Aspen Journalism

“Independent, investigative journalism has always found a way, 
adapting to evolving needs and changing times.”

 – Curtis Wackerle, Editor & Executive Director, Aspen Journalism

Our 2025 year end campaign goal is $150,000!

Your donations will directly support our journalists to produce more stories in 2026. We have secured $70,000 in matching gift funds from local donors, Colorado Media Project and NewsMatch.
+ All new monthly donations are matched 12X up to $1,000
+ $1,000 bonus possible with 50 new donors ~ every giving level makes a difference!

Who we are (and what we believe)

Aspen Journalism is a nonprofit news organization based in Aspen, Colorado, founded in 2011 to provide investigative and in-depth journalism to the benefit of those with a stake in the Aspen area, the Roaring Fork Valley and the greater Colorado River watershed. We believe that quality, in-depth journalism is fundamental to democracy because well-informed citizens make better decisions.

Innovative local model.

Aspen Journalism is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces award-winning, in-depth and investigative journalism, our work powered primarily through donations and provided to the larger media ecosystem in most cases for no cost. 

This model, first developed by ProPublica on the national level and adopted early on by Aspen Journalism on the local level, was established to ensure communities would always benefit from investigative reporting with access to dedicated journalists with editorial independence. It has now been applied to newsrooms across the county. 

Fourteen years after our founding in 2011, we had the honor of hosting Stephen Engelberg, editor-in-chief of ProPublica, for his first visit to Aspen to discuss the state of independent journalism with an eager crowd and for a workshop with journalists throughout the region.

Stephen Engelberg, editor-in-chief of ProPublica"The changes emanating from Washington will have far-reaching effects on the lives of every American. News organizations like Aspen Journalism are going to be crucial in documenting the impact of the federal government's new priorities. … At this moment of unprecedented polarization, the journalist's role in bringing to light the facts on which people will cast their votes is more important than ever.”

– Stephen Engelberg, Editor-in-Chief of ProPublica

Our model is collaborative. 

Collaboration is a key value for Aspen Journalism and it has led to successful outcomes this year. We worked hand-in-hand with six outside news organizations on editorial projects. We split the funding and editorial responsibilities for our Social Justice Desk with Aspen Public Radio, and we teamed up with reporters at Aspen Daily News to enhance coverage of crucial topics. Our in-house data editor regularly works with other AJ staff and contributors to enhance data analysis and presentation. Our stories were shared with dozens of news organizations across the state.  We’re committed to collaboration because we believe that by working together, we can increase the quality of the local news ecosystem for everyone.

“Aspen Journalism is great because they provide in-depth reporting on topics that wouldn't otherwise get covered. I am proud to be able to share their work with our readers.” — Andre Salvail, Aspen Daily News editor-in-chief

An independent, community resource.

Supporters value the quality of our journalism. They are passionate about the beats we cover from our water, environment, social justice, history and data desks; they understand the importance of in-depth reporting on local topics that otherwise wouldn’t be covered; they understand the impact of our reporting on the places they love; they believe in our reporters and leadership, and they value our unbiased reporting to the community.

Make your impact.

This investigative journalism is produced for you — the community — and provided to our collaborators as a public service. These stories go untold without the dedication of our reporters and the generosity of our readers and funders. 

Will you make your impact on the community and donate to nonprofit journalism today?