Last year, the Aurora Sentinel in Colorado transitioned to a non-profit and immediately began exploring options for community investment. Working closely with Joaquin Alvarado, they are preparing to roll-out a community ownership initiative modeled after Green Bay Packers’ fan-ownership structure.

In this episode of Local News Matters, Dave Perry, editor and publisher of the Aurora Sentinel, and Joaquin Alvarado, founder of Studio To Be, discuss innovative ways to support local journalism, looking to the Packers and cultural institutions like theaters, why philanthropy is not enough and community buy-in is crucial, and why accountability requires news that is grounded in local communities.

Episode chapters:(02:58) – Introductions and background (05:49) – Why it was important to find a new model and keep the Sentinel going (16:30) – Community ownership and a culture of accountability (27:25) – Philanthropy is not enough (29:15) – Reader revenue, paywalls and equity

 

Links:

• Aurora Sentinel: web, Twitter, Facebook
• Dave Perry: Twitter, LinkedIn
• Joaquin Alvarado: LinkedIn
• Studio To Be 
• Local News Matters: web, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Colorado Press Association: web, Twitter, Facebook
• Tim Regan-Porter: bio, Twitter