快活app Recognizes 鈥楻eal News Day鈥 in Denver
Author(s)
Jon Stone
Media Relations Manager
It鈥檚 been said that a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. With the advent of the Internet and social media, so has come the rise of fake news overshadowing the work of mainstream media.
Last Friday, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and the 快活app proclaimed April 27 as 鈥淩eal News Day.鈥
鈥淭he date represents the challenges traditional journalism faces today,鈥 says Lynn Schofield Clark, director of 快活app鈥檚听Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media听in the divisions of听. 鈥淲e wanted to give people the opportunity to understand evidence-based news.鈥
Few people are more situated to discuss the importance of 鈥渞eal news鈥 than Kimberly Kindy. As an investigative reporter with The Washington Post, she was part of a team that won a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on how often and why the police shoot to kill in the aftermath of the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Recently, Kindy has reported on former congressional staffers who are calling for policy changes and for sexual harassment training in the U.S. Capitol. She says it is up to everyone to stop the spread of fake news.
鈥淲hen someone posts something on Facebook and Twitter that is a falsehood, are you posting and saying, 鈥榊ou might want to be careful because that鈥檚 not a true story,鈥欌 Kindy says. 鈥淭here are all these fact-checking sites out there that you can use not only for yourself, but to also stop fake news from spreading.鈥
Kindy was selected as the speaker for the 25th anniversary of the Estlow Lecture and recipient of the Anvil of Freedom Award. The award recognizes superior leadership and commitment to ethics, integrity and democratic freedoms, especially the protection of the First Amendment. Previous honorees include news anchor Bob Schieffer, White House correspondent Helen Thomas and Katharine Graham, a longtime editor-in-chief of the Washington Post.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really an honor to be part of this legacy,鈥 Kindy says. 鈥淚t obviously means a lot to me because of Katharine Graham. There鈥檚 probably no bigger icon that I can look to and to know that I am sharing it with someone like that and other people of that caliber is really humbling.鈥
While the day focused on the importance of 鈥渞eal news,鈥 a large emphasis was also directed to the struggles at the Denver Post. In March, the paper鈥檚 owner, Alden Global Capital, laid off 30 newsroom employees, roughly one-third of the staff. Some among the paper鈥檚 editorial staff have described its hedge-fund owner as 鈥渧ulture capitalists.鈥 While Kindy says听a lot of the blame rests with the owners of the Denver Post, she believes they are not the only ones听who deserve some of the blame.
鈥淵ou need to support your local paper and absolutely subscriptions are the way we are going to survive,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f everyone in America subscribed to their local paper and to a national paper, we wouldn鈥檛 be having this struggle. There would be enough well-staffed, professional journalism organizations out there producing real news to combat the fictitious news.鈥
Ultimately, Kindy believes it is a civic duty to support your local paper.
鈥淲hy do people who live here think that they are going to be able to know what鈥檚 happening in their schools, in their police departments and in their city council if there aren鈥檛 reporters who are there covering it,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f you do not have a professional platform, it鈥檚 going to effect the social fabric of your community.鈥
Kimberly Kindy
Gregg Kvistad
Greg Moore
