The Backstory on Journalism, News, and Accountability – Part 1

Video Description:
Featuring Maria Karagianis, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Boston Globe; Chuck Plunkett, former managing editor of the Denver Post Editorial Page; Dana Coffield, founder of the Colorado Sun, and a representative of the Colorado Media Project; Moderated by Tim Waters, Longmont City Council.

This is the first panel of a two-part series of panel discussions on the past, present and future of journalism, reporting, and accountability.

MEDIA MATTERS: THE BACKSTORY ON JOURNALISM, NEWS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Sunday, October 9, 3 PM Part I: The Big Picture (view above)
Sunday, October 30, 3 PM Part II: The Local Scene (view here)

Local newspapers provide the soundtrack of our communities, hold our public officials accountable, and help us better understand our nation and our world. But the state of local journalism has never been in greater peril. More than 2,000 local newspapers have closed since 2005. Over 36,000 journalists have lost their jobs, been furloughed or have taken pay cuts just since the pandemic. Many newspapers have cut days of publication or closed altogether because of the loss of advertising revenue. “Media Deserts”, geographical communities where there is no longer a local newspaper, are on the rise. In the last 18 years, the number of newspapers in Colorado has dropped by over 16%. This development concerns us all.

In this Backstory episode, you will hear Chuck Plunkett discuss the Denver Post rebellion and refer to his TED Talk on that subject in March of 2020. Chuck Plunkett’s TEDxMileHigh Talk is hereAn article about the Denver Post rebellion is here. The Denver Post editorial is here. (You can avoid the Denver Post paywall by clicking on the link here).

And there is a similar TEDxBoulder talk that Dave Krieger (former editor at the Boulder Daily Camera) gave in June of 2018. Dave Krieger’sTEDxBoulder Talk is here. Dave Krieger’s story is told here and here and hereDave Krieger self-published the proposed Daily Camera editoral here.

The same hedge fund (Alden Global Capital) owns both the Denver Post and the Boulder Daily Camera. Both TED Talks discuss the events in March of 2018.

The panels are moderated by Tim Waters, Longmont City Council.

Click here for a list of other episodes of The Backstory by Tim Waters