National Trust for Local News Sells 21 Colorado Newspapers to For-Profit Firm, Sparking Concerns
The nonprofit National Trust for Local News has announced the sale of 21 of its community newspapersin Colorado to the Arizona-based Times Media Group, a for-profit media company with a controversial track record in local journalism. The decision, revealed Tuesday, caught many Coloradans by surprise — especially residents in the Denver metro suburbs where most of the affected newspapers are based.
Included in the sale are titles such as the Arvada Press, Englewood Herald, Littleton Independent, and Parker Chronicle. The Trust will retain seven newspapers and its community printing press, focusing its future efforts on more rural and underserved communities in Adams, Weld, and Jefferson counties.
The move comes on the heels of staff departures, layoffs, and cost-cutting measures at Trust-owned publications — and notably, just one day into the tenure of the Trust’s new CEO, Tom Wiley.
“The acquisition will allow the National Trust to invest in serving seven communities... where the organization believes it can have a unique and sustained impact,” the organization said in a statement. These communities, it noted, are more rural, more diverse, and more vulnerable to becoming news deserts — areas with little to no access to credible local news.
Despite concerns about Times Media Group’s history of gutting local newsrooms, Trust officials insisted the sale would strengthen their long-term strategy. Chief Growth Officer Will Nelligan emphasized that the partnership includes a “major commitment” to maintaining the Trust’s community printing press and supporting the remaining nonprofit outlets through shared services.
“If you look at where local news is most threatened in Colorado,” said Nelligan, “it’s in the rural places and small cities where a for-profit operator wouldn’t go and where a traditional non-profit news model can’t work.”
As the media landscape shifts, this sale underscores the mounting pressures — and evolving strategies — facing those fighting to preserve local journalism in America’s smaller and often-overlooked communities.
