#CannabisJournalism Day Two Recap
Today we visited The Cannabist at the Denver Post, to watch a taping of The Cannabist Show, and speak with Ricardo Baca, the founder and editor-in-chief, and Vincent Chandler the multimedia editor, about the future of The Cannabist, and cannabis legalization in Colorado.
Baca started out as a pop music critic for the post before being given the opportunity to start a new wing of the publication. Baca’s main focus is on providing well rounded information about cannabis, and he wants The Cannabist to become the number one authority on all things cannabis.
Chandler studied at Penn State, and later taught, before meeting Baca and accepting an offer to work as their multimedia editor. With a gift for telling stories through visuals, Chandler has found a passion in covering this topic in engaging ways that appeal to an online audience.
Both Baca and Chandler have a vision for The Cannabist as a platform for both hard news, soft news topics like culture, food, and reviews. They view the publication as a one stop shop for both information and entertainment, and hope to dispel some of the many myths and stereotypes about both cannabis and how it is reported.
Being seen as legitimate can be difficult when you cover a niche, and largely misunderstood topic like cannabis. However both Baca and Chandler have found that their professionalism, and the high quality reporting that they are doing has been able to speak for them, and given them access to industry professionals across both Colorado and the world.
Recently the Cannabist has grown enough to surpass readership of older publications like The High Times, and politicians like Governor Hickenlooper have contacted Baca and sought advice on how to implement legalization efforts. Implementation has taken different forms across the country and problems faced by each state are unique. In Colorado there are issues with pesticide use, and potency as well as integration of new initiatives like issue 300.
Reporting on this topic isn’t without its challenges however, and there is a strong focus at the Cannabist at portraying the drug from an outside perspective. They strongly emphasize their position not as insiders, or as a mouthpiece for the industry, but rather act as a watchdog, and present the issues from a multi faceted perspective.
They hope to expand their coverage to states that have just begun the process of legalization, and provide in depth investigative reporting that readers know they can trust. The Cannabist readership has grown significantly under their stewardship, and this trend is likely to continue.
