By Alexa Lewis

Beth Potter’s newsroom was struggling to keep up with the demands of a 24-hour news cycle with dwindling resources—a problem faced by a growing number of newspapers across the country. When she arrived at the University of Colorado Boulder as an adjunct professor, she did so with a plan that would benefit these newsrooms as well as her students.

“I was getting sad,” Potter said, who worked as a journalist for nearly three decades. “I was working more and more hours and it seemed to matter less and less what I was doing.”

The Colorado Student News Service is a class directed by Potter pairing students with newsrooms in underserved and rural communities throughout the state. Since its inception in January of this year, the class has begun to relieve some of the pressures faced by local newsrooms while offering students valuable hands-on experience in the journalism field. This semester, 10 students are each paired with a different paper; Potter hopes to facilitate more partnerships as the program continues.

“All of these newsrooms are stretched so thin,” Potter said. “When we reach out to them, they immediately list 10 things they need.”

One of the main reporting gaps these newsrooms have been desperate to fill in Colorado is political coverage. Newsrooms across the state have struggled to consistently supply reporters in the statehouse, and Potter has noticed a growing disconnect between Colorado citizens and their representatives.

“The main point is that government entities like the state Legislature aren’t getting covered,” Potter said. “It’s not only what’s not getting covered, but making people in these rural areas care about what’s happening in the state Legislature.”

Potter believes that strong news-academic partnerships are essential in providing local newsrooms the bandwidth to effectively cover political issues in the state. On Friday, April 5, Potter brought a group of students to the Colorado State Capitol for an informational tour to become familiar with the intricacies of reporting on legislative meetings. Not only did students become more comfortable with the principles of statehouse reporting, but they got to speak with and learn from several experienced reporters: Seth Klamann from the Denver Post, Marianne Goodland from Colorado Politics, Jesse Bedayn from the Associated Press, and Lucas Brady Woods from KUNC.

The class allows students to gain the necessary skills for their future careers in journalism and see their bylines printed in communities that value the news they are providing. However, another unexpected benefit has become apparent through these student partnerships. Students have been able to offer a new perspective on digital storytelling through their familiarity with social media and what it means to create engaging content.

“I’ve learned so much from the students,” Potter said. “They’re basically sharing how younger people are consuming news, which has been a huge eye-opener for the newsrooms. Being journalistic about producing things for a demographic that typically aren’t reading the local news has been a new focus.”

Potter expressed enthusiasm about the potential for news dissemination in various formats through social media platforms.

“What’s so impressive to me is that the students have that capability. They know what works on platforms like Instagram and TikTok,” Potter said.

From infographics to Instagram reels to TikTok clips, student insights are allowing news organizations to create effective, short-form news content that is easily digestible for younger audiences and social media audiences.

As the class moves forward, Potter hopes to partner with more local newspapers and possibly other student reporting programs to allow more newsrooms, students, and communities to benefit from this collective learning experience.

Image caption: CU Boulder students visiting the Colorado State Capitol. (Provided by Beth Potter)