This week marks an incredible milestone for Boulder Reporting Lab: our three-year anniversary. We’re here to say thank you. In the weeks ahead, you’ll hear from me — and others — asking you to include BRL in your giving plans this year. But for now, thank you, truly.
This milestone is remarkable because 60% of digital news startups like BRL don’t make it to year five. Yet here we are — three years in, well-positioned to keep going and growing. We’re beating the odds, and that’s thanks to you. While there’s still a long road ahead, together we’ve tackled the hardest part.
You gave us a chance, and we’ve earned your trust by focusing on what you need to know — with a team of journalists who embody the best of journalism: skeptical, clear-eyed, and above all, fair. In a fragmented and noisy information landscape, our morning newsletter has become Boulder’s front page: your one-stop shop for accessible, yet in-depth local news.
Today, BRL reaches nearly 20,000 local inboxes, with more than 500 editions sent. We’ve broken major stories and covered critical news — from wildfires and power outages to coal ash pollution on the city’s edge and misconduct by an elected official. We’ve written nearly 1,000 stories and earned 50 journalism awards, including national honors for ambitious, in-depth reporting that has made a real impact in our community and gained the respect of our peers nationwide.
In our three years, the challenges that led us to launch BRL have only intensified across the news industry. As professional, locally focused reporters have become increasingly scarce, we’re in the room at Boulder City Council and other local government meetings, ensuring a close eye is kept on decisions that shape our community. Being truly local is vital to accountability — watchdog journalism means watching. Boulder is better informed today because of the work we do at BRL — and we know this because you tell us. You’ve shared how much you value our reporting, our newsletter, how it keeps you informed and how it makes local news accessible. We hear your gratitude that we took the risk of building a newsroom from scratch.
We are of this community and for this community. We live here, recognized the need for a daily nonprofit newsroom and built it. Our goal now is to make BRL financially sustainable, ensuring we endure and paving the way for future reporting labs across Boulder County, where local reporters are nearly extinct.
Local news is in deep trouble, and the more hyperlocal it is, the greater the challenge. The old revenue model — advertising alone — just doesn’t work the way it used to, especially for hyperlocal news. Hedge funds have bought up local newspapers to squeeze profits, driving them into the ground. And fewer people read newspapers at all. Community news simply doesn’t scale like other media. Why? In the same way your favorite Boulder coffee shop doesn’t scale — it’s unique to this place, and every community has its own quirks and needs.
But we can do this, Boulder. With your support, we can make it to year five — and beyond. We can thrive, continue growing our newsroom to cover every corner of our city, and create new mini-news labs across the county.
Thank you for being with us. Here’s to many more years of telling Boulder’s stories together. To our readers, paying members, team, partners and funders: Thank you for supporting us every step of the way. Happy Thanksgiving.
