COLab - The Colorado Independent

Colorado News Collaborative (COLab)

Strengthening journalism in Colorado through collaboration

1927 map of Colorado (Published by the National Map Company, shared via the David Rumsey Map Collection — Cartography Associates)

We know there are stories out there newsrooms don't have the resources to cover alone as well as stories in increasingly wide swaths of Colorado that have become news deserts — meaning communities have no local news source. Veteran award-winning Colorado journalists Susan Greene and Tina Griego, in their new role with the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), a nonprofit supporting journalism excellence, can help your newsroom produce in-depth narrative, explanatory and investigative reporting. They are offering reporting, editing and mentoring help to ensure important stories are reported with the depth they deserve, offering hands-on training in the process.

Thank you for joining this movement in Colorado collaborative journalism. Together, we can do great things.

First, what kind of story are we talking about?

A million stories are waiting to be told, so we'll need to prioritize. Some criteria we'll be considering:

Does it address an issue the community wants examined more closely?
Does it expose an un- or under-reported issue or problem?
Does it scrutinize institutions or power-structures that have gone unchecked?
Does it explore challenges affecting vulnerable communities, especially underrepresented racial groups or people in geographic news deserts?
Does it focus on solutions, not just problems?
Is it of statewide interest (and likely to be carried for free by other outlets)?
Can it be localized by others?

Does your story idea check any of these boxes? Great. Please fill out this form to help us figure out your needs and how we might help. What you write stays between us, so please be as detailed as possible.

Our primary goal is to help Colorado Press Association members, who represent communities large, small, urban, rural and suburban across the state.

COLLABORATION IN ACTION

Join us at the Colorado News Collaborative

COLab Staff Report - December 18, 2020

Working through uncertainty

COLab Laura Frank, Colorado News Collaborative - November 13, 2020

Dear readers, Yesterday, Susan Greene was hard at work — helping a trio of our partner newspaper editors prep for a project with the Colorado News Collaborative. She helped lead a Zoom call with a number...

COLab and its partners are disarming disinformation this election, including setting up a text hotline for people to share their election experiences (303-871-1491).

An antidote to polarization and partisanship

COLab Laura Frank, Colorado News Collaborative - November 4, 2020

Dear fellow Coloradan, On this morning of the 2020 election, I’m moved to write you a letter about a conversation I had last night with my teenage son. Yesterday, Susan Greene sent you a note about...

The pits in our stomachs

COLab Susan Greene, Colorado News Collaborative - November 2, 2020

Dear reader, Words generally come easily for me. But I have been struggling for seven months to name how it feels to live through this time. The pit in my stomach is probably like yours. It is...

Finding Connection

COLab Tina Griego, Colorado News Collaborative - November 2, 2020

Dear reader, We at COLab think a lot — one could say “obsessively” — about readers, listeners and viewers of local news. We think about people we know and whom we can picture in our...