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Amplify Colorado

An online guide to help newsrooms find diverse sources and community members to find local reporters
  • Asian, South Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Voices members joining hands (Photo by Justin Oshita, linelock photography)
Connecting Journalists and Diverse Community Members Statewide
A PUBLIC SERVICE BY COLORADO NEWS COLLABORATIVE
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About Amplify Colorado

Local newsrooms long have known that they need to improve their coverage of communities of color and other groups who have been historically left out of stories or who have been depicted in stereotypes, without complexity and nuance.

Coverage is improving, but much work remains ahead. To help newsrooms and communities better reach one another, COLab, with generous funding from Colorado Media Project and in partnership with Spotlight PA, is developing a statewide, online diverse source directory.

Amplify Colorado is a publicly accessible directory of experts from communities of color and other diverse communities that newsrooms need to better serve, including, but not limited to, women, youth, elders, LGTBQ+, Coloradans with disabilities, rural residents, veterans, immigrants and refugees. Amplify also includes reporters’ and editors’ contact information so community members can more easily find them.

This guide of experts from diverse backgrounds comes in response to calls from Black, Latinx, Asian, South Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Indigenous community members and journalists who gathered in 2021 and 2022 as part of the COLab-led Voices Initiative.

Voices members sought a tool to help reporters amplify the experiences and expertise of all Coloradans. Amplify is one step toward that goal.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to be included?

Amplify Colorado has two sections: community members and journalists. 

Community

Coloradans who identify as a person of color or as part of other communities newsrooms have historically marginalized, including, but not limited to, women, youth, elders, LGTBQ+, Coloradans with disabilities, rural residents, veterans, immigrants and refugees are eligible to be included in the Amplify Colorado directory. 

We’re looking for sources covering a wide range of geographic regions and areas of expertise: from politics, to arts, to science, sports and more! Expertise also includes lived experience, so if you believe you can offer insight on any topic a reporter might cover, for example, the high cost of housing, finding child care, choosing a school, etc., please consider adding your name. 

Journalists

Amplify includes reporters’ and editors’ contact information so community members can more easily find them. Reporters and editors working in Colorado are eligible to be included in the directory. Freelancer reporters and editors in the state are also eligible. 

Can I suggest myself? How about multiple people?

Yes and yes!

I want to suggest someone. What happens after I do that?

You’ll need to include contact information. Our team will follow up with them to ask if they want to be included in the directory. If so, we’ll collect additional information from them.

If you don’t see your suggested person in the directory, it’s possible they chose not to be included.

What happens if I’m suggested for inclusion in the directory?

If you’ve been suggested for inclusion, congrats! We’ll contact you to let you know about it and ask whether you’d like to be included. If you do, we will send you a form where you can create your source profile. This will include information such as your biography, areas of expertise, social handles and the best way to reach you.

By filling out a source profile and agreeing to be listed on the directory, you’re agreeing to have others contact you. Appearing in the directory doesn’t require any kind of time or financial commitment, and you are not obligated to speak to anyone. However, we hope those who participate are generally interested in speaking to areas within their experience and/or expertise.

Will this create a list for people to be targeted?

While our intention is to help sources listed in this directory gain access to local reporters and editors, and vice versa, we recognize that information posted online is available to anyone. Given that, participation is optional and the people included in the directory have consented to sharing their information.

We modeled this directory after others like it, including ones in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Often, participants of such forums view them as a form of professional affiliation.

 

This project was made possible through the financial support of individuals and foundations who believe stronger local newsrooms mean stronger communities and a stronger democracy.

Please support our ongoing work to encourage, guide and grow collaborative journalism in Colorado.

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