New Media Hub Forms in Colorado

Throughout the US, “hubs” of small and independent media outlets, nonprofit organizations, and other groups are collaborating in news ways to shed light on underrepresented issues in their communities.

The Colorado Media Alliance (CMA) is the newest addition to this network. The CMA formed in 2017 to raise public awareness of issues and topics in our state that go under-reported by commercial media entities. The coalition—previously called Truth in Media—is facilitated by Caroline Fry (Colorado Common Cause) and Tony Shawcross (Open Media Foundation). CMA consists of independent, non-commercial and public interest media outlets from around the state, including the Colorado Independent, KGNU, and Public News Service.

The current goal of the coalition is to share editorial focus around stories, collaborate on events, social media campaigns and other projects to amplify coverage on underrepresented issues. So, far the CMA has collaborated on stories and projects including Colorado’s response to changes in federal environmental policy; the effect of new immigration policies on Colorado residents; and transparency in local and state government bodies.

In the future, the coalition hopes to expand opportunities for collaboration on stories and projects; define and grow our membership base; and become an important resource for small, independent media in Colorado.

This fall, we are excited to welcome Kyle Duff from the University of Colorado Denver to the coalition. Kyle is a graduate student at CU Denver’s School of Public Affairs who will create a framework and set of best practices for CMA.

Stay tuned.