AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Colorado Newspaper Hall of Fame

Honoring the people whose leadership, service and dedication have shaped Colorado journalism.

The Colorado Newspaper Hall of Fame honors journalists, publishers, editors and advocates whose contributions have shaped journalism across the state. Honorees are recognized for service to communities, contributions to the news industry, or work advancing press freedom, free speech, open government and the public’s right to know.

Hall of Fame honorees

Affiliations reflect those listed at the time of recognition.

Ken Amundson (opens in a new tab)

2024

BizWest

Ken Amundson

2024

Ken Amundson, who retired May 31, 2024, after 51 years in journalism, lives in Loveland. He began his career in Marshall, Minnesota, moved on to Dubuque, Iowa, and finally to Colorado in 1987 as managing editor of the Loveland Reporter-Herald. He spent 25 years with Lehman Communications at Loveland, Longmont and other Lehman properties. He served on the company's board of directors, the editorial board, and his final position with the company at the time of the company's sale was as editor and general manager of the Reporter-Herald. He helped oversee the construction of the company's $20 million printing plant in Berthoud including negotiating the contract with the German press manufacturer, ManRoland.

He then worked for two years as general manager of Ballantine Communications' newspaper division under Richard Ballantine. During the decade leading up to his 2024 retirement, he worked in various positions with BizWest Media LLC, the business journal publisher in Northern Colorado. During that time, he was vice president of operations, publisher of the Wyoming Business Report and for the final several years managing editor of BizWest.

He served as president of the Colorado Press Association in 2001 at which time the association secured new legislation requiring governments to record executive sessions and giving citizens access to those recordings when executive sessions were improperly conducted.

He defines himself as a "community journalist," which he defines as a journalist who is deeply imbedded in the community that is being covered: Understanding and living with the issues a community faces, providing in-depth coverage of those issues and, on the editorial (opinion) side, helping to craft solutions, helping to guide the community to a better place.

Morley Ballantine (opens in a new tab)

2018

Durango Herald

Morley Ballantine

2018

Morley Ballantine helped shape journalism, education and civic life in southwestern Colorado. Born Elizabeth Morley Cowles into a newspaper-publishing family, she moved to Durango with her husband, Arthur Ballantine, in 1952. They purchased the Durango News and The Herald Democrat and combined them as The Durango Herald in 1960.

As an editor, writer and newspaper leader, Ballantine advocated for civil rights, women's equality, education and culture. She became the first woman to chair the Colorado Press Association in 1968 and later led the Herald following her husband's death.

The Ballantine Family Fund supported Fort Lewis College, its Center of Southwest Studies and the Durango Arts Center. Her work also included the Women's Resource Center in Durango, the Women's Foundation of Colorado and the League of Women Voters. She earned a degree from Fort Lewis College and received an honorary doctorate there in 2004. Ballantine died in 2009; CPA inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 2018.

Richard Ballantine (opens in a new tab)

2019

Ballantine Communications

Richard Ballantine

2019

Richard Ballantine served as publisher of The Durango Herald from 1983 to 2013, continuing a family tradition in newspaper publishing. His parents, Morley and Arthur Ballantine, had moved to Durango in the early 1950s, purchased two newspapers and combined them into the Herald. The family's publishing history also included the Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Ballantine studied history at Stanford University and served as an Army adviser during the Vietnam War. He later joined his mother in leading the Herald and succeeded her as publisher. Alongside his newspaper work, he farmed oats, wheat and hay in southwestern Colorado.

During his leadership, Ballantine Communications acquired the Cortez Journal and weekly newspapers in Mancos and Dolores, published business magazines and telephone directories, launched websites and reorganized its operations. After stepping down as publisher and CEO, he continued as chairman of the company's board and served on the newspapers' editorial board.

Ballantine listened carefully, supported reporters' independence and insisted that people in power answer for the needs of southwestern Colorado. Colleagues emphasized his connections across the community and his commitment to a strong local newspaper. His induction followed his mother Morley's recognition the previous year.

Randy Bangert (opens in a new tab)

2018

Greeley Tribune

Randy Bangert

2018

Randy Bangert built his newspaper career at the Greeley Tribune, beginning as a sportswriter in the 1970s and later serving as sports editor, reporter, city editor, managing editor and editor. His work connected daily reporting with a sustained commitment to the community the newspaper served.

