ABOUT US

The Colorado Independent is published by The American Independent News Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

The American Independent News Network (AINN) investigates and disseminates news that impacts public debate and advances the common good. To accomplish its mission, we operate a growing independent online news network, currently comprised of six news sites that provide daily original reporting. An informed citizenry is a fundamental principle of civil society and American democracy; in the words of the Supreme Court in Garrison v. Louisiana: “Speech concerning public affairs is more than self-expression; it is the essence of self government.” Our reporting emphasizes the positive role of democratically elected government in securing the common good and social welfare, and the continuing benefits of our founding culture of egalitarian government by the people, for the people.

The American Independent News Network is funded by individual donors and foundations. For a current list of supporters, please visit The American Independent News Network and consider making a tax deductible contribution to support our work.

History

The American Independent News Network was founded as the Center for Independent Media on May 1, 2006, as a nonpartisan nonprofit organization. The organization created the New Journalist Pilot Program to test the hypothesis that a melding of blog technology with the standards of professional journalism could produce original news and information, which in turn would contribute to diversifying public debate around issues of importance.

The New Journalist Pilot Program operated first in two states — Colorado and Minnesota. Seventeen people participated in this fellowship program, collectively producing more than 2,200 original reports from July through October. A significant number of these reports triggered statewide and national attention, by drawing attention to important issues through the production of news that adhered to the standards of professional journalism. Approximately 29 million Americans were reached through the program, online and offline via television, radio, and newspapers picking up stories originated by the Fellows in the program.

In January 2010, the Center for Independent Media changed its name to The American Independent News Network to better reflect its mission as an online news network.

Privacy Policy

The Colorado Independent does not share personal registration information with third-party entities not affiliated with The American Independent News Network. Your information will remain private and will be used only in aggregate (not personally identifiable) terms for site evaluation purposes.

Comment Policy

The Colorado Independent is a news and commentary site.  We are pleased to have a large and politically diverse audience, and we understand that many comment threads can inhibit instead of stimulate discussion, depending on the tone and nature of comments.  In order to keep our threads on topic and accessible to all people, we ask that the following guidelines be followed:

• Please stay on the topic of the post.
• Keep discussions respectful: Different viewpoints and opinions are welcome; personal attacks and obscenity are not.
• Automated posting, including spam techniques currently used, or repeated posting of material, is not acceptable. Press releases and content consisting largely of material cut and pasted from other sites will be considered spam.
• Commenters assuming the identities of others or creating multiple identities in an effort to deceive are subject to removal. One username per IP/email address, please.

The Colorado Independent may delete comments that do not adhere to these guidelines.

ADVERTISING PRIVACY POLICY

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.