Purpose, Mission, Values and Goals
The Estes Valley Voice is a journalist-founded news firm in Estes Park, Colorado.
Our purpose is to reestablish excellent, locally owned, independent journalism for the Estes Valley community.
Journalism is the production and distribution of news reports, features, and commentary about a community’s people, events, businesses, and government.
Our mission is twofold: to produce and distribute news, features, and commentary based on six fundamental cornerstones of journalism—integrity, independence, accuracy, accountability, objectivity, and transparency—and to be a forum for the civil exchange of viewpoints and public engagement.
The Need for Community Journalism
Independent media is an essential component of democracy. Journalism serves as a watchdog over government and a witness to the life of a community.
With the advent of the internet and the dawn of the digital world, journalism has changed dramatically over the past quarter-century, as much as, if not more than, when Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press in 1440.
“The 2024 State of Local News,” a study issued annually by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism reported that over the past two decades, more than 3,200 local papers across the country have closed or merged with other papers. This amounts to more than one-third of the newspapers that existed in 2005. On average, 2.5 newspapers a week closed in 2023. Many newspapers are now owned by corporations that have gutted newsrooms of reporters and editors leaving the paper a ghost of its former self, and thousands of communities are media deserts.
The Estes Valley Voice offers a paywall-free journalism model. We publish online three to five days a week, depending on the news cycle. The Estes Valley Voice reports on town and county government, our local federal resources, including Rocky Mountain National Park, the National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Postal Service, our tourism, hospitality, and service business, our arts and entertainment community, our local schools, and the many special taxing districts in the Estes Valley, including the Estes Valley Library District, Park Hospital District, Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, Estes Park Sanitation District, Upper Thompson Sanitation District, Estes Valley Fire Protection District, and Visit Estes Park, the local marketing district.
The Estes Valley Voice: What’s in a name?
Journalism is a partnership of writers, readers, and community leaders, and we hope our name—Estes Valley Voice—reflects the many voices in the Estes Valley.
Too often, people communicate in silos only with others who affirm their beliefs and biases. This is dangerous to democracy. Learning to listen and hear what is being said is as important as everyone having their say.
The Estes Valley Voice values civil dialogue about serious issues where people can agree to disagree respectfully. We understand there are many diverse ideas and opinions in the public square. We hope that the Estes Valley Voice is a platform for information and the exchange of views so that, as a community, we can try to understand ourselves and our neighbors better, so we can work together to seek the best solutions to the problems and challenges we face.
A free press, yes, but journalism is not free
A free press means an independent press, and while the Estes Valley Voice does not have a paywall to read its stories, journalism—the production and distribution of news reports, features, and commentary— is not free. Journalists are professionals who deserve to be paid for their work in researching and reporting the news that you read.
We are a Public Benefit Corporation
The Estes Valley Voice is a public benefit corporation. The first order of any business is to stay in business. To produce and distribute original content, our work is supported by subscribers, sponsors, advertisers, and investors.
While a public benefit corporation is a traditional tax-paying corporation, it is held to a higher standard of purpose, accountability, and transparency to its corporate and community stockholders.
Local journalism: Telling the community’s story
Currently, there are two weekly newsprint publications in the Estes Valley area. One is an advertising shopper that does not employ reporters and does not cover news events. It is a community bulletin board that prints information about local activities and entertainment. The other publication does not have an editor and is owned by a hedge fund based in Manhattan.
The Estes Valley Voice believes in local journalism by local journalists who have boots-on-the-ground and a grubstake in the community. We want to be nimble enough to cover breaking news and provide in-depth reporting on community meetings, our elected officials, special taxing districts, issues affecting Estes Valley businesses and the local economy, and the people and events important to the Estes Valley.
Why digital?
More than 80 percent of people read their news online today. Online news provides the immediacy of information without the delay and expense of layout and printing and the complications of delivering a traditional, old-fashioned newspaper. Many people are also concerned about the ecological impact of newspaper printing on the environment.