Colleagues credited Bangert with setting high expectations for reporting and editorial work while supporting journalists through difficult stories. Under his leadership, the Tribune developed projects such as a year-long series on Latino culture. Its recognition included the National Newspaper Association's award for the nation's best community newspaper in 1996.

Bangert also helped the newsroom adapt to digital publishing, encouraging video, social media and timely online coverage. During Colorado's 2013 floods, the Tribune provided continuing updates about conditions, donations and help. Bangert welcomed readers, participated in community organizations and defended sound reporting even when it drew criticism. CPA inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2018.

Merle Baranczyk (opens in a new tab)

2019

Arkansas Valley Publishing

Merle Baranczyk

2019

Merle Baranczyk began in journalism as editor of the high-school newspaper in Pulaski, Wisconsin. After earning a communications degree at the University of Wisconsin, he served in the Marines and wrote for a military newspaper during the Vietnam War. A visit to Colorado led to an editing job at a newspaper in Fountain.

He later took over the Mountain Mail in Salida. Merle and Mary Baranczyk purchased the newspaper from The Grand Junction Sentinel in the 1970s and expanded their company, Arkansas Valley Publishing, to include the Chaffee County Times, the Leadville Herald Democrat and the Fairplay Flume, as well as guides, brochures and shoppers.

The couple's work encompassed publishing, editorial writing, advertising, composition and production. Their business endured difficult local economic changes and a costly libel case that ultimately was decided in their favor. Baranczyk also served as president of Salida's Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce and was twice named the community's Man of the Year.

As president of the National Newspaper Association from 2012 to 2013, he advocated against postal and newsprint cost increases and made the case for the continued importance of community newspapers. He focused on covering local public bodies, preserving community history and helping residents make informed decisions. CPA inducted him in 2019.

Fred Brown

2026

Journalist and national ethics leader (inducted posthumously)

Fred Brown

2026

Fred Brown spent 39 years at The Denver Post, mostly covering politics and government and serving for many years as Capitol bureau chief. After retiring from the Post in 2002, he continued writing about politics, worked as a longtime analyst for KUSA-9News and taught journalism ethics at the University of Denver from 2006 to 2021.

Brown served as national president of the Society of Professional Journalists in 1997-98, chaired its national ethics committee, helped rewrite the SPJ Code of Ethics and wrote and edited the organization's ethics book. SPJ honored him with its Wells Memorial Key in 2006 and, after his death in 2026, renamed its national ethics award the Fred Brown SPJ Ethics in Journalism Award.

In Colorado, Brown led the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter, supported the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and mentored generations of journalists. His induction recognizes distinguished political journalism, national leadership, teaching, open-government advocacy and an enduring commitment to the public's right to know.

Read SPJ’s remembrance of Fred Brown ↗

Patricia Calhoun (opens in a new tab)

2022

Westword

Patricia Calhoun

2022

Patricia Calhoun co-founded Westword in 1977 and has been the editor ever since. She’s been described as “a Denver fixture as durable as the U.S. Mint.” She’s a regular on the weekly CPT12 roundtable Colorado Inside Out, played a real journalist in John Sayles’s Silver City, once interviewed President Bill Clinton while wearing flip-flops, and has been honored with numerous national awards for her columns and feature-writing.

Jeanette Chavez

2025

retired Denver Post managing editor, past CPA president

Jeanette Chavez

2025

Jeanette Chavez served as managing editor at The Denver Post from 1997 through 2011. During her tenure, the staff won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the shootings at Columbine High School. She has served as a Pulitzer juror and as a panelist and speaker on journalism-related topics abroad as well as in the United States. Prior to The Post, she worked as a reporter and editor for several newspapers, including the Chicago Sun-Times, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald and the Colorado Springs Sun. She was chairman of CPA in 2011-2012.

She has served on the boards of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, the Best of the West contest and the CU journalism advisory committee.

The Denver native graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in journalism and was involved in the revitalization of the program and integration into CMCI.

Percy Connaroe (opens in a new tab)

2022

Louisville Times, Lafayette News and Erie Review (inducted posthumously)

Percy Connaroe

2022

The late Percy Connaroe started his journalism career in 1948 at the Calhan News. He later purchased and published the Simla Pike View Farmer (now known as the Ranchland News) from 1952 to 1965. He was owner, editor and publisher of the Louisville Times, Lafayette News and Erie Review from 1965 to 1997. He worked to become one of the most acclaimed editorial writers in Colorado. In 1992, he was named CPA Newspaper Person of the Year. Percy never backed down from a political battle because he felt that any local newspaper worth its salt should get involved in local controversies. He, along with his wife Carolyn, worked every day with passion to make Louisville, Lafayette and Erie well-planned, economically vital communities. During his 50-year journalism career, Percy mentored many budding Colorado journalists. He called it "Percy's Imperfect Newspaper Training School." Many of his mentees later became executives, editors and reporters at prominent news organizations.

Rosalind “Bee” Harris (opens in a new tab)

2024

Denver Urban Spectrum

Rosalind “Bee” Harris

2024

Rosalind J. Harris also referred to and known as Bee is the owner, publisher and art director of the Denver Urban Spectrum newspaper. She has been "spreading the news about people of color" since 1987. By her 2024 induction, DUS had provided a platform for hundreds of aspiring and diverse journalists for 37 years.

As an active member in the community, Bee has served on many boards in the capacity of an advisor and/or director including Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Visit Denver, the Coalition Against Global Genocide, the Colorado Press Association and many others.

Over the years, she has mentored and trained more than 250 youth ages 13 to 17 in the field of journalism with the Urban Spectrum Youth Foundation.

Over the years, she and Denver Urban Spectrum have received numerous awards. Bee was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2020.

Jerry Healey

2025

former owner, Colorado Community Media

Jerry Healey

2025

Jerry Healey is the retired owner and publisher of Colorado Community Media. He was also the former owner of Macari Healey Publishing Company (MHPC). Jerry earned his BS in Marketing from Northeastern University and an MS in Management from the University of Denver.

Jerry is also a former owner of Alpine Glass & Mirror in Vail, Colorado, and he broke into business with The Miami Herald and also worked for the Providence Journal. At the age of 29, he started MHPC in 1990 in Colorado. He acquired the Littleton Times in 1991 and then three additional newspapers in 1993, which were the Littleton Independent, Highlands Ranch Herald and Englewood Herald.

Jerry sold this group in 1997 but stayed close to them throughout the years. After owning other businesses, he re-entered the newspaper business in 2011 as CEO of Metro North Newspapers and Jackalope Publishing in west metro Denver with the task of turning around these struggling publications. Jerry later purchased them, the original newspapers and many more, forming Colorado Community Media (CCM). After a successful merger, the publications became profitable and served the communities with quality journalism. CCM sold the 26 publications to the National Trust for Local News in 2021. Jerry was the former president of several boards, including the Colorado Press Association. He won volunteer of the year for work with the Colorado CleanTech Open.

Ed Lehman (opens in a new tab)

2019

Longmont Times-Call (inducted posthumously)

Ed Lehman

2019

Ed Lehman's career brought together journalism, law and community newspaper publishing. Raised in Denver, he delivered The Denver Post as a teenager and reported for the Rocky Mountain News in the 1940s. He later worked as a night editor at The Post while attending law school, became a deputy district attorney and served in the Colorado Legislature.

Lehman and his wife, Ruth, moved to Longmont to publish the Times-Call. Their newspaper company grew to include the Loveland Reporter-Herald, the Cañon City Daily Record and weekly newspapers in Frederick and Erie. The family owned the Times-Call for 54 years before selling the company in 2011.

His newspapers advocated for open government and for the communities they covered. He supported local schools, transportation, public safety and civic projects, and helped encourage the Federal Aviation Administration to establish an operations center in Longmont. At the Daily Record, he supported years of reporting on the Cotter uranium operation near Cañon City.

Colleagues and family recalled a demanding, deeply involved publisher who kept close track of the work of his newsrooms. His 2016 autobiography, Rolling with the Press: A Publisher's Journey, reflected on both the rewards and difficulties of that work. CPA recognized his journalism, open-government advocacy and community leadership with posthumous induction into its Hall of Fame in 2019.

Albert Manzi (opens in a new tab)

2024

Prairie Mountain Media publisher (retired)

Albert Manzi

2024

Albert Manzi started his newspaper career at Times-Leader Newspaper in early 1983. He worked in the circulation department serving as customer service manager, home delivery manager, single copy manager, and assistant circulation director and in 1986, circulation director, a post held until 1995. Daily circulation increased from 20,000 copies to over 51,000.

