The Water Desk
The Colorado River near Moab, Utah. Photo: Ted Wood/The Water Desk.
The Water Desk’s mission is to increase the volume, depth and impact of journalism connected to Western water issues.
Visit waterdesk.org to learn more about the initiative, read stories, and access helpful resources, such as photos, videos and explainers on Western water issues.
Based at the Center for Environmental Journalism, The Water Desk works with journalists and news outlets to strengthen their water-related coverage and expand its impact. This collaborative enterprise also produces original content, helps train the next generation of water journalists, engages with the community and pursues innovative approaches to storytelling.
The Water Desk strengthens water journalism in a variety of ways, including:
- Support for journalists: Through our network, The Water Desk provides funding, training and other resources to journalists and news outlets that cover Western water issues.
- Original content: The Water Desk produces its own journalism and offers free multimedia content, data visualizations and background resources.
- Education and community engagement: The Water Desk works with CU students and others beyond the campus to advance learning and to engage the community on Western water issues.
The Water Desk works across platforms and has supported journalism in newspapers, magazines, websites, radio, podcasts, television and video.
The Water Desk launched in April 2019 with support from the Walton Family Foundation. We are seeking additional funding to build and sustain the initiative. Learn more about our funding on this page.
As an independent journalism program, The Water Desk maintains a strict editorial firewall between its content and funders. Likewise, The Water Desk has editorial independence from the University of Colorado.
The Water Desk is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News and abides by the norms outlined in the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive updates on our program.
Learn more about our program on our FAQ page.
See bios and contact information for co-directors Luke Runyon and Mitch Tobin on this page.
Have a question or suggestion? Please email us at waterdesk@colorado.edu
The Rio Grande Gorge near Taos, New Mexico. Photo: Mitch Tobin/The Water Desk.