''Westword'' is a free digital and print media publication based in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado. ''Westword'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circulates every Thursday. ''Westword'' has been owned by Voice Media Group since January 2013, when a group of senior executives bought out the previous owners. Patricia Calhoun has been editor of ''Westword'' since she and two of her friends founded the publication in 1977. Calhoun and her former partners sold the newspapers to

New Times Media Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix. The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the publicati ...

in 1983. In 2005, New Times Media acquired

Village Voice Media Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix. The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the publicati ...

, and took on the

name as part of a deal that created a group of 14 publications nationwide. In January 2013, former Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought VVM's papers and associated web properties and formed

Voice Media Group Voice Media Group (VMG) is an American privately held media company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. VMG owns several newspaper publications across the country. These offerings extend across print, mobile and digital marketing. VMG's current pr ...

. ''Westword'' has received several awards for

investigative reporting Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

and feature writing, including the 2017

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

from the Society of Professional Journalists for Chris Walker's story "Acid Trip.". The publication's website, westword.com, offers daily news coverage along with comprehensive listings of music, arts and other events, along with restaurants and bar listings.

Best of Denver

Every year, ''Westword'''s staff awards hundreds of Denver-area personalities, restaurants, bars and shops with its "Best of Denver" awards. The newspaper also throws a yearly concert, the "Westword Music Showcase", which brings dozens of local bands along with national headlining acts to venues in the Golden Triangle. ''Westword'' also produces an annual list of Masterminds, people whose contribution to arts and culture in the Denver area deserve special recognition. Other live events include Artopia, an annual celebration of the arts, Tacolandia, which features dozens of local taquerias and live music, and Feast, which focuses on the city’s entire food scene.

Marijuana

In November 2009 Westword became the first magazine or newspaper worldwide to employ a

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

critic. An anonymous contributor known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

William Breathes contributed regular reviews of local marijuana dispensaries and began a column called "Ask a Stoner." Since that time, ''Westword'' has continued to be sympathetic to Colorado's growing recreational and medical marijuana movements, featuring ads for dispensaries in print editions and devoting an entire section of its website to covering the marijuana industry. ''Westword's'' current marijuana editor is Thomas Mitchell.

Westword MasterMind Awards

The Westword MasterMind Awards were started in 2005 to recognize and encourage the "aesthetic adventurers who are changing the cultural landscape" of Denver. The award comes with a no-strings attached cash grant.

Katie Taft Katie Taft is a Denver based artist, photographer, and teacher. Raised in Boulder, Colorado, she left the state for college, eventually earning her BFA at Marylhurst University in Oregon where she studied photography. She returned to Colorado in ...

was awarded the Westworld Mastermind Award in 2006.

References

External links

Official site
{{Voice Media Group Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Mass media in Denver Newspapers established in 1977 1977 establishments in Colorado Newspapers published in Colorado