听Chuck Plunkett, former editorial page editor at The Denver Post, stands up for local journalism and was honored for his courage by the National Press Club.
听Faced with massive layoffs in an already decimated newsroom at The Denver Post, Plunkett published a news package decrying the pending layoffs.
听Plunket joined the College of Media, Communication and Information faculty where he teaches CU students.
Originally published Nov. 29, 2018
With mass layoffs becoming a regular occurrence at media outlets from BuzzFeed to the Knoxville News Courier, CU Boulder鈥檚 College of Media, Communication and Information seeks to instill in its students a passion for local journalism.
In April 2018, CU Boulder鈥檚 Chuck Plunkett, then an editor at The Denver Post, was worried. He had just published a six-page special section titled 鈥淎s vultures circle, The Denver Post must be saved,鈥� decrying massive layoffs at the paper and criticizing its owners for losing sight of the paper鈥檚 mission. He was unsure of how his bold move would be received.
鈥淲hen we pulled the trigger on this package, one of my biggest fears was that if it didn鈥檛 take鈥攊f people just shrugged it off鈥攏ot only would my career be ruined but the message would die with it,鈥� he said.
听There is a tremendous need right now for what we do鈥攁sking the hard questions, doing the fact checking and telling compelling stories that help people make sense of their lives. But people also need to realize that if they want good strong journalism in the future, they have got to be willing to support and pay for it.鈥� 鈥揅huck Plunkett
Plunkett resigned from The Denver Post shortly after publishing the April 6 news package, when the paper tried to block another editorial criticizing his paper鈥檚 owners.
But his message did not die: Plunkett landed at CU Boulder where he directs CU News Corps, a student-produced investigative journalism program.
The News Corps distributes student-produced news stories, multimedia work and interactive information to Colorado and national media outlets. CU News Corps students have won several awards for their reporting from organizations such as the Denver Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Plunkett, who began as an investigative reporter at small-town papers in Arkansas, tells students that in an age of social media echo-chambers and fake news easily spread via Facebook and Twitter, their work is more important than ever.听
鈥淭here is a tremendous need right now for what we do鈥攁sking the hard questions, doing the fact checking and telling compelling stories that help people make sense of their lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut people also need to realize that if they want good strong journalism in the future they have got to be willing to support and pay for it.鈥�
