlog, which had been exacerbated by allegations that a former forensic scientist mishandled DNA evidence. Learn more about “the human toll of Colorado’s sexual assault evidence backlog” at CPR News here.
To submit a local accountability story for consideration in the future, send me an email. If you or your organization would like to sponsor a recurring newsletter section like this, hit me up.
KUNC explains how funding cuts would affect the radio station
As Republican members of Congress consider cutting funding for public media at the behest of President Donald Trump, some outlets are explaining to their audiences what it would mean for them.
This week, KUNC, the public radio station in Northern Colorado, did just that.
For the show “In The NoCo,” journalist Brad Turner spoke with KUNC Chief Audience and Content Officer Mike Arnold about the precarious situation for public media.
Last week, Arnold traveled to Washington, D.C. with nearly 200 other leaders from NPR member stations across the country.
“The mood was actually pretty good and part of it was because we were able to come together and talk about different ways we’re tying to handle this situation,” he said.
KUNC’s operating budget is about $6 million a year, and money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting makes up about 6% or 7% of that, Arnold said.
“It’s still a lot of money, but it’s not going to take us off the air necessarily,” he said.
But that doesn’t include some additional support the CPB provides for like music licensing and certain programming, which could bring the total amount up to 10% to 15%.
“So we would have to make difficult decisions,” he said if the station lost its federal funding. If that happens, Arnold said the station would seek additional support from the community.
Listen to the whole interview 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.
Have a story you’re working on? Email Ricardo directly: ricardo@mygrasslands.com. Together, we’re crafting better narratives — one story at a time. 🌿
More Colorado media odds & ends
✈️ This newsletter is in travel mode, meaning content might be lighter than usual and I might not be as quick to respond to emails, voicemails, or DMs.
💰 Colorado Media Project, which underwrites this newsletter, has announced one of two new 2025 grant opportunities for local Colorado newsrooms. “The 2025 Newsroom Sustainability Grant supports projects that strengthen newsroom financial, staffing, and operational sustainability in Colorado,” the organization wrote. “Applications are open now, and the deadline to apply for this grant is 5 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday, June 30, 2025. CMP will be hosting an information session about this grant opportunity via Zoom on Friday, June 13, 2025, from 10:00-10:45 a.m.”
🎓 Colorado College’s 2025 Commencement Speaker, journalist Mike Shum, spoke about the importance of journalism in this moment. “Shum expressed his excitement about how 15 of the graduates have minors in journalism, something not available to him when he was a student,” Alexa Gromko wrote for CC. “You are graduating at a moment when journalism is under attack,” Shum told the graduates. “Higher education is under attack. The U.S. Constitution is under attack.”
☀️ The Colorado Sun is hiring a chief operating officer it will pay up to $160,000 a year.
🏆 “Colorado collegiate journalists from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver have been honored in the Society of Professional Journalists’ national Mark of Excellence Awards,” wrote the SPJ Colorado Pro chapter, of which I’m a member. “Jack Armstrong, Nicholas Merl, Juanita Hurtado and Ethel Yagudayeva of KVCU Radio 1190 News at CU Boulder won for Best All-Around Radio Newscast. And Charlotte Monroe of DU Media won for Television Feature Reporting for a video essay titled “The nostalgia of friendship.”
❌ Last week’s newsletter misspelled the surname of the former owner of Colorado Community Media. It is Jerry Healey, not Healy.
⛰ Steve Strickbine, the new owner of 21 Denver-area newspapers formerly owned by Colorado Community Media, “whose family roots in Colorado stretch back to the late 1800s, emphasized his personal connection to the state — he owns a home in La Veta – and his passion for telling the stories of local communities and their residents,” one of his papers in Arizona reported.
🗣 Niki Turner, owner of the Rio Blanco Herald Times, called on readers in a recent column to check in on themselves. “Are you OK?” she asked. “If the answer is no, or maybe, or ‘I dunno,’ consider this your permission slip to ask for help.”
🐯 Colorado College student Veronica Violet Bianco is one of 15 college students who will participate in Politico’s 2025 Journalism Institute class.
🔎 A Denver private investigations firm run by a “former reporter” is looking for a private investigator for 10 to 20 hours per week and calling it a “great opportunity to do in-depth investigative work on major cases, some of which are in the media.”
🕹 John Weiss, the founder and former publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent alt-weekly newspaper, is now the new owner of the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade. “While the paper’s future remains uncertain, Weiss’s pivot from journalism to arcade ownership speaks to his ongoing investment in community institutions, albeit in a very different form,” Toni Tresca wrote for Westword.
📻 A Salida High School student who did a journalism internship with Heart of the Rockies Radio “said the hardest part of that internship was overcoming her fear of ‘messing up’ while on air,” wrote Guinnevere Stropes for the Mountain Mail. “But through her internship she learned that it’s normal and all right to make mistakes on air.”
🎓 Grace Brajkovich, the news editor of the Scribe student paper at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, who is graduating, wrote a departing column for the paper. “Now, I have an internship lined up at the Colorado Springs Gazette,” she said. “I know the writing skills I have would not be as developed without my experience here.”
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. 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.