Brooke Stephenson joins Boulder Reporting Lab as newest reporter

Boulder Reporting Lab is thrilled to introduce our newest reporter, Brooke Stephenson, who joins our team covering the local government beat. 

Stephenson brings several years of journalism experience, having worked at investigative news outlet ProPublica, the Carolina Public Press in North Carolina and Trail Runner Magazine. Most recently, she was the audience and engagement editor for Cardinal News, a nonprofit newsroom covering Southwest and Southside Virginia.

Stephenson is eager to explore the issues that matter most to the Boulder community. We recently sat down with her to discuss her background in journalism, what she’s been up to since arriving in Boulder and what drew her to join Boulder Reporting Lab.

You recently moved to Boulder. Is this your first time living in the area, or do you have previous ties to Colorado?

I’ve actually lived in Colorado twice before! In 2018, I interned at Trail Runner Magazine back when they were based out of Carbondale, and in 2022 I spent a few months in Boulder while working remotely. I barely scratched the surface of everything you can do in the city, but I was here long enough to fall in love with many of the beautiful places around Boulder.

After settling in, what are some of the places around Boulder you’ve made a point to visit or activities you’ve taken part in?

This is such a fun question.

I’ve scrambled the Second Flatiron (at night, for extra adventure), walked around Chautauqua and huddled up at Trident Cafe with a good book. I’ve also been biking up the Betasso, Chapman and North Sky trails, as well as joined the Thursday night Boulder Cruiser Ride.

I’m also excited to say that I just got my Boulder library card and a membership to Movement climbing gym. While I haven’t been climbing in Boulder Canyon yet this year, I loved climbing here last time I lived in Boulder and I plan to get back out soon. The same goes for running Sanitas – I can’t get enough of the trails here.

I also have a deep love and respect for all desserts, and I’ve been told I need to check out Sharmane’s and Boxcar. If you have other recommendations, feel free to be a hero and email me at brooke@boulderreportinglab.org. 

What attracted you to Boulder Reporting Lab? Was there something about our approach to local news that resonated with you?

To start, I’m a huge fan of nonprofit newsrooms. And through my work with both ProPublica’s local news initiative and local news in Virginia, I’ve seen how important it is for a community to have not just any local news source, but a robust one that has time and resources to dig into thorny questions and complex issues. Boulder Reporting Lab immediately struck me as a news organization invested in continuously following stories the community cares about in a rigorous, unbiased way. 

I was also drawn to the newsletter’s focus on delivering a really great reader experience – where people  can get all their news at once in a clean, condensed format – rather than prioritizing getting clicks to the website. When a news organization cares more about informing people than chasing metrics, that’s a major green flag for me.

Finally, I love BRL’s commitment to experimentation and finding new ways to connect the community with information. I don’t think there’s one “right way” to deliver news, and I appreciate it when a newsroom is responsive to how people want to receive it. 

Tell us about your background in journalism. Where did you get your start, and what kinds of stories, issues or initiatives have you focused on in your career so far?

I began freelancing for Trail Runner Magazine in 2018, but my first reporting outside of sports came through a college project with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I reported on safety in remote Indigenous Alaskan communities, where a lack of police presence meant communities sometimes had to wait days for state troopers to arrive by boat or plane after a violent crime. These communities were struggling with ways to prevent and address violence against women and children with limited resources. After reporting that story, I knew I wanted to work in journalism.

After that, I freelanced for the Carolina Public Press and eventually got a fellowship at ProPublica, where I worked on their audience team, writing newsletters, headlines and social media content that draw readers deeper into a story. While there, I helped report a story on museums failing to return artifacts or human remains belonging to Indigenous tribes. I also wrote newsletters on threats to air and water quality, consumer and workers’ rights, police and judges who abuse their power and threaten community safety.

Most recently I worked as the audience and engagement editor for Cardinal News, a new nonprofit newsroom covering the area of Southwest Virginia where I grew up. At Cardinal, I focused on connecting people to our reporting in new ways and learning from readers about the issues they cared about and how they wanted to engage with the news. I created everything from election guides to videos on civil rights protesters, but I have a particular interest in housing issues. 

You’re still getting familiar with Boulder’s civic landscape, but are there any issues or stories that have already grabbed your attention?

There’s a lot of important reporting yet to be done about Boulder’s housing shortage, particularly around affordable housing solutions, as well as the city’s policies on homelessness, mental health and substance abuse. I’m excited to dig into that. I’m also eager to hear more from the people who are working and living in Boulder and the issues they’re facing. It sounds like the community is very invested in the debates on housing and the cost of living. I look forward to hearing different perspectives on those issues.

I’m also looking forward to learning more about public transportation and bike infrastructure in Boulder. Boulder is very bikeable compared to many other places I’ve lived, but cyclists’ safety is clearly still an issue and the projects we invest in to improve infrastructure, like the North Foothills Bikeway, are interesting to me.

How are you getting to know the community as you settle into your role here at Boulder Reporting Lab?

I will be at Boulder City Council meetings and Boulder County Commission meetings, and reaching out to some of the people BRL works with frequently to introduce myself. On a more personal note, I plan to keep showing up to cruiser rides and run clubs to meet more people around town. If there’s something I should check out in Boulder, please let me know! 

What’s the best way for Boulder residents to reach out to you with tips, stories, or feedback on your reporting?

Shoot me an email! I’m excited to connect with people and I will respond to everyone. I’m also on X/Twitter at @bgstephenson3.