Colorado News Collaborative: You might have heard how “news deserts” are spreading and professional reporter ranks are dwindling — around the country and here in Colorado. 

The consequences aren’t pretty. When local news organizations diminish, research shows citizens can become less engaged in their communities, municipal finances can suffer, and corruption can flourish. 

With fewer outlets and fewer reporters, increasing numbers of Coloradans have to find other sources to fill the gap. Learning how they actually do that — and how we can help you better navigate a fractured media landscape — is something we’re trying to figure out, though we’re still not finished. 

Our project, which involves COLab, the Colorado Media Project, News Voices: Colorado, Colorado College, the University of Denver, and others, seeks to help Coloradans identify existing outlets, potential partners, innovators, and individuals who can play new roles in supporting community information needs. That could be anything from local libraries to universities, nonprofit organizations, community centers, schools, or other information hubs we don’t know about. 

Visit Colorado News Collaborative for more.