Local News as Essential "Civic Infrastructure"

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At our March Purpose Hour, Laura Frank, longtime Colorado investigative journalist and founder of COLab, the Colorado News Collaborative, shared her vision for sustaining local news across the state. Her core argument was simple but urgent: news isn't just information, it's civic infrastructure. Just as our communities depend on roads, sewers, and bridges to function, they also depend on factual local journalism to hold together a shared reality.

Why This Moment is Critical

The state of local journalism is more precarious than most people realize. Research shows that when local news disappears:

• government waste increases
• political polarization worsens
• fewer people vote or run for office

According to COLab's data, the median Colorado newsroom has just 1.35 people covering everything from local government to elections to wildfires. Meanwhile, many outlets are being acquired by national hedge funds that typically cut local coverage and leave communities without the shared factual foundation that civic participation requires.

COLab’s Aproach: Collaboration, Not Competition

Supporting nearly 200 local news outlets across Colorado, COLab helps small newsrooms do big things together: developing a common electoral guide, creating student pathways into journalism, and pooling resources that no single outlet could sustain alone.

A Reason for Hope

While trust in national news has collapsed, roughly 80% of people still trust their local news organizations. Local journalists live in the communities they cover. They're neighbors. That proximity creates something national outlets can't manufacture: a neutral space where people across political lines can still find common ground.

What You Can Do

Laura made clear that the survival of local journalism won't be solved in newsrooms alone. It requires support from "boardrooms, classrooms, living rooms, and room like this." She challenged the room to open a dialogue about how each individual could support local journalism and provided some  concrete steps to support news in Colorado (and beyond).

Step 1: Find your local news.

Use COLab’s Find Your Local News tool to discover outlets serving your community.

Step 2: Support their work.

Subscribe, donate, or simply share quality local reporting. The power of the purse matters.

Step 3: Engage directly.

If you see something you value, or something that needs improvement, email the newsroom. Let them know someone's paying attention and that their work matters.

Supporting local news isn't just buying a subscription. It's investing in the civic square that helps our our communities function.