Introduction

A free and independent press was so fundamental to the founding vision of democratic engagement and government accountability in the United States that it is called out in the First Amendment to the Constitution alongside individual freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly. Yet today, local newsrooms and their ability to fulfill that lofty responsibility have never been more imperiled. At the very moment when most Americans feel overwhelmed and polarized by a barrage of national news, sensationalism, and social media, Colorado’s local news outlets — which are still overwhelmingly trusted and respected by local residents — are losing the battle for the public’s attention, time, and discretionary dollars.

What do Colorado communities lose when independent local newsrooms shutter, cut staff, merge, or sell to national chains or investors? Why should concerned citizens and residents, as well as state and local officials, care about what’s happening in Colorado’s local journalism industry? What new models might transform and sustain the most vital functions of a free and independent Fourth Estate: to inform, equip, and engage communities in making democratic decisions?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

— First Amendment, U.S. Constitution

Since the summer of 2018, the Colorado Media Project has been working with a broad-based coalition of civic leaders, students, academics, philanthropists, journalists, business leaders, librarians, technologists, and other engaged local residents to study the market forces behind the decline in local news; to understand new opportunities and threats introduced by technology and social platforms; to survey Coloradans on their news and information interests, needs, and habits; and to prototype and test new ways to engage a broader range of residents in the future of local news and civic information. Our research and current activities are online at coloradomediaproject.com.

One thing is clear: Colorado communities suffer when they lose access to trustworthy, nonpartisan local news. New ideas, new approaches, and new products and services are desperately needed to ensure the reimagining and very survival of high-quality journalism in Colorado, especially in underserved communities. Indeed, Colorado already has promising entrepreneurial efforts by existing news organizations and digital native upstarts that are injecting a spirit of innovation that can serve as an example to the nation.

We can see a bright future if we take collective action. The harm could be catastrophic if we don’t. We are at a crucial moment, a time of transition, and lack of action could lead to an increasingly polarized, polluted, and
weakened information environment that is harmful to our democracy. We believe the answer must involve all of us — and that both public and private institutions as well as individuals in our state have a crucial role to play.

With this white paper, we hope to spark conversations at all levels on the proposition: Free and independent local news is a public good that is vital to democracy, and all Coloradans, including community leaders, should seriously consider public support as one of the necessary vehicles to sustain and evolve local public-service journalism.

We will present current local, national, and international research and existing models that have led us to draw these conclusions. And we will share five ideas for reshaping the future of journalism in our state by bringing newsrooms and communities closer together:

1. Empower local communities and voters to raise local revenues to meet public information needs. Colorado could set the stage for local communities to raise public support for local news by developing a framework that maximizes community participation, protects freedom of speech, ensures inclusivity, and prevents direct and indirect influence from any governmental body, department, or official as well as private individuals and businesses.
2. Create and fund a state-level, public-private partnership to stimulate local media innovation and prioritize the needs of underserved rural, low-income, and racial and ethnic communities. Colorado could join 35 other U.S. states and many democratic nations in providing public support for independent, public-service journalism and civic engagement initiatives. Goals could 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, especially in news deserts.
3. Develop programs to help local media businesses increase sustainability and/or transition to mission-driven models. Colorado’s existing small business and rural assistance programs could be tailored to help local media owners access technical or business expertise and/or transition to employee ownership, public benefit corporations, or nonprofit organizations. The state could provide tax incentives for owners who donate community news assets and seed philanthropic trusts to meet local civic information needs.
4. Increase support for public libraries and higher education to help meet community news and information needs. These existing institutions are well-positioned to play new roles to sustain the 21st century public square, particularly in news deserts, where no independent local media exists.
5. Modernize the ways state and local entities make government data accessible to citizens and the media. State and local governments should adopt the policy that the default for data about and generated by government should be open — not closed — and provide it in an affordable, standard format that most media outlets and individuals can use.

Note that none of these ideas is meant to suggest that public funding should fully subsidize local news. We strongly believe that cultivating a diversified blend of funding streams — such as individual subscriptions or memberships, local advertising or sponsorships, major donor contributions, foundation grants, and revenue from events, products, or services — is the most reliable way to ensure the continued sustainability and independence of local media. Public funding can augment these streams by stimulating innovation and ensuring that every Coloradan has access to trustworthy local news that holds the powerful to account, connects communities, and equips the public to take on important issues facing our state.

Free and independent local news is a public good that is vital to democracy, and all Coloradans, including community leaders, should seriously consider public support as one of the necessary vehicles to sustain and evolve local public-service journalism.

We call on communities and leaders across Colorado to take bold action. Some of the ideas we offer can be advanced by redirecting existing funds at the state or local levels or by emphasizing new roles for existing institutions. Some would rely on funding approved at the local level. All of these public
sources could be leveraged to attract private funds.

We also join with others across the country and worldwide who are calling on tech platforms to do more to address their role in the decline of civil discourse and trust that now defines the 21st century public commons. New taxes levied on digital advertising could fuel high-quality journalism and fundamentally transform local news for the future. Ideally, such taxes would be introduced at the federal level; however, states can take the lead in setting this agenda. Extending Colorado’s 2.9% state sales tax to digital ads that are targeted at Coloradans would modernize the state’s sales tax system by tying it more closely to the growth in digital services while generating additional revenue to address the consequences these changes have had on local civic information and trustworthy local journalism.

Extending Colorado’s 2.9% state sales tax to digital ads that are targeted at Coloradans would modernize the state’s sales tax system by tying it more closely to the growth in digital services, while generating additional revenue to address the consequences these changes have had on local civic information and trustworthy local journalism.

“A democracy is a government of the people. People are the ultimate source of power and authority,” former Denver Post editorial page editor Chuck Plunkett recently told the audience at TEDxMileHigh. “A great local
newsroom acts like a mirror. Its journalists see the community and reflect it back. That information is empowering — seeing, knowing, understanding — and this is how good decisions are made.”

We hope that the ideas contained in this paper inspire more Coloradans to envision what’s possible for local news and civic engagement in the 21st century. We invite you to join the Colorado Media Project as we begin the
discussion online at https://www.coloradomediaproject.com/public-good and in the coming year as we co-host conversations in collaboration with local communities across the state.