Our model is to provide the immediacy of online news posted to our website and to deliver an email to our subscribers’ inboxes three times a week.
Our digital newsroom was developed by Newspack, which is owned by Automattic Inc., a U.S.-based software and services company and the commercial arm of WordPress, the open-source publishing software. The Estes Valley Voice had a soft launch in May 2024 and became fully operational on June 28, 2024.
Who we are
The Estes Valley Voice news team includes local writers, editors, photographers, and content producers who all call the Estes Valley home. Our senior editorial staff members are:
Patti Brown, Editor and Founder | pattibrown@estesvalleyvoice.com
Suzy Blackhurst, Senior Editor | suzyb@estesvalleyvoice.com
Barb Boyer Buck, Senior Writer | barboyerbuck@estesvalleyvoice.com
For information on how to advertise or support the work of the Estes Valley Voice, please call us at 970-586-1888 or email us at news@estesvalleyvoice.com to talk with our Business Manager and Director of Sales, who oversees our advertising sales, sponsorships, subscriptions, marketing, and audience engagement.
Our Editorial Board
The Estes Valley Voice Editorial Board consists of five individuals who represent some of the many voices in the Estes Valley. The role of this group is to provide a sounding board to the Estes Valley Voice about the issues of importance to our readers.
Members meet with the editor and writers to critique news reports, feature stories, and commentary that the Estes Valley Voice has reported on and offer ideas about stories and editorials that should be covered. Board members serve for terms of either two or three years on a volunteer basis and receive no compensation for their role other than cups of coffee or tea and an offering of muffins at the meetings.
The Estes Valley Voice is fiercely independent and strives for best practices in journalistic integrity. None of our editorial board members are advertisers.
Contact us
Phone: 970-586-1888
Address: Our mailing address is Estes Valley Voice, 1180 Graves Avenue, A7, Estes Park, CO 80517.
Office Hours: Weekdays 9:00 to 12:00 p.m. and by appointment. Please call.
For help regarding your membership or account, please email news@estesvalleyvoice.com
News tips and story ideas
To reach our news desk with news tips and story ideas, you can send an email at news@estesvalleyvoice.com. You can also call us at phone 970-586-1888.
Original content
The Estes Valley Voice produces and distributes original content written by real people, not artificial intelligence.
It is a common journalistic practice to use word processing software to catch spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors. As these tools become more sophisticated, they offer additional editorial screening and suggestions which we can employ, but our editorial copy is written by journalists and reviewed by editors.
Our stories and the still and video images must convey the truth so that our readers can rely on what we publish. Photographs and videos may be cropped for composition and edited according to standard journalistic practices. However, our still and video images will not be framed or digitally manipulated to create something untrue or that did not happen. Photo illustrations and graphics created using graphic design software will be identified as an illustration without any ambiguity.
The National Press Photographers Association’s code of ethics will guide our staff and freelance photographers.
Editorial style
The Estes Valley Voice will use the Associated Press Stylebook – the industry standard for American English grammar, punctuation, reporting and news writing principles, and media law – as its style guide and reference. There are a few AP conventions that the Estes Valley Voice does not follow. For example, the Estes Valley Voice uses the Oxford or serial comma.
We have developed a quick reference guide incorporating AP conventions with our style adaptations. We are happy to provide it to our readers and contributors for their reference.
Corrections
Poet Alexander Pope famously wrote, “To err is human.” The Estes Valley Voice strives for accuracy in our reporting and clarity in our writing. While not everyone may like our reporting or agree with our opinions and commentary, we will acknowledge factual errors when we make a mistake. As journalists, we have an ethical responsibility to correct the record.
If the error is a typographical one related to the spelling of someone’s name or a numerical error, such as a date, an address, or a dollar amount, we will readily correct the detail.
When we are notified of a reporting error, we fact-check the information, update the online article, and acknowledge the mistake and correction in an editor’s note.
