editor colorado
Inside: Henninger: Use great photos and play to your strengths. PAGE 3
Official publication of the Colorado Press Association / coloradopressassociation.com / Vol. LXXXIII, No. 7
reorganization
New PAC will help CPA make big impact After more than a year of legal and technical legwork, the Colorado Press Association Foundation has been reorganized, refocused and renamed— and is ready to have an impact in expanded ways. The Philanthropic Advisory Committee is the new name of the CPA’s charitable arm. Its mission, as stated in PAC Operating Guidelines adopted on May 11, includes: • Contributing positively to the continued viability of journalism and the newspaper industry;
July 2012
journalism plus
CU moves on with new program By Christine Mahoney Internship & Career Coordinator, University of Colorado Journalism & Mass Communication The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. ~Mark Twain
Mahoney
Journalism is alive and well at the University of Colorado Boulder! Starting this
fall, we’ll be into the second semester of Journalism Plus. Journalism Plus is a dynamic new program that combines media study and practice, immersion in a liberal arts discipline and cutting-edge skill development for the changing demands of the journalism profession. What does that mean for you? Simply put, it means CU JMC is still a great pipeline for talented, industrious students to
add to your staff as interns or entry-level writers and multimedia journalists. As CU leaderships takes some time to study a new entity that would include journalism with other academic disciplines, we here at JMC are moving forward. Our “traditional” print students know how to write for websites, are learning video shooting and editing skills and are comfortable interacting
history of heroes
Pair joins to tell stories of WWII veterans
• Developing, and supporting the development of, New Media applications and utilization in ways that perpetuate the historic principles of a journalistically sound free press; and
By Jean Gray
• Encouraging the responsible use of the First Amendment protections provided under the United States Constitution. Previously, the Denver Foundation administered the CPA’s scholarship program as the Press Association’s sole charitable activity. All funds raised in the name of the CPA Foundation were placed in what is called a Restricted Fund. Money in such a fund can legally be used only for purposes designated at the time the fund was created, which, in the CPA’s case, was its long-standing array of college student, high school student and high school advisor scholarship programs. As a result of efforts begun in late 2010, the fund held by the Denver Foundation was divided, with about one-third of the existing balance reassigned to what is called a Donor-Advised Fund. This change will enable the CPA, through its Philanthropic Advisory Committee, to initiate a variety of activities that are outside the limited scope of scholarships or individual financial aid and reflect the wider mission as expressed in the new Operating Guidelines. “Through this change the Colorado Press Association will be able to have a more dramatic and far-reaching impact on PAC on page 5
CU on page 2
Making history
Blackhawk Mayor David Spellman holds the 100th Anniversary Edition of the Weekly Register-Call. Last month, the Register-Call celebrated 150 years of publishing. Story on Page 3.
With an estimated 1,100 World War II veterans dying daily in the United States, telling their stories becomes critical to the preservation of that era, says Dr. John Elliff of Sterling. “It’s like the little kid in class. The teacher says, ‘we are going to Elliff talk about Pearl Harbor.’ And the little kid says, ‘who’s Pearl Harbor?’ That’s why it’s important. These things slip by us.” People living in Northeast Dressman Colorado and a few in the Denver Metro area may recognize the name, Dr. John Elliff, either through his 50STORIES on page 8
stolen paper law
Commission votes to recommend repeal of newspaper theft law Last week, the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice voted to recommend to the Colorado General Assembly that they repeal the law that makes theft of newspapers illegal. The law, which was implemented in 2004, made theft of newspapers for the purpose of depriving other people access to information a crime. The recommendation by the CCJJ, in effect, legalizes the crime of newspaper theft. “Stealing is a crime. Stealing news-
Page 8 Ex-lawmaker, journalists weigh in
papers for the purpose of depriving the public of information contained therein is theft and censorship,” said Colorado Press Association Executive Director Samantha Johnston. “There is never a time when it is appropriate for a thief to deprive the public of access to information in newspapers.” Carl Miller, D-Leadville, served in
the Colorado House of Representatives from 1997 to 2004 and co-sponsored HB 1057 with Senator Jack Taylor in 2004. “It seems pretty simple to me. You don’t take things that don’t belong to you,” Rep. Miller said. “If the legislature accepts this ill-conceived recommendation to repeal the law, it will create open season on a free press as stealing newspapers for the purpose of censoring information will be legalized in Colorado.”
If the recommendation makes its way to the legislature in January, Colorado Press Association will put this at the top of its legislative priority list in 2013. “Beyond the danger of repealing a law that will legalize a previously criminal act, we are disappointed in the process by which (the commission) made its decision,” said CPA President Brenda Brandt. “Newspapers, their THEFT on page 8