Journalist Laura Frank to receive state’s highest honor for strengthening civic life

AURORA | Journalist Laura Frank, the founding executive director of the Colorado News Collaborative, has been selected to receive the Governor’s Citizenship Medal for Public Service, the state’s highest honor for civic leadership.

Gov. Jared Polis and the state’s other living former governors chose Frank for the honor, which recognizes individuals who have strengthened Colorado’s civic life.

“The driving force behind almost every journalist is a need to call out all kinds of injustices and offer context and facts for the public’s welfare,” said Sentinel Colorado Editor Dave Perry. “Laura is a journalist and leader who has marshaled those qualities and coupled them with ingenuity and determination to ensure Colorado reporters can do their best work for the good of everyone.”

Perry was invited to comment about