For corrections, please email pattibrown@estesvalleyvoice.com.
Letters to the Editor
Letters can be emailed to news@estesvalleyvoice.com. To have your letter included in the Estes Valley Voice, please include your name, email address, the town you live in, and a phone number where we can contact you to verify that you are the letter’s author.
Typically, a letter to the editor is under 400 words and expresses the writer’s opinion on a specific topic. The Estes Valley Voice reserves the right to edit a letter for brevity and to correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
Guest opinions
Guest Opinions, sometimes called an “op-ed,” can be submitted to news@estesvalleyvoice.com. A Guest Opinion is usually a more extended essay on a topic in which the writer has some expertise. Depending on the topic and the scope of what is being covered, an op-ed might run 700 to 1,100 words. Writers are reminded that Shakespeare wisely wrote “Brevity is the soul of wit“‘ (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2).
Please contact the editor in advance by phone or email about an idea for a Guest Opinion and to coordinate the best publication date for your essay.
Freelancing
The Estes Valley Voice employs contributing writers and photographers who live and work in the Estes Valley and have a direct connection to the community. If you want to work with us, please email your resume, a sample of your published writing, and examples of your photography or graphic artwork to pattibrown@estesvalleyvoice.com.
How we are funded
The Estes Valley Voice is a public benefit corporation. Under Colorado law, a public benefit corporation is a for-profit company incorporated with a mission. We are funded through subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising.
Codex of our values and ethics
Ethics are beliefs about what is considered right and wrong, fair and unfair, just and unjust, and good and evil. Values are the principles and ideals upon which decisions are made and actions are taken. Ethics and values are interwoven. Together, they determine how we conduct ourselves “whether or not someone is watching.”
Defining our values and ethics in writing for our readers is part of our commitment to responsible journalism. Based on six cornerstones of journalism, this codex provides the overarching principles of operation for the Estes Valley Voice. This codex applies to all staff members and freelancers.
Six Cornerstones of Journalism
Integrity – In a word, integrity means honesty. It is about seeking and telling the truth in the stories we report. It is also about holding ourselves to a standard of honesty in dealing with people. It has been said that you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own set of facts. Truth is not subjective. It is based on facts. Something is either true or it is not, and someone is either honest or they are not.
Without truth, journalism is little more than fiction; without integrity, a journalist’s work cannot be trusted.
One of the concerns many readers have today is that they do not trust the news media to provide them with the truth. Journalism must stand upon and uphold the truth.
Independence – To be independent is to be free of influence. While the Estes Valley Voice is financially supported by subscribers, sponsors, advertisers, and investors, the decisions about the stories we select to report on and the opinions we express are based on their newsworthiness and salience to our community as determined solely by our editor and not dictated by financial or other influences.
Accuracy – Accuracy is about getting the facts of a story correct. Journalism is predicated on fact-based reporting. The 5W’s and 1H—who, what, when, where, why, and how—are essential questions that must be asked and answered to get a story right. Readers must be able to trust that the news they are reading has been fact-checked and that the sources have been vetted. The Estes Valley Voice believes it is better to be accurate than fast because “breaking news” is just that – broken news. Being the first to report a news story is not as important as reporting it correctly.
Accountability – Accountability means to take responsibility when a mistake has been made. We all make mistakes. At the Estes Valley Voice, we try hard to be accurate in our reporting so that we can try to understand ourselves and each other and make informed decisions about our community. Journalism is the first draft of history. When we make mistakes—and we will—we will act quickly to acknowledge our error and correct the record.
Objectivity – Objectivity is the ability to take an impartial, neutral stance on a given subject. Objectivity is perhaps the most difficult, if not the most impossible, attribute for a journalist to master because everyone has opinions, beliefs, and biases about any number of things, from politics, culture, and religion to preferences about music, food, and favorite colors. Journalists and content contributors need to recognize that they can have conscious and unconscious biases that drive how they approach any given topic. They must be open to discussing with the editors and other staff members how their biases affect their ability to write with objectivity. While it may not be possible for anyone to be entirely objective, pursuing objectivity is an essential attribute that journalists should strive for.
Transparency – A free and independent media must tell the stories of a community without a hidden agenda. While no one newsroom can tell every story, journalists cannot carry the water of elected officials, advertisers, or other community stakeholders in deciding what stories are newsworthy. Editorial decisions about the stories that are reported or commented on must be made because of importance and value to the community, and the editor and publisher must be willing to explain those decisions when questioned with the same clarity the media demands of the people, organizations, and institutions it covers.
A commitment to our readers and our community
As a news firm, the Estes Valley Voice promises our readers that our agenda is to report the truth and to faithfully record the community’s story. Truth is not subjective. It is based on facts, and it is not slanted or spun.
We will earnestly report the news with journalistic independence, we will do so with respect for the people and the community we write about, and we will be accountable to our readers.
The Estes Valley Voice will not mislead people for information. When seeking information for stories, we will identify ourselves as being with the Estes Valley Voice, and when asked, we will provide a business card and show appropriate press credentials.
When we directly approach someone in public or contact them via a phone or email for information or an interview, we will identify ourselves at the outset as writing on the record for the Estes Valley Voice.
Information available to the general public or obtained in the public square is fair for us to report on or photograph even if we do not identify as journalists.
If an Estes Valley Voice journalist is unethical, if their behavior leads to allegations of professional misconduct, or if the way they lead their personal life creates concerns about their character, it will be necessary for the Estes Valley Voice to separate themselves from the journalist to protect the reputation of the news firm. It may also be necessary for the Estes Valley Voice to take steps to remediate the wrong and repair the harm done by a journalist.
Bias, conflicts, and impartiality
As journalists, we will strive to be aware of our biases and keep them in check while acknowledging that it is impossible to be completely detached, unbiased, and impartial about issues we report on and care about.
The Estes Valley is a small community where people know one another as friends, neighbors, customers, clients, and colleagues. We will do everything possible to avoid conflicts of interest that would cast a shadow on our integrity and reporting. We will disclose conflicts of interest to our colleagues and Estes Valley readers, and when appropriate, we will recuse ourselves from reporting on certain stories.
Fairness and balance
We strive to be fair-minded and thorough in our reporting, weighing the public’s right to know against the importance of privacy and other considerations. We also strive for balance. We will seek out multiple sources and diverse voices to verify information. When relevant, we will identify the political, social, or cultural agendas of our sources and subjects.
As journalists, we often have to ask tough questions in difficult moments. Difficult stories are difficult on the subjects and the journalists reporting on them. Our agenda is to tell the community’s stories, which we will do with compassion, honesty, and integrity.
We will allow people and organizations to comment and tell us “their side” of a story. If we cannot connect with a subject or a spokesperson from an organization, we will include that information in our reporting.
Reporting on public officials and press releases
The Estes Valley Voice holds public officials, politicians, public information officers, corporate spokespersons, and others in the public eye to a higher standard in dealing with the media when it comes to using quotes.
The Estes Valley Voice is not a bulletin board. While we may quote from or reference a written statement provided to us, Estes Valley Voice will not print a press release verbatim as news because that is not independent, original journalism.
Reporting on children, vulnerable adults, and those with special needs
The Estes Valley Voice will be sensitive to how we cover stories about children, vulnerable adults, and individuals with special needs. Children under 16 years of age will not be interviewed for news reports without the consent of a parent or guardian. Group photos of children at school, sporting events, or other public activities may be used, but their identities will not be used unless permission from a parent or guardian is obtained.
Vulnerable and dependent adults are individuals who may have a developmental disability or who are dealing with a medical or mental health condition. The Estes Valley Voice will be sensitive when dealing with individuals with special needs. We do not want to exploit vulnerable or dependent individuals by interviewing or photographing them or reporting stories about them unless it is in the greater public interest to do so. An example might be that a dependent adult is missing, and in all special circumstances decisions will be made by the senior editorial staff.
News and Features
There is a difference between news, feature stories, and commentary. Our news reporting strives to be direct and unbiased and appears under the banner of “News.” News reports and feature stories carry a byline of the writer or writers.
Editorial opinions and commentary
It has been said that you are entitled to your opinion but not your own facts. Editorials are opinion pieces that identify a situation, articulate a point of view, and recommend a course of action. Published under the banner of “Commentary,” our editorials differ from our news reporting because they contain opinions; however, an editorial must still be based on verifiable facts. The Estes Valley Voice’s editorials express the views of the editor, publisher, and editorial board. Our Commentary will be published only after the verifiable facts of the situation have been published in a news story.
Columns and Guest Opinions—sometimes called opinion editorials or op-eds—carry the name of the columnist or opinion writer. Contributing columnists are selected because they have expertise about the community or issues of the day and are good writers. Columns and Guest Opinions reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily the views of the Estes Valley Voice.
Photos and graphics
Artwork, such as opinion cartoons, are forms of visual rhetoric and have long been an important part of journalism. Opinion cartoons use satire and exaggeration as a mirror or a microscope to express points of view about a situation. They help us look closer at ourselves, our elected officials, situations, events, and our community.
Our photographs will be attributed to the photographer who took the picture. While lighting or color may be adjusted with post-production software, photos will not be manipulated to convey something that did not occur.
Our graphics and illustrations will carry the attribution of the artist who created them.
Bylines
A byline names the journalist who wrote or produced a story. The Estes Valley Voice does not use pseudonyms. Photographers, graphic artists, and other contributors are entitled to bylines. Sometimes, it is appropriate to provide a note at the end of a story to acknowledge others who contributed to researching, reporting, or writing the article.
Anonymity
The Estes Valley Voice values transparency and accountability; therefore, there are very few situations when Estes Valley Voice will quote an unnamed source. There may be situations when the value of a quote from an unnamed source—such as from a victim of a crime, from someone who has experienced a traumatic event, or in the case of a whistleblower, or if someone might be in danger if their identity were revealed—outweighs the need for transparency and accountability.
A decision to use an anonymous quote will be made in consultation with the senior editorial staff. The journalist must know the source’s name, be able to contact the source and provide the editor with that information. If the decision to use an anonymous source is made, the news report will include a reason the source’s name has been protected.
Government spokespeople are not given anonymity when speaking in an official capacity and providing an official comment. Public figures and heads of public organizations or issue advocacy groups are not given anonymity when commenting on topics with which they are associated.
We do not pay for information or interviews
The Estes Valley Voice will pay administrative and copying fees for public records, but we do not pay individuals or businesses for information or interviews.
In our reporting, we will disclose when records were acquired through a process, such as the Colorado Open Records Act, and we will disclose what fees or costs were associated with obtaining the information.
The Estes Valley Voice does not pay subjects to shoot photos or videos of themselves. If we report on someone and they supply a photo, such as a headshot, we will acknowledge the image as a courtesy photo.
If the Estes Valley Voice uses a photo or video made by a professional or amateur photographer, paying them for their work as a freelancer is ethically acceptable.
During an interview, the Estes Valley Voice might buy someone a cup of coffee, and we will occasionally host engagement events with members of the community where we may provide food or beverages as hospitality. These interactions should never be considered as leverage in exchange for information.
Advertorials
The Estes Valley Voice does not publish advertorials, a form of advertising designed to appear as a news story. Our editorial content is produced by our journalists and not by our advertisers, and our journalists do not produce advertorial content.
Original content
It is the policy of the Estes Valley Voice to write our own news and feature articles and not to reprint or publish a press release written by an outside individual or organization.
The Estes Valley Voice does not publish material that appears in other print or online publications.
If we write a story about a person or a business that is a sponsor or advertiser in the Estes Valley Voice, it is because there is something genuinely newsworthy about the company or individual.
No pre-publication reviews
As an independent news media firm, we do not allow people to change their quotes, select or reject photos, or read or edit our writing before publication. We do our best to fact-check our reporting, and that can include double-checking quotes and information with sources before publication, but the Estes Valley Voice does not share our editorial copy outside of our newsroom prior to publication. Our senior editorial staff is the arbitrator of what we publish.
Retractions and removals
The Estes Valley Voice will not retract or remove a news article or a photograph unless it is fundamentally flawed. If an article contains inaccurate information, we will correct it and post a notice about the correction. Depending on the situation, after an article has been published, a note may be added to the article with an update or clarification.
Journalist terms defined
As journalists, it is our responsibility to explain the following terms to sources and agree to them before an interview. All interviews and information provided to Estes Valley Voice in an interview, in writing, electronically, or in any other manner are on the record unless agreed otherwise.
Any request by a source—especially one who frequently interacts with the media—to retroactively place a comment off the record will be viewed with extreme skepticism by the Estes Valley Voice.
“On the record” means that information provided to the Estes Valley Voice can be used and that quotes will include a person’s name as a source.
“Not for attribution” means that information can be published and used in quotes, but the source will not be identified. A quote that is “not for attribution” must comply with our rules for anonymous quotes.
“On background” means that information can be published for context, but the information cannot be used in quotes or have the source’s name attached.
“Off the record” means that the source providing information shall announce prior to providing the information that the information is “off the record” and cannot be published or used in quotes and cannot have the source’s name attached.
Headlines
Headlines in the Estes Valley Voice will accurately reflect a story. Headlines can have many characteristics. They may be direct, catchy, even humorous, but they must be true.
Datelines
A dateline appears at the beginning of a story and tells the reader where the story was written. When a story carries a dateline, it means that a journalist covered the story in person, with boots-on-the-ground at the location where the story happened. In the Estes Valley Voice, a story written from phone interviews and emails, or from covering a meeting online will not carry a dateline.
Taglines
A tagline appears at the end of the story and provides additional information about journalists or others who contributed to the story. A tagline appears in italics to distinguish it from the body of the story.
Quotation marks
Quotation marks are punctuation marks that surround the exact words someone spoke, as accurately and earnestly as our journalists’ ability to record them. If there is any confusion about exactly what a person said, quotation marks are not used.
Ellipses
Ellipses are three consecutive periods used in a quotation when a quote is condensed, and words are omitted. A quote may be condensed for clarity, but when an ellipse is used, every effort is made not to change the meaning of the quote.
This standard of condensing a quote applies when editing audio or video clips.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is stealing someone else’s words, photographs, or graphic art and passing them off as your work. The Estes Valley Voice strives for accurate and original content in what we produce and distribute. We will immediately address any concerns of plagiarism in the Estes Valley Voice that are brought to our attention. Because we are concerned about plagiarism, we will not publish content generated through artificial intelligence software.
Credit
The Estes Valley Voice will credit other journalists and news outlets that provide a primary source of information in our reporting, and we will provide a link to the journalist’s or news outlet’s website if possible. As members of the Associated Press, we will acknowledge the contribution of AP materials or sources in our reporting. We will also provide readers with links to sources we used to obtain information about a story.
Respect and civility in the public square
The Estes Valley Voice recognizes and respects the diversity of people and voices in the Estes Valley. We are committed to fighting barriers that marginalize or exclude individuals and groups from civic, educational, healthcare, housing, employment, and recreational opportunities. We believe that two of the most important roles of an independent media are to champion the democratic process and to promote the social good.
Livability, sustainability, development, and the Estes Valley community
People come to live in the Estes Valley because they love the natural beauty of Colorado’s Front Range and the Rocky Mountains. The Estes Valley has long been a community of visitors and residents. Tourism and hospitality developed as the area’s leading industries.
The Estes Valley Voice recognizes that there is a balance between the needs of the full-time residents, businesses and property owners, those who commute to work in our community, and the millions of visitors who come to Estes Park as a basecamp and then cross our threshold to experience and enjoy Rocky Mountain National Park, the Roosevelt National Forest, and the entire Estes Valley. The Estes Valley Voice seeks to be a part of the conversation about the balance of livability, sustainability, and development.
Politics and the public square
Our word “politics” comes from the Greek polis, meaning the Greek city-state. Politics are the activities of governance. Politics involves group processes such as establishing policies or laws and determining the direction of a community. Print, broadcast, and digital media have long been engaged in politics through advocacy and framing issues.
The First Amendment guarantees the right of the press to operate in the public square. An independent free press is necessary for the healthy workings of democracy. It is the role of the media to attend public meetings, to obtain public records, to follow court proceedings, and to ask questions, to press for answers, and to report the truth to the public.
The Estes Valley Voice is proud to participate in the political life of the community through its coverage of news stories and its editorial comments. We will work hard to keep our news reports fair and without bias and to keep our opinions contained in our editorials.
And for the record, the Estes Valley Voice is non-partisan. We are not affiliated with any political party.
No free lunches
Impartiality and independence are essential in journalism. Outside of private, personal relationships, our journalists do not accept gifts, free meals or drinks, tickets, travel accommodations, or other perks. Period. There are no exceptions to this rule.
We will apply for media credentials to enter an event to cover it, but we will not accept complimentary tickets to attend a concert or other event.
Our journalists pay for their food at events they are covering, and they submit an expense report to the Estes Valley Voice for reimbursement.
Our journalists will donate gifts sent to them by advertisers or people they have written stories about to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
There are few exceptions to these rules. If a journalist is in a situation where it would be impolite to refuse an offer of simple hospitality, such as a cup of coffee in someone’s home during an interview, it is better to err on the side of grace than to cause offense.
The line between journalist and private citizen
In many ways, a journalist becomes a public figure because their name and often their picture are in the public domain, which amplifies their professional and personal voices.
Therefore, journalists must be mindful of their footprint in the public square, including postings on their own social media pages, voter registration and campaign contributions, membership in organizations, and involvement in community events, including fundraisers and other such activities, so they are not seen as trading on their influence as journalists.
While our staff journalists, regular columnists, and contributors can freelance for other publications, they must inform the Estes Valley Voice editor to ensure no conflict of interest.
In writing for other publications, our journalists and freelancers must maintain the same ethical standards expected of them at the Estes Valley Voice because our journalists are identified by their association with the Estes Valley Voice.
While these standards of personal conduct may seem strident, integrity in journalism is essential. The public must have confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the news that the Estes Valley Voice reports.
Welcoming public input
We welcome the public’s help in bringing to our attention information about errors we have made or violations of our code. We also welcome ideas about stories that the Estes Valley Voice should consider covering.
Updating this codex
This codex may seem to wade into the weeds, but the Estes Valley Voice believes it is important to define our terms and outline our operating policies for ourselves and our readers. Based on input from our readers and our own lived experience, this codex will be reviewed at a minimum every six months and updated as necessary, and—in the spirit of accountability we aspire to hold ourselves to—we will inform our readers of the changes.
Appreciation
In drafting this codex, we stand on the shoulders of others who have forged the path before us. The Estes Valley Voice consulted with many individuals, and we drew on the ethics codes of several models, including the Colorado Media Project, LION Publishers, The Colorado Sun, the Society of Professional Journalists, ProPublica, the Center for Investigative Reporting, National Public Radio, The Trust Project, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. We wish to thank Jana Sanchez for her thoughtful feedback.
updated: June 4, 2025
