editor colorado
BETTER NEWSPAPER
CO N T E S T
R E S U LT S PAGE 4
May 2016
Official publication of the Colorado Press Association / coloradopressassociation.com / Vol. LXXXVII, No. 5
‘He’s made his mark’ Tribune editor’s leadership cited in winning Newspaper Person of the Year award
C Randy Bangert, editor of the Greeley Tribune, poses with Dan England, Tribune Features editor, during the Colorado Press Association’s Annual Convention on May 14 at the Denver West Sheraton. Bangert was named the CPA’s Newspaper Person of the Year at the event.
By Joshua Roberts For the Editor
He cast a big presence during the Saturday night event. “I definitely thought of my dad really quickly,” said Bangert, 61, a Tribune pillar for 43 years. “It was kind of a bittersweet moment for me. … He’d have been incredibly proud. He would have had tears in his eyes, I’m sure.” An out-of-state judge, who determined the award winner from several nominations, described Bangert’s selection: “He is a crusty veteran, who not only survived industry changes, but thrived,” the judge wrote. “Randy has led the Greeley Tribune in the accumulation of many outstanding awards. He is actively engaged with being a leader and a mentor to his team. “He’s engaged in his newspaper’s community, but has never backed down from a story. … There are a lot of good editors in our business, but there are few who are truly good leaders. Randy is clearly all of these.”
See BANGERT, Page 11
See PULITZER, Page 11
Randy Bangert, editor of the Greeley Tribune, shares a laugh with his family while Tribune Features Editor Dan England reads a speech, highlighting Bangert’s career. Bangert was named the Colorado Press Association’s Newspaper Person of the Year, during the CPA’s Annual Convention on May 14 at the Denver West Sheraton
olleagues aren’t shy about putting longtime Greeley Tribune Editor Randy Bangert in prestigious company when discussing his contributions to the newspaper, the community it covers and Colorado journalism. Tribune Features Editor Dan England said Bangert is to The Tribune what “John Elway is to the Broncos.” Jerry Raehal, Colorado Press Association chief executive officer, called Bangert the “Bill Walsh of Colorado journalists.” But it was a person less heralded, though far more significant, who flashed in Bangert’s mind on May 14, during CPA’s 138th annual convention in Denver. With family, friends and co-workers at his side, he was surprised with CPA’s Newspaper Person of the Year award. The late Vern Bangert once ran the Littleton Independent’s print ship and press before becoming owner and publisher.
Upcoming UCCS event to showcase Gazette’s Pulitzer winners
A Pulitzer Prize-winning news project requires all the standard elements — a compelling subject, exceptional reporting and journalists talented enough to pull it off. However, the industry’s most celebrated award demands unsung contributions, too. Joanna Bean was the Colorado Springs Gazette’s managing editor in 2014, when the newspaper won its second Pulitzer for “Other Than Honorable” by writer Dave Philipps and photographer Michael Ciaglo. Bean, the project editor, said it was no insignificant challenge answering the daily grind while simultaneously working on such a substantial project. Look deeper, she said, and one will find numerous contributors who received no credit. “While Dave and Michael were the headliners, that work didn’t happen without a large team behind it,” Bean said. “In a newsroom that’s that small and producing a daily newspaper and a website, it was asking a lot of people to also buy into a vision. They gave a lot of themselves to produce the project, above and beyond the daily work they were asked to do.” Bean, Philipps, Ciaglo and others will share those insights and more during an event next month designed to pull back the curtain on the Gazette’s Pulitzer winners. “The Stories Behind the Stories: A celebration of the Pulitzer Prize for journalism in Colorado Springs” is scheduled for 6 p.m. June 16 inside University Center Room 302 at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. The panel includes writer Dave Curtin and photographer Tom Kimmel, who won a Pulitzer for the Gazette in 1990 for “Adam & Megan — A Story of One Family’s Courage,” about siblings Adam Walter, 6, and Megan, 4, who were severely burned in a gas explosion.
Photos by Thomas Cooper, lightboximages.com
By Joshua Roberts For the Editor
Stories ‘worth revisiting’
NEWS YOU CAN USE
A NEW DUES STRUCTURE IN PLACE
ON BOARD WITH SYNC2 MEDIA
CPA board has new director
The Colorado Press Association Board of Directors approved a new dues structure for members at its May meeting. The structure goes into effect for new members applying to the CPA in 2016, and for current members during the 2017 year. The structure is circulation based, with the intent that the structure will morph into a “readership” model in the next two to five years, incorporating print and online readership as the measurement. The new structure also has percentage caps on increases.
SYNC2 Media, the for-profit subsidiary and affiliate of the Colorado Press Association, is slated to have its own board of directors in 2017. Currently, the media buying company’s board is the same as the CPA’s. During the annual meeting on May 13, it was agreed to establish a second board, and four CPA members volunteered to help move it forward: Bryce Jacobson of the Greeley Tribune, Jerry Healey of Colorado Community Media, Jim Morgan of Colorado Mountain News Media, and Brad Slater of the Pueblo Chieftain. More details to come.
Becky Justice-Hemmann, publisher of the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor, is the newest addition to the Colorado Press Association’s Board of Directors. She replaces the seat vacated by Terri House, of the Pagosa Springs Sun, who left the board after completing her term as chairman. Hemmann was voted in, along with the rest of the slate of officers and directors, during the annual meeting on May 13. Hemmann may work at a newspaper currently, but her background is being an entrepreneur.
See next month’s Editor for full story.