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They left the Denver Post amid firings for news and interference in the publishing process by the newspaper's hedge fund owners. And now journalists and publishers are creating their own newspaper, The Colorado Sun.
They will collaborate with the Civil Media Company, an ambitious start-up in New York that aims to use blockchain technology and cryptographic economy to launch 1,000 publications nationwide by the end of the year.
"It's absolutely exciting," said Larry Ryckman, former editor-in-chief of the besieged daily Denver, who will be the editor of The Colorado Sun. "We were so eager to move."
The editor has assembled a team of former Post employees, including five journalists – Kevin Simpson, John Ingold, Tamara Chuang, Jennifer Brown and Jason Blevins – and two senior editors, Eric Lubbers and Dana Coffield.
Mr. Ryckman and Ms. Coffield resigned in May from The Post, which suffered morally under the ownership of a New York hedge fund, Alden Global Capital. The company took control of the newspaper in 2013, after acquiring its bankrupt parent company, MediaNews Group, and managed it through a subsidiary, Digital First Media.
"None of us wanted to continue dismantling the Denver Post press room," Mr. Ryckman said.
The tensions between the employees of The Post and Alden's editors peaked in April, when the paper published a special section on Sunday opinion that included articles critical of ownership. The main editorial of the section was abrupt: "Denver deserves a newspaper owner who supports his editorial board, if Alden is not willing to do good journalism here, he should sell The Post to the owners who will do it."
Chuck Plunkett, the editor who edited the section and resigned from the paper shortly thereafter, agreed to contribute to The Colorado Sun.
The new publication will have a conventional website whose data will be permanently written in the secure digital ledger known as blockchain. The expenses for the new outlet will be covered by a grant from Civil, whose sole investor, for now, is ConsenSys, a Brooklyn-based blockchain software company founded by Canadian entrepreneur Joseph Lubin. Lubin is also one of the co-founders of Ethereum, a virtual currency and blockchain database platform. As part of its plan to finance new media entities, Civil plans to unveil a new token this summer called CVL.
People who purchase the CVL token, a form of cryptocurrency, will have a voice about the projects hosted by Civil – which means they can vote if one of their websites violates the company's journalistic standards, which are outlined in the Civil Constitution.
Matthew Iles, CEO of Civil, said that by selling shares of ownership to the public, the company seeks to eliminate the possibility that a company or a small group of investors exert power and influence over a journalistic organization and compromise his mission – exactly what many Denver Post employees have accused Alden of doing.
"We hope that Civil becomes this domain of public property for journalism that anyone interested in the promise of sustainable and independent journalism around the world should be in possession, to maintain and support it," Mr. Iles said.
The civilian managing director had his first discussions with Mr. Ryckman in April, a period when Alden had ordered more layoffs at The Post.
"It was nice to talk to someone who was trying to do what seemed the right way to support local journalism in a new funding model," said Ryckman.
Matt Coolidge, a co-founder and communications manager for Civil, said the company will not disclose how much of the million dollars he had collected for journalism projects would go to The Sun, but he added: "Suffice it to say that we are committed to give them the support they need to achieve sustainability ".
Mr. Ryckman said he did not see the time to have some resources to work on while building a publication on explanatory journalism, feature-length stories and investigative articles. "We're not trying to create a mini Denver Post," he said. "We will make news, but we will not make the latest news."
Once the grant funds have been used up, the Colorado Sun will have to support itself. But Mr. Iles is sure that the project will be successful.
"When we heard about Larry and what he and his team had in mind for The Colorado Sun, it became obvious that this is a project we had to support and collaborate with, because we ultimately believe that fantastic journalism both the secret here and not blockchain, "said Mr. Iles.
Josh Benson, co-founder of Old Town Media, who advised Civil and will work with The Colorado Sun to build a sustainable editorial, said of the Sun project: "What they want to do is create something that is independent, incredibly useful, sustainable long-term, possibly a model for other things, ruthlessly correct – all the things you want a top-level journalistic organization to be. "
By the end of June, Civil will have initiated 13 newsrooms across the country.
"My hope," Iles said, "is that people will see The Colorado Sun as the tip of the iceberg." He added, "I'd like to think of it, if your local news organization is struggling, or if you believe independent journalism is important, but you still do not know what to do, I'd like you to see how Civil can be the home of ideas.
"I want the newsrooms around the world," he said, "to see The Colorado Sun as a leader in that direction."