In 1995, he was promoted to Vice President of Operations. He oversaw the installation of a $15 million printing facility and the start-up of the first Man-Roland Geo-Man press in the nation.

In 1997, he was named one of the nation’s top young newspaper executives by Presstime Magazine.

In 1998, he was promoted to Vice President of Marketing. During his tenure, the Times Leader set new revenue, circulation and profit records.

In December 1999, he was recruited by the Pulitzer Company, owners of the Provo Utah Daily Herald, as General Manager. Over the next three years, Al and his team made several strategic purchases of weekly papers, HomeChoice Magazine and converted the home delivered Shopper to mail delivery.

He was named CEO, President and Publisher in February of 2003. The management team he assembled established the Daily Herald Publishing Company as a vibrant, fast growing company and a recognized community leader. He was named 2004 Business Person of the Year by Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce.

He was named President and CEO of Prairie Mountain Publishing and Publisher of The Camera in July 2006. Prairie Mountain Publishing comprised 11 newspapers and websites in Colorado, including The Camera, The Colorado Daily, Broomfield Enterprise and the Eastern Colorado Publishing group. Later in 2011, PMM purchased the Lehman Publishing group that included the Longmont Times-Call, the Loveland Reporter-Herald, Canon City Daily Record and the Hometown Weekly, along with a state of the art printing facility in Berthoud, Colorado.

Later PMM purchased the Canon City Shopper, the South Platte Sentinel and finally the Greeley Tribune in 2020.

Al ended his 40 plus year media career with his retirement in July 2023. At the time of his 2024 induction, he served as a member of the finance committee for the Colorado Press Association and on the Broomfield Chamber Board of Directors.

His nonprofit support has included United Way, the Boulder Chamber and I Have A Dream of Boulder County.

Lonnie Nixon (opens in a new tab)

2023

Intermountain Color

Lonnie Nixon

2023

Lonnie Nixon helped sustain community journalism through printing. He founded Town and Country Printing in 1970, later Intermountain Color, after earlier work with the Record Stockman and Longmont Times-Call. The company became an important printer for Colorado's community newspapers and expanded to additional plants in Colorado and other states. Customers turned to Nixon not only for printing but also for business advice, brokerage and financial help. After an attempted retirement, he returned to lead the company through a financial turnaround before retiring following a later sale. Nixon and his company supported CPA's conventions and advocacy, including efforts to defeat a proposed newspaper tax. Nixon provided decades of practical support for the newspapers and communities they served.

Alfonzo Porter (opens in a new tab)

2023

Metropolitan State University of Denver and Denver Urban Spectrum (inducted posthumously)

Alfonzo Porter

2023

Alfonzo Porter combined journalism, teaching and mentorship in a career devoted to community voices. An MSU Denver journalism graduate, he returned to the university as an affiliate faculty member in 2014 and became associate director of Met Media in 2021. He was editor in chief of the Denver Urban Spectrum from 2016 until his death in March 2023. His reporting addressed education, mental health, police brutality and other community issues. He also founded Blizzy Magazine and worked in educational publishing. Porter held graduate degrees from Ohio State University and Walden University, wrote books on education and digital citizenship, and served on community boards, including CPA's. He was inducted into the CPA Hall of Fame posthumously in 2023.

Robert Hoag Rawlings (opens in a new tab)

2017

The Pueblo Chieftain (inducted posthumously)

Robert Hoag Rawlings

2017

Robert Hoag Rawlings spent 70 years with The Pueblo Chieftain and its former sister newspaper, The Pueblo Star-Journal. For 37 of those years he served as publisher and editor, becoming chairman of the Star-Journal Publishing Corp. in 2017. His career combined newspaper leadership, community advocacy and philanthropy in Pueblo and southeastern Colorado.

After taking over the newspapers in 1980, Rawlings used their editorial pages to advocate for the region. His priorities included Colorado State University-Pueblo, the Colorado State Fair, and the quantity and quality of water reaching Pueblo through Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River. His support for community institutions included a $4 million contribution toward the Pueblo library that bears his name.

