IDEA

Create and fund a state-level, public-private partnership to stimulate local media innovation, develop new business models, and increase the quantity and quality of independent, public service journalism and civic engagement in Colorado communities. This effort should pay special attention to news deserts, including underserved low-income, rural, and racial and ethnic communities. An independent body could award grants directly to Colorado outlets or collaborations that evolve the sector in ways that are 1) more sustainable, 2) more collaborative, and 3) more responsive to the civic news and information needs of Coloradans statewide.

PRECEDENTS: In 2018, a large bipartisan majority in the New Jersey legislature established the NJ Civic Information Consortium, a state-level, independent nonprofit that distributes public funds via grants to a diverse range of independent local news outlets, civic tech projects, and news literacy programs, with a mandate to meet the evolving information needs of New Jersey’s underserved communities. In July 2019, Gov. Phil Murphy approved up to $2 million in funding for the NJ Civic Information Consortium, which is overseen by an independent staff and governing board involving local universities, professional journalists, and others.

It is important to note that currently, Colorado is one of only 15 U.S. states that does not provide state funding to support local independent public media outlets, which together are overwhelmingly America’s most trusted news sources. Of the states that do provide funding for public media, annual allocations average $7.9 million, or $1.75 per adult resident. Many states have set up independent, nonprofit entities with appointed governing boards to oversee distributions to qualified newsrooms. Some grants are formulaic, based on the number of residents the newsroom reaches with its content, and some grants are discretionary, to reach underserved communities, communities of color, or communities hit hardest by the decline of independent local news.

Even with these allocations, government funds are not the primary revenue source for local public media. For every $1 of federal funding via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, local public newsrooms raise more than $6 from other sources, including state and local governments, philanthropic foundations, private businesses, and universities. The diversity of public media revenue streams allows local newsrooms to maintain strong editorial independence, as they are not over-reliant on any one source.

HOW IT COULD WORK IN COLORADO: Public funding for nonpartisan educational public media is commonplace nationwide. Colorado could modernize this concept by following in New Jersey’s footsteps, targeting public funds to stimulate innovation in local media organizations of all types, foster newsroom collaboration in the public interest, and prioritize underserved communities. To galvanize focus on these goals, the legislature could create an initiative within an existing agency such as the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) or the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), or through the creation of a statewide special information district modeled on the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), described above. The new departmental program or special district could develop a competitive grant program, with funding decisions made by an independent panel of judges consisting of community members and industry experts, similar to OEDIT’s Rural Technical Assistance Program or DOLA’s Main Street Program.

Such a program could leverage private funds from local and national philanthropy. In 2018, Colorado’s philanthropicand community leaders created the Colorado Media Project (CMP), dedicated to stimulating research into the issues surrounding the decline in local news and making recommendations for the future. Nearly $2 million in private funds has been raised to date toward the CMP’s objectives to strengthen capacity, collaboration, and community engagement in local news. As examples, a coordinated, public-private local news and innovation partnership could incentivize:

• News collaborations that develop efficiencies and new ways of doing business that prioritize the civic information needs of Colorado communities.
• New business models that diversify funding streams and address the spread of news deserts.
• Production of independent, educational (non-editorialized) coverage of topics critical to Colorado’s future, e.g., education, business, natural resources, etc.
• More coverage in rural news deserts where little or no independent news sources currently exist.
• More coverage of underrepresented communities and more collaboration between non-English or ethnic media and mainstream media.
• Innovations in public engagement that create feedback loops between journalists and communities and help set priorities for local news coverage.
• Training for students, professionals, and other community members — particularly underrepresented groups — in journalism, storytelling, and media production.

Colorado is one of only 15 states that does not provide state funding to support independent public media. Of the states that do, annual allocations average $7.9 million — or $1.75 per adult resident.

CONSIDERATIONS: The specific goals for funding, eligibility of applicants, and makeup of the governing body are areas for further exploration, and the CMP recommends a robust, statewide community engagement process to gather input from local residents.

For any governing body distributing public funds for local civic journalism and local news, these guiding principles should be prioritized:

• Protect freedom and independence of the press: Government officials should play no role in determining which entity receives support, and the governing body should avoid both direct and indirect/undue influence from any governmental body, department, or official; political party; private individual; or business.
• Protect free speech: Governance should maximize community participation and support many voices being heard — especially those from underrepresented communities — and avoid political polarization
• For determining eligibility criteria for outlets and priorities for project funding, we recommend these guidelines:
• Prioritize outlets or projects that produce educational, fact-based, non-editorialized, original reporting on local, regional, and statewide issues of community concern.
• Prioritize outlets or projects that demonstrate a strong level of community commitment, as demonstrated by reinvesting profits in local communities and sustaining a robust workforce of local reporters.
• Prioritize outlets or projects that maintain and enforce strong policies for professional practices, minimizing harm, editorial independence, donor and advertiser transparency, conflict of interest, data collection, and privacy.
• Prioritize projects that benefit the public in four areas:
  — Encourage positive civic engagement.
  — Hold government officials accountable.
• Expand the diversity of opinion available to the public.
  — Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.