Colorado Sun

The Colorado Sun is a nonprofit online news organization headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It launched on September 10, 2018, with a mission centered on sustained, long-form and public-interest reporting about the state of Colorado. Its coverage spans politics, government, education, health, climate, the environment, outdoor recreation, culture, business and communities across the state. Unlike a conventional metropolitan newspaper, the Sun was designed from the outset as a digital publication with a statewide remit and a funding model intended to reduce dependence on a single commercial owner. The publication was created by ten former employees of The Denver Post. Their departure followed a period of repeated layoffs at the Post after its acquisition by Alden Global Capital, a hedge-fund owner associated with cost reductions at newspapers. The founders were not laid off from The Denver Post; they left voluntarily and established a new newsroom in response to what they viewed as the weakening of local journalism. The Colorado Sun therefore emerged as both a new media venture and an experiment in rebuilding local reporting capacity outside the ownership structure of a large newspaper chain. Its initial financing and technical support came from Civil, a blockchain-oriented platform that sought to help news organizations establish independently operated newsrooms. A Kickstarter campaign more than doubled its original fundraising target and, together with Civil support, supplied approximately two years of initial operating funding. A grant from Wend Ventures later provided two years of support for educational reporting. The outlet subsequently developed a diversified revenue model combining reader memberships, sponsorships, grants, donations and advertising. This mix reflects the broader nonprofit-news movement, in which audience contributions and philanthropic funding help sustain reporting that may not generate sufficient commercial returns. The Sun also publishes a group of recurring newsletters. These include The Sunriser, a weekday digest of Colorado headlines; The Unaffiliated, focused on state politics; The Outsider, focused on outdoor recreation; The Temperature, covering health and climate; Colorado Sunday, covering statewide news, arts and culture; and a political commentary newsletter by Mike Littwin. The newsletters extend the publication's relationship with readers beyond individual articles and provide topic-specific distribution channels. In May 2021, The Colorado Sun expanded beyond its own digital newsroom by becoming a joint owner, with the National Trust for Local News, of 24 local newspapers acquired from Colorado Community Media. The transaction connected the Sun to a larger effort to preserve local newspapers and maintain community reporting. In November 2023, the Sun said it would donate its ownership shares in those papers to the National Trust as it converted from a for-profit public benefit corporation into a nonprofit. That same month, it became an employee-directed nonprofit. The changes marked a significant shift in governance and ownership, emphasizing newsroom and employee stewardship rather than conventional shareholder ownership. The Colorado Sun is an associate member of the Associated Press. Its editorial leadership includes editor Dana Coffield, publisher Larry Ryckman, political editor Jesse Paul, and team editors David Krause and Lance Benzel. The organization remains focused on Colorado-specific journalism and reader-supported sustainability.

The Colorado Sun was established in 2018 by ten former employees of The Denver Post. The founders left the newspaper voluntarily after a period of multiple layoffs that followed the Post's acquisition by Alden Global Capital. Their new organization was conceived as a statewide digital publication capable of producing sustained, deeply reported journalism at a time when traditional local newsrooms were under financial pressure. The Sun launched on September 10, 2018. Its early operating resources came from Civil, a blockchain venture platform that supported the creation of independent newsrooms, and from a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than twice its initial target. Together, these resources were intended to provide approximately two years of initial funding. Later in 2018, Wend Ventures supplied a grant supporting two years of educational reporting. These arrangements allowed the publication to build a newsroom before relying primarily on recurring audience and institutional revenue. The organization's business model developed around multiple income streams. The Colorado Sun accepts advertising but also relies on reader memberships, sponsorships, grants and donations. This structure is consistent with its public-interest orientation and helps support coverage that may be expensive to produce or difficult to monetize through advertising alone. The publication's editorial scope includes statewide politics and government as well as education, health, climate, the environment, outdoor recreation, culture and community affairs. It also distributes its journalism through a set of topical newsletters, including The Sunriser, The Unaffiliated, The Outsider, The Temperature, Colorado Sunday and Mike Littwin's political commentary newsletter. In May 2021, The Colorado Sun broadened its role in Colorado journalism by partnering with the National Trust for Local News to acquire 24 local newspapers from Colorado Community Media. The joint ownership connected the digital outlet with a preservation-oriented effort aimed at maintaining local newspapers and their community reporting. In November 2023, the Sun announced that it would transfer its ownership shares in those papers to the National Trust for Local News. The announcement came as the organization converted from a for-profit public benefit corporation to a nonprofit. The governance transition was completed with the Sun becoming an employee-directed nonprofit in November 2023. This change placed employee stewardship at the center of the organization's structure and further distinguished it from investor-owned newspaper companies. The Colorado Sun also maintains an associate membership in the Associated Press, giving it a connection to a major news cooperative while retaining its independent Colorado-focused identity. The organization is led editorially by Dana Coffield, with Larry Ryckman serving as publisher. Jesse Paul is political editor, while David Krause and Lance Benzel are team editors. Its continuing mission is to provide independent, statewide reporting for Colorado readers through a digital-first publication supported by memberships, philanthropy, sponsorships, donations and advertising.

• 2023

  Ownership shares donated to the National Trust for Local News

  [1]The Colorado Sunen.wikipedia.org

  The Sun announced plans to donate its shares in the acquired newspapers as it moved toward nonprofit status.

• 2023

  Employee-directed nonprofit governance adopted

  [1]The Colorado Sunen.wikipedia.org

  The organization became an employee-directed nonprofit in November.

• 2021

  Joint acquisition of 24 local newspapers

  [1]The Colorado Sunen.wikipedia.org

  The Colorado Sun and the National Trust for Local News acquired 24 papers from Colorado Community Media.

• 2018

  The Colorado Sun launches

  [1]The Colorado Sunen.wikipedia.org

  The nonprofit-oriented digital news outlet began publishing on September 10, 2018, with a statewide Colorado reporting mission.

• 2018

  Initial funding secured through Civil and Kickstarter

  [1]The Colorado Sunen.wikipedia.org

  Civil provided financial and technical support, while a Kickstarter campaign surpassed its initial goal by more than two times.

• 2018

  Wend Ventures supports educational reporting

  [1]The Colorado Sunen.wikipedia.org

  A grant from Wend Ventures provided two years of funding for education coverage.

Nonprofit, reader-supported statewide digital journalism focused on in-depth reporting and public-interest coverage of Colorado.

• Online journalism · 2018

  Digital news coverage

  The Colorado Sun's core offering is original digital reporting about Colorado. Its journalism emphasizes long-form and in-depth coverage across politics, government, education, health, climate, the environment, outdoor recreation, culture and local communities. The publication's statewide focus differentiates it from outlets limited to a single city or metro area.

• Newsletter

  The Sunriser

  A weekday newsletter presenting Colorado headline news and serving as a regular summary channel for the publication's reporting.

• Newsletter

  The Unaffiliated

  A weekly newsletter focused on Colorado politics and political affairs.

• Newsletter

  The Outsider

  A weekly newsletter covering Colorado's outdoor recreation and related issues.

• Newsletter

  The Temperature

  A weekly newsletter covering health and climate news in Colorado.

• Newsletter

  Colorado Sunday

  A weekly newsletter combining Colorado news with arts and culture coverage.

• Political commentary newsletter

  Mike Littwin newsletter

  A twice-weekly newsletter featuring Mike Littwin's commentary on Colorado politics.

• 2018Colorado Sun Kickstarter campaign

  United States

  The launch fundraising campaign sought direct public support for the new digital newsroom and raised more than twice its initial goal.

  Outcome. The campaign contributed to approximately two years of initial operating funding alongside support from Civil.

  Source

• 2023

  Conversion to nonprofit and employee-directed governanceStrategy

  Background

  The organization reassessed its ownership structure while holding shares in the 24 acquired local newspapers.

  Action taken

  The Sun announced the donation of its newspaper ownership shares to the National Trust for Local News and converted from a for-profit public benefit corporation into a nonprofit directed by employees.

  Aftermath

  The change established employee stewardship as the organization's governing model and separated the Sun from ownership of the acquired newspaper group.

  Source

• 2021

  Joint acquisition of 24 community newspapersM&A

  Background

  The Colorado Sun sought to participate in preserving local journalism beyond its own digital newsroom.

  Action taken

  The Sun and the National Trust for Local News jointly acquired 24 newspapers from Colorado Community Media.

  Aftermath

  The Sun later announced that it would transfer its ownership shares to the National Trust for Local News.

  Source

1. 1The Colorado Sunen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Colorado Sun official websitecoloradosun.com