Rawlings served in the Navy during World War II and remained an athlete and supporter of athletics. He led the Colorado Press Association in 1985-86. Colleagues remembered both his commitment to a strong community newspaper and the opportunities he gave young journalists to begin their careers.

Following his death in March 2017, CPA's past presidents selected him as the association's inaugural Hall of Fame inductee. The recognition honored his sustained dedication to his newspaper, community and the news industry.

Garrett Ray (opens in a new tab)

2018

Littleton Independent

Garrett Ray

2018

Garrett Ray began making newspapers as a child, founding the Neighborhood News in Greeley at age 11. He went on to edit his junior-high and high-school papers and the Colorado Daily at the University of Colorado. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at CU and a doctorate at the University of Cardiff.

After work on weekly newspapers in rural Colorado and Utah, Ray spent two decades as editor and publisher of the Littleton Independent and Arapahoe Herald. He also produced and hosted community television programs. He later joined Colorado State University's journalism faculty, where his teaching covered media ethics, reporting, editing and media management.

Ray wrote the monthly Editor's Notebook column for Publishers' Auxiliary and served as president of the Colorado Press Association, the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors and Colorado's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. He was a Congressional Fellow in Washington and a Knight Fellow at Stanford University. His honors included ISWNE's Golden Quill and Eugene Cervi awards, SPJ Colorado's Keeper of the Flame award and induction into the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame. CPA inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2018.

Jeff Roberts (opens in a new tab)

2023

CFOIC

Jeff Roberts

2023

Jeff Roberts has led the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition since July 2013. His work builds on a career in journalism and public policy. At The Denver Post, he worked as a reporter, assistant city editor and data journalism specialist on the newspaper's projects team from 1984 to 2007. He later spent four years at the University of Denver's Center for Colorado's Economic Future. Earlier, he reported for the News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Northwestern University and also serves as board president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

Bob and Gerri Sweeney

2026

Publishers, The Villager and Weekly Register-Call

Bob and Gerri Sweeney

2026

For decades, Bob and Gerri Sweeney have built and sustained community newspapers across Colorado. After Bob's early work in school journalism, Colorado State University and the U.S. Army, the couple returned to Craig, where he began selling advertising for Northwest Colorado Press. A year later, they purchased the paper. Gerri brought her business experience into every part of the operation, including business, news and advertising.

Over nearly 20 years, the Sweeneys grew a struggling letterpress weekly into a five-day Associated Press daily and a regional operation that printed more than 15 newspapers and employed about 80 people.

After selling the Craig properties, they moved to Cherry Hills Village and launched The Villager. In 2021, they purchased the Weekly Register-Call, founded in 1862, to preserve Colorado's oldest continuously published weekly newspaper. Their induction honors a partnership defined by family, persistence and a lifelong commitment to local journalism.

Houston Waring (opens in a new tab)

2022

Littleton Independent, (inducted posthumously)

Houston Waring

2022

"I'm just an ordinary man, but I work at it harder than most." Teddy Roosevelt's quote became Hous Waring's motto, and it served Waring and Littleton well for more than six decades. Waring started working for Ed Bemis at the Littleton Independent in 1926 and was named editor within a year. Within another year they became partners, and Hous had his small town paper. Waring was never the typical small town newspaper editor. He preached that weeklies "should cover the world -- not just the potholes on Main Street." Soon after becoming editor, he came out against the Ku Klux Klan; he opposed F.D.R.'s campaign for a third term because of his attempt to pack the Supreme Court; he was the first editor of a weekly newspaper to oppose the Vietnam War; and he often "scooped" the local dailies on important stories. Only five years into his assignment, the Independent was named one of the eleven best weeklies in the United States and Canada and received many other accolades throughout his tenure. He formed the Colorado Editorial Advisory Board to bring professional journalists and academics together, and he co-founded the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors and served three terms as president.

Steve Zansberg (opens in a new tab)

2025

First Amendment attorney

Steve Zansberg

2025

Steve Zansberg is a civil litigation attorney, based in Denver, who specializes in First Amendment and media law. At the time of his 2025 induction, Steve had represented both the CPA and its member papers for 30 years in fighting for access to government records and meetings, defending threatened and filed claims for defamation, and providing counsel on various legal issues connected to editorial and newsroom activities. Steve also serves as the Board President of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.

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