The end of the year is a great time to reflect on the past 12 months, look ahead to the future and even consider a resolution or two.
Last year at this time, I wrote that I had just spent a year picking up hundreds of discarded mini liquor bottles during my morning jogs to spruce up the neighborhood a little. I’m still at it, but I no longer count them (for the record, my neighbors are either drinking less or littering less in 2021 — so that’s some progress, right?).
This year, I’m tallying up the progress we have made at The Colorado Sun, thanks to support from our readers, members and sponsors. The Sun launched in September 2018 with 10 full-time staffers, and today we have 23, plus many others who write stories and shoot photos for us.
Also this year, The Sun became co-owner of 24 community newspapers, along with our partners at the National Trust for Local News. We stepped in to ensure that these newspapers remain in local hands and continue to serve their communities.
The Sun now reaches 190,000 newsletter subscribers and is supported by more than 15,000 members spread across Colorado. We recently added a health and climate newsletter, The Temperature, and the new Colorado Sunday to our suite of newsletter offerings.
We’ve been thrilled at the enthusiastic response to these newsletters and at the growing support that makes more journalism possible. The Sun is a locally owned public benefit corporation, and the money we raise through memberships goes right into producing stories and photos to keep Coloradans informed about our amazing state.
That’s going to be even more important as we head into 2022, which is shaping up to be another momentous year. COVID-19 continues to spread, the economy shows tentative signs of recovery, the legislature reconvenes next month (register here for our virtual legislative preview featuring Gov. Jared Polis and top lawmakers on Jan. 6) and midterm elections loom in November.
Colorado Sun journalists will be here to cover it all for you with the in-depth, nonpartisan, quality coverage that you have come to expect from us. That’s our continuing pledge to you. We also plan other events in 2022 on politics, health, climate and other important issues. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for events you’d like to see us produce.
I want to thank all of you who support The Sun through your memberships — including the dozens who joined just this week — and I’d like to encourage everyone else to consider signing up or upgrading your membership today. If you become a member or make a one-time contribution before Saturday, your dollars will be matched by Colorado Media Project via #NewsCOneeds. It’s a great way to start the new year!
Thanks again for reading The Sun.
Larry Ryckman is Editor of The Colorado Sun.
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This content was originally published here.
