Three days. 77 speakers. 89 sessions and conversations built around the real work of local news.
speakers
sessions +
conversations
Three days. New ideas.
Stronger communities.
Explore the complete program, save the sessions that matter to you and build a schedule around the work you need to do now.
Collaboration · skills · community · awards · keynote
Explore 89 practical and hands-on sessions, case studies and strategies.
The program gets more interesting when different kinds of work, expertise and experience meet.
Local News Solutions opens with stories from newsroom leaders, a substantive conversation with Joint Budget Committee members about Colorado’s investment in local news and recognition of lawmakers who worked constructively with local journalism.
After the reception, Sundance Film Festival Director Eugene Hernandez joins us for a conversation about arts, journalism and community. The evening continues with Sharon Liese’s Sundance-debuted documentary Seized and a conversation with Liese and Hernandez afterward.
Thursday only: $25. Included with any convention pass.
Explore ThursdayCheryl Phillips and Big Local News lead conversations and hands-on sessions on what AI and data can actually do for local reporting, including tools and outside support that can help small newsrooms take on larger accountability work. Kevin Berrier’s AI Sales Games turns experimentation into a full-day team challenge to build and present an AI-assisted advertiser proposal. Across the program, the emphasis is on practical, responsible uses that help newsrooms work smarter and better serve their communities.
Leaders from Gates Family Foundation, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Latino Community Foundation of Colorado, Colorado Nonprofit Association and Colorado Media Project will explore how news organizations can build durable, nontransactional relationships with funders and civic institutions. A separate hands-on session with Great Big Good brings the conversation down to practical donor development.
SongWriter creator Ben Arthur brings a process that puts reporting, lived experience, research and artistic practice in conversation. With Amber Coté and John Moore, he’ll lead a hands-on lab exploring how journalists, artists, researchers and community members can illuminate different dimensions of a story, reach new audiences and deepen public impact.
Start with the keynote speakers, then meet the visiting experts and outside voices featured throughout the printed program.
Executive Director
COLab, the Colorado News Collaborative
Open bio and sessions for Laura Frank
President & CEO
Rocky Mountain Public Media
Open bio and sessions for Amanda Mountain
Director of Partnerships
URL Media
Open bio and sessions for Garry Pierre-Pierre
TNC Global Board Member and Former CEO & Executive Chairman of DaVita
Unite America / former DaVita
Open bio and sessions for Kent ThirySelect any speaker for their bio and sessions.
Saturday closes by recognizing the people and work that strengthen Colorado journalism, then asking what local news must become next.
Honoring Bob and Gerri Sweeney and Fred Brown for decades of leadership, service, open-government work and commitment to Colorado’s newsrooms.
The A-Mark Prize recognizes public-service journalism that combines persistence, accountability and impact.
Celebrating outstanding reporting, photography, design and public service from newsrooms across Colorado.
Garry Pierre-Pierre closes the convention with “Local Journalism When Communities Need It Most,” connecting recognition of the year’s work to the responsibility ahead.
August 27–29, 2026 · Delta Hotels Denver/Thornton
