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''The Colorado Independent'' was a nonprofit, independent media organization, first reporting news via its online website that was started in July 2006, later "born again" in September 2013 under new, Colorado-based management.


History

''The Colorado Independent,'' first called ''Colorado Confidential,'' was founded as part of a network of local state-based websites that covered regional news, focusing on local government and politics. The network of sites was run by the Washington, D.C.-based
Center for Independent Media The American Independent Institute is a nonprofit organization which funds liberal investigative journalism efforts. According to the organization, its aim is to support journalism which exposes "the nexus of conservative power in Washington." The ...
, later called the
American Independent News Network The American Independent Institute is a nonprofit organization which funds liberal investigative journalism efforts. According to the organization, its aim is to support journalism which exposes "the nexus of conservative power in Washington." The ...
. AINN began shut down its websites in the spring of 2013 due to funding issues. With funding from two local Colorado foundations, editor Susan Greene and managing editor John Tomasic relaunched ''The Colorado Independent'' as an independent entity run in Colorado with broader reporting, a new design and a team of veteran journalists from ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'' and ''
Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
.'' In addition to the two local Colorado foundations, The Gill Foundation and the Bohemian Foundation, ''The Colorado Independent'' was also supported by grants by the Zell Family Foundation, the Douglas H. Phelps Foundation, and individual online contributions by readers.


Coverage

''The Colorado Independent'' covered state politics and policy issues such as the economy, education, the environment, energy development, criminal justice, social justice, gay rights and reproductive rights with a focus on criminal-justice issues. It aimed to serve readers and communities throughout the state with a simple idea: “The only bias we have is for good journalism." "The goal is to make impact, to inspire action by moving readers on important issues with stories that provide missing context, unearth buried facts, and amplify unheard voices,” according to its mission statement.


Contributors

''The Colorado Independent'' featured a twice weekly column by Mike Littwin, a figure in Colorado journalism known for his work at the ''
Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
'' and ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
.'' Regular contributors included reporters Tessa Cheek and Bob Berwyn and Pulitzer-winning cartoonist
Mike Keefe Mike Keefe (born November 6, 1946, in Santa Rosa, California) is an American editorial cartoonist best known for his work at ''The Denver Post'', for which he drew cartoons from 1975 to 2011. His cartoons are nationally syndicated, and have appea ...
. John Tomasic, a veteran web newsman, brought years of experience in helping shape the multi-media site in the evolving world of online journalism. Susan Greene, a longtime Denver Post reporter and metro columnist, has tapped her investigative skills and statewide sources to reinvent the ''Independent''. Despite the fact that the members of ''The Colorado Independent'' writing staff are made up of experienced reporters who are veterans from traditional newspapers, ''The Colorado Independent'' was initially denied press credentials that would allow the organization to have a reporter at the Colorado House and/or the Colorado Senate. As of January 2015, credentials were approved.


Location

The operation is headquartered at the Open Media Foundation building in Denver’s Santa Fe Art’s District. Members of the reporting team work out of the newsroom there, and from their communities in Boulder, Summit County, Eagle County and Colorado Springs.


Outreach

''The Colorado Independent'' holds monthly events and forums open to the public, creating what it calls a “small-media, big news movement” with a focus on a growing audience in its community of Coloradans who want in-depth, smart and soulful news coverage and conversation. Because the site is a nonprofit funded solely by foundation grants and individual donations, it’s not constrained by many of the forces that bridle big media. It invites readers and even other news outlets to “Steal our copy, please. Post it far and wide. Give us credit.” As part of the ''Independent''’s educational mission, veteran journalists train young staffers and interns the basics of shoe-leather reporting. The Millennials, in turn, teach the newspaper refugees how to broaden their craft through digital-information media. In February 2014, the ''Independent'' had filed for an FCC
low power FM Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly ...
radio construction permit, but it was cancelled (and subsequently expired).


References


External links

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The Colorado Independent
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado Independent American news websites Alternative journalism organizations