Right around this time seven years ago, each of us stood at a personal crossroads.
With a churning mix of anxiety and excitement, we gathered in downtown’s Civic Center park, literally in the shadow of what had once been our work home at The Denver Post, to announce the birth of The Colorado Sun. The anxiety grew from the realization, in that moment, that we were barreling headlong into the unknown.
The excitement built as we imagined the possibilities.
None of us came to this decision easily. We felt demoralized by the precipitous decline in the number of journalists covering our state, starkly illustrated by deep cuts imposed by the Post’s hedge-fund owners. So when, seemingly out of the blue, an organization headquartered in New York began funding news outlets all across the country – and targeted Denver as one of its testing grounds – we had to listen.
Their idea for a network of small news startups involved concepts like the blockchain and cryptocurrency, techno-speak which, at the time, none of us fully understood. But we set those head-scratching aspects aside because we understood journalism, and this opportunity created something that once seemed impossible: a path to create community-centric journalism and serve the residents of our state with trustworthy news.
The funders guaranteed us a two-year runway. After that we would sink or swim on our own. Odds for startups favor failure. We convinced ourselves we could be different if we practiced journalism on our own terms.
Our careers stood at vastly different inflection points, reflecting age differences spanning decades. For some, The Sun represented an exhilarating venture into a brave new digital world. To others, it marked a mid-career gambit that – even if it were to fail – seemed preferable to a slow demise at the whims of private equity. To still others, it offered the possibility of a dramatic third act.
Ultimately, The Colorado Sun — a name hashed out over an enchilada dinner on a backyard patio — was a bet we were willing to make. On ourselves. On a Colorado community willing to consider an upstart independent news outlet. On the future.
In September of 2018, we pushed a button and nudged our adventure online. Right from the start, it was fun, exciting and damn near intoxicating as The Sun drew national attention for its daring effort to swim upstream against the current of a struggling industry.
We picked our stories judiciously, reported without agenda, wrote passionately. And as early reaction poured in, including a successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund photography, we dared to think that maybe we’d gotten something right. Once people got to know us, there seemed a better-than-even chance they’d like us.
Of course, as the saying goes: We didn’t know what we didn’t know. Journalism we knew. Business, not so much. But with the help of some wise and generous allies, we’ve grown from our original 10 cofounders to a 24-employee operation that has not only added some superlative journalists, but also business-side expertise. And we did it while keeping our stories accessible to all – not locked behind a paywall – with the hope that those readers with the inclination and wherewithal would help support us.
So when we say we couldn’t do what we do without you, it’s not just marketing. It’s truth.
As our original backing dissolved, we navigated our way into the nonprofit world, a better fit for a news operation finding its footing in an industry where the old business model has died. We’ve grown smarter and shed our early naivete that good journalism alone could make us sustainable. We know now that our work is made possible because of community interest and dedicated reader support. In the face of continued decline of local news operations, we’ve also recommitted to a principle that has driven our work since those early enchilada-fueled debates over our name.
News matters — whether it’s hard-breaking developments during a wildfire, explanations of how our government works (or doesn’t) or softer, nuanced stories that help readers understand the range of individuals and cultures that define our state. If it once sounded hopelessly self-serving to assert that a healthy democracy rests on independent journalism, look around. Those days are gone.
None of us could have anticipated that our love for this work would lead down this path. But after nearly seven years of publication — reporting from every corner of the state, meeting Coloradans from every walk of life and, as journalists like to say, writing the first drafts of history — we wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s been a winding, rewarding, occasionally frustrating and ultimately fulfilling journey.
And it’s been an honor to have you along for the ride.
Sincerely,
Kevin SimpsonLarry RyckmanDana CoffieldJennifer BrownJesse PaulEric LubbersTamara ChuangJason BlevinsJohn Ingold
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