To anyone who follows the news, it would appear the industry itself is under attack. Whether claims of “fake news” leveled by the President or cuts to already lean newsrooms, newspapers and media organizations are now in the rare position of making headlines.

The most recent round of layoffs at the Denver Post led to that paper’s editorial board publishing a rebuke of its hedge-fund ownership, which on Sunday, April 8 became a page 1, above-the-fold story in The New York Times. The Post’s editorial, which ran under the headline, “News matters; Colorado should demand the newspaper it deserves,” was courageous and serves as a rallying cry for journalists around the country and in our own state who fear for the future of their profession. And more importantly fear for the future of our democracy if the newsroom cuts the industry has seen over the past quarter century – when one in every four positions disappeared – continue.

News organizations now find themselves thrust squarely in the middle of a public debate over the value of news and the role newspapers play in the communities they serve. It’s a conversation that every newspaper needs to have with its readers, community leaders, its supporters and detractors; and the Colorado Press Association wants to be the catalyst behind that public dialogue.

Read more at Steamboat Today.