June 3, 2021
12-1 pm Mountain Time
Free webinar
After years of shedding reporters and newsrooms, Colorado is home to a new experiment in sustainable journalism. In early May, the National Trust for Local News announced it was acquiring Colorado Community Media, a network of 24 newspapers in the Denver Metro area, via the Colorado News Conservancy, a new public benefit corporation. The Colorado News Conservancy is to be majority owned by the journalist-owned, online-only Colorado Sun. The deal was financed through impact investment funding from FJC, the Gates Family Foundation, the Colorado Trust, and the American Journalism Project, in a first-of-its kind model.
What does this mean for people who rely on Colorado Community Media? How will this relationship change the news ecosystem in Colorado, and what consequences could it have for local media nationally? We will hear from leading people behind this deal about how it works and what they hope it will produce.
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Melissa Milios Davis (Gates Family Foundation)
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Lillian Ruiz (National Trust for Local News)
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Larry Ryckman (Colorado Sun)
Related readings
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Larry Ryckman, "Colorado Sun with National Trust purchases 24 Front Range newspapers," Colorado Sun (May 3, 2021)
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Melissa Milios Davis, "Why a new chapter for 24 community newspapers matters for Colorado — and the nation," Colorado Media Project (May 3, 2021)
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Corey Hutchins, "A new newspaper ownership model emerges in Colorado. Here's what that means," Colorado Local News & Media (May 4, 2021)
Hosted by the Media Enterprise Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder.