KRCC journalism internships open, film screening this Friday
Journalism at CC news this block
How do you know if you can trust the news? This Friday evening, come find out.
Join journalists, educators, and community members for Free Press, Free Country: Truth Be Told — a film screening and community conversation offering an inside look at how facts are verified, choices are weighed, and stories are told.
The Colorado College Journalism Institute is hosting the event, free and open to the public, on Friday, Feb. 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 in the Cornerstone Screening Room on campus.
This event is more than a film screening. It’s a celebration of the people and principles that keep Colorado communities informed. The documentary “Truth Be Told” offers an inside look at how journalists from different mediums across Colorado verify what they report, make choices about what they cover, and how they tell stories with care.
It reminds audiences that trustworthy local information isn’t a luxury — it’s a public good.
Journalists from multiple local news organizations plan to attend the event for an informal community discussion with students after the screening. The filmmaker, Brian Malone, will also be there.
This event is part of the statewide Free Press, Free Country initiative coordinated by the Colorado News Collaborative, known as COLab, in partnership with local hosts and newsrooms across Colorado. Recent Colorado College grad Jessica Duran became the face of the “Matter of Fact” campaign as part of the Free Press, Free Country project.
What: “Truth Be Told” film screening and community discussion.
When: Friday, Feb. 6 at 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Cornerstone Screening Room, Colorado College campus, 825 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs.
Register here so we know what to do about food.
KRCC summer internships are NOW OPEN
The Summer 2026 journalism internship program with KRCC is taking applications.
The internship is paid and KRCC, which is the NPR station for southern Colorado, is hiring two Colorado College students for 20 to 25 hours a week between June 8 and Aug. 21.
Read about how CC students Havalin Haskell and Olivia Bagan, both minoring in journalism, spent last summer working in the newsroom of KRCC in Colorado Springs.
As for the work environment, “I felt so empowered, so supported, so seen,” one of them said. “I think that’s something really rare.”
KRCC interns have the opportunity to hear their stories air on Colorado Public Radio and NPR. Apply at the link above.
Plan for a Career Center ‘Media & Communications Night’ on Feb. 24
Make sure to block off Tuesday, Feb. 24 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to attend the inaugural Career Center Media & Communications Night.
On stage will be award-winning documentary journalist Mike Shum, Staci-Lyn Onofre from KRDO, outdoor director and producer Roo Smith, and communications strategist Anna Squires.
Held in the theater in Armstrong with food and drinks in the lobby, the program will feature a panel of media and communications professionals.
Bloomberg internship applications are open (deadline Feb. 28)
Want to learn how journalists “report effectively on the economy, companies, financial commodity markets, government and labor where wealth and power converge?”
Apply for a 2026 Bloomberg Journalism Program Internship.
Colorado College has a relationship with Bloomberg, and its reporters teach for us — including this year in Block 7. Meanwhile, a 2025 CC grad is currently interning as the outlet’s space reporter.
Denver news outlet seeks interns
Bucket List Community Cafe, a respected free hyperlocal community news site for the Denver area, is looking for journalists.
“This is an unpaid opportunity for academic credit,” says founder and editor Vicky Collins. “You will be responsible for working with the publisher and editor to create compelling stories about Denver and surrounding areas that provide information, inspiration, and interaction.” The outlet is also looking to report stories outside of Denver.
Here’s more from Collins:
You will also be a key player in an entrepreneurial journalism startup. This position requires field work.
RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE: Work with the publisher and editor to create content for Bucket List Community Cafe website; pitch stories and take on writing assignments; attend a weekly meeting with the team to give progress reports; research stories, organize notes and logistics; line up interviews and interview people in the field or on the phone; produce at least two stories a month/six stories a semester with hard deadlines; monitor influencers and others in the community journalism space for ideas; work to flesh out ideas and solve problems that come up; rewrite, fact-check, and submit edits to stories in a timely manner; get out in the community and get to know what makes it tick; take photographs and videos for your stories; attend Bucket List events and assist in fundraising campaigns.
If any juniors or seniors are interested, get in touch with Corey (chutchins@coloradocollege.edu) and he’ll connect you with Vicky Collins.
🎓 Graduating in May? Check in on your minor so we can sign off
Are you graduating this spring? Let’s make sure your minor is complete or see what we can do to get there.
🗓 Get in touch with Corey or Steve to set a time to meet.
Deadline approaching for SPJ student journalism scholarships
The Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has opened this year’s applications for scholarships of up to $5,000 to journalism students who are from or currently living in Colorado.
From the announcement:
The chapter is offering two categories of scholarships: The Helen Verba Award, for print and digital journalism, and the Sheldon Peterson Award, for broadcast journalism … One or more scholarships will be awarded in each category. All award amounts will be decided by the SPJ Colorado Pro Scholarship Committee.
Click here to apply.
👏 Last year, then-first-year CC journalism minor Margaret Freeman won one of these awards and accepted it at the SPJ conference in Denver. Let’s see if we can get a CC student to win again.
Deadline approaching for Denver Press Club scholarships
Each year, the Denver Press Club and the Denver Foundation award nine scholarships totaling $15,000 to journalism students at the club’s annual Damon Runyon Dinner.
Eight scholarships are for $1,500, and one scholarship is for $3,000.
First-year through junior Colorado College students should apply. Click here to do so.
If you’ve done journalism at CC, there’s really no reason not to apply for one of these — or the SPJ award. Each year, the single biggest hurdle to a CC student not getting one of these scholarships is procrastination. So, just do it, and do it now.
The window to apply for this one is from Dec. 2, 2025, through Feb. 28, 2026. If you have any questions, you can contact Vicky Collins at vicky@teletrendstv.com or 303-881-0621.
If you’re a student who wants to do professional journalism in Denver, I’d highly recommend just reaching out to Vicky to talk about opportunities.
She loves to hear from students and to help them. She is the publisher of Bucket List Community Cafe, an online community journalism site for the Denver area that is powered by university students and recent graduates.
Journalism classes we’re offering this year
Here’s what we have on our course grid for this semester:
Block 6: “Secrecy, Surveillance, and Democracy,” taught by Diane Alters and Juan D. Lindau, teaches at the intersection of those three themes.
Block 7: “Financial and Business Reporting” is taught by multiple reporters for Bloomberg News, including a CC grad. In it, you’ll learn about the world of reporting on business and industry. (#ProTip: Students have been able to get this class approved as a BESoc elective.)
Block 8: “Burning Questions: Wildfire Journalism & Ecology at Colorado Firecamp,” taught by Corey Hutchins, will put students on the front lines of one of the West’s most urgent stories. You’ll analyze how journalists cover wildfires, then become reporters yourselves for Burning Questions, a CC Journalism Institute newsletter exploring the intersection of fire, science, research, and storytelling in the West. The centerpiece of the class is an immersive experience at Colorado Firecamp, a nonprofit training center near Salida. There, you’ll complete certification as wildland firefighters, gaining first-hand insight into the work, danger, and decision-making that shapes fire response. You’ll also study the surrounding ecology and develop media strategies, community outreach initiatives, and storytelling projects to support the nonprofit’s mission. (This is a Career Catalyst block, and the application deadline is over. But there might be some seats open as accepted students choose not to enroll. You can apply via Summit; there is a course fee.)
All of these classes can count toward the journalism minor. If you have any questions about them, get in touch with Corey.
Another scholarship opportunity
This year’s Alumni Association Student Leader Scholarship application is open now through Thursday, Feb 5.
Passing along this message:
We’d be grateful if you would be willing to encourage any sophomore or junior students majoring or minoring in your academic department(s) to apply for this unique loan-reducing scholarship of at least $5,000 for the 2026-27 academic year. Each year, the Alumni Association awards at least five scholarships to outstanding CC students that have demonstrated leadership qualities.
More information and application here.
CC students have (free) access to the Student Press Law Center
If you ever have any anxiety about publishing something and the potential ramifications of it, know that there’s a team of First Amendment lawyers at your disposal.
Familiarize yourself with the Student Press Law Center and keep the national organization on your radar. There’s even a (free) legal hotline you can call.
More from the SPLC:
If the matter is urgent and time sensitive (for example, if you’ve been threatened with a lawsuit or are facing imminent censorship), please indicate so on the form. We do our best to respond to urgent matters in one business day and non-urgent matters within three business days. Please note that we are closed on weekends and federal holidays.
You can also schedule a time for your news organization to speak with a lawyer to talk with you about specific media law topics for up to 40 minutes — whether about copyright, censorship, press freedom, protest coverage, libel, or anything else.
Find that particular resource here.
I recently spoke with the executive director from the center and he told me they can do pre-publication review of sensitive stories to give you advice and peace of mind. You do need to give them a few days, though, so keep that in mind and engage them early when you’re working on a hot one.
We highly recommend you take advantage of this free resource.
🦅 🗞 INTERNSHIP: The Crestone Eagle
Want to learn how a newspaper that serves the town near our Baca campus operates from top to bottom?
Get in touch if you want to stay at our Baca campus for a block while interning at the monthly Eagle. This counts for the minor.
Send Corey an email with “Crestone Eagle internship” in the subject line.
#ProTip: It’s best if you can get a group of journalism minors who can all agree on a block. At least two. Age requirement: 21.
More journalism opportunities and other odds & ends
🗣️ Watch: Last spring’s graduation commencement speaker, Mike Shum, gave a big shoutout to the Journalism Institute during his speech.
💸 Take advantage: As a CC student, you get free access to the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, the Economist magazine, and more, which can save you a lot of money on subscriptions. You can sign up through Tutt Library. Find more information about how to access these publications and others here.
🔥 In 2021, CC journalism minor Miriam Brown wrote a sociology thesis paper titled “Experiences of Burnout Among Student-Journalists at a Private Liberal Arts College,” which you can read here. “This study attempts to examine not only how burnout manifests in student-journalists, but also why it occurs in the first place,” she wrote.
🎙️ Journalism Institute Manager Corey Hutchins spoke on the inaugural “Notes From The Newsroom” podcast with graduating senior Garrett Mogel at CSU about student journalism where he offered advice for emerging journalists trying to get a job in the news media workforce. Listen to it here.
📍 Bookmark these journalism resources
Make sure you’re keeping up with the latest trends in journalism (including student journalism) by bookmarking some of these outlets and keeping up to speed:
Inside The Newsroom — The Newsletter For Journalists (featuring journalism jobs, internships, and opportunities)
The Nugraf, a weekly newsletter by Chatwan Mongkol about student journalism, featuring “original reporting on the state of student journalism and dedicated sections for showcasing stories by student journalists and highlighting industry opportunities.” (Warning: students who took Inbox Journalism might be envious of Mongkol’s slam-dunk idea for a national newsletter.)
Don’t fall prey to the “News Finds Me” phenomenon, and make sure you’re always actively seeking out news and information.
📝 Have you officially registered for the journalism minor?
Do you identify as a journalism minor but might not actually be registered as one on paper?
Here are the requirements for a journalism minor at CC:
“Introduction to Journalism” and three other topics in journalism classes or others that qualify from English or film and media.
Complete an internship.
Complete a practicum: a long-form piece of journalism in the medium of your choice published outside of a campus publication (what’s your dream outlet? Let’s try!)
If you want to register for the minor, fill out this online form. Put Corey or Steve down as your advisor, and we’ll sign off on it. Then let’s meet to talk about what you might want to consider for an internship or practicum.
Get in touch
As always, feel free to get in touch any time, or let us know if you want us to take you off this list. — Corey Hutchins & Steven Hayward