Colorado Media Project Matches Contributions to Westword in December

Westword has again been selected by the Colorado Media Project as a participant in the #newsCOneeds matching grant initiative. Colorado Media Project has pledged up to a $5,000 match to each of 28 organizations — including Westword — but we need help from our community.

Throughout December, your contributions will be doubled, and when you join as a recurring member in December, your monthly membership will be counted for a full year. That means a $15 monthly membership turns into $180 through this match. It's perfect timing since we are currently in our end-of-year membership drive, looking to raise a total of $15,000 by December 31.

We invite you to join us in a growing movement to support trustworthy and local news by giving to Westword today to help us unlock this grant, which will fund our paid internship program and help foster the next generation of journalists.

Give Now: Recurring
Give Now: One-Time Gift

The value of local journalism

We started Westword more than four decades ago as a very vigorous exercise in freedom of the press. Not only did we believe that our writers should be free to cover, and uncover, what was really going on in Denver, but we wanted to share their work freely with the city, by making sure that the publication itself was absolutely free.

Back when Westword started in 1977, there were few free newspapers, and those that existed were denigrated as “shoppers.” We worked hard to prove that a free publication could have value, ensuring that every issue included can’t-miss stories. It was a long fight, but one we were winning long before the rise of the Internet, which brought with it the notion that “information should be free.” As a free paper, we heartily endorsed that concept, and we never considered putting up paywalls. We never will.

Today, no one questions the value of free publications. But they do question how long those publications will be around, and with good reason.

Local journalism is under siege across the United States, as tech giants suck up the lion's share of online revenue. And while Westword remains free — both online and in print — the work of journalism is not cheap.

Over the years, when I've talked to people about Westword — whether at the Denver Rotary or in my favorite dive bar — one question has always come up: How can Westword still be free?

My answer has never changed: We have loyal advertisers who recognize that a free publication (whether in print or online) with strong, local journalism has value.

But my answer has grown in recent years to include this: We also have loyal readers who recognize the value of Westword, and take advantage of the membership program we introduced in December 2019. For a nominal contribution — one-time, monthly or annually — readers can become members, eligible for special benefits as well as the knowledge that they are helping Westword do its work.

Learn more about the Westword membership program (if you do so quickly, you could come to tonight's members-only event) and give any amount to join and have your contribution matched, or feel free to contact me directly at [email protected].