To download a copy of this report with full footnotes and source information, please visit coloradomediaproject.com/public-good.
CONTENTS
The Issue
• How Do We Know Local News is Good for Democracy?
• What’s Happened to the Business of Local News?
• Where Are Colorado’s News Deserts and What Are the Implications?
• What’s Working and Where Do We Go from Here?
Five Ideas for Transforming Local News with Public Support Potential:
• Empower local communities and voters…
• Create and fund a state-level, public-private partnership…
• Develop programs that help commercial media outlets convert…
• Increase support for libraries and higher education…
• Optimize government transparency for civic engagement…
ABOUT THIS PAPER
The Colorado Media Project began this exploration with these guiding questions for investigation: Should state and local governments play a role in stabilizing and sustaining the future of local news, information, and independent journalism? What public policy levers and funding pathways are available and viable in Colorado? What would the public support? Working group members met over four months in summer 2019 to review current research on the business of local news, public funding models from other states and nations, and examples of Colorado state and local initiatives across sectors that had applicability. Drafts of this study were vetted before publication by a wide range of interested parties, locally and nationally. In the interest of transparency and advancing the work, ideas that were vetted but not included in this report are publicly available online as part of this package at https://coloradomediaproject.com/public-good. We continue to welcome feedback from Colorado residents and beyond as we seek to improve these ideas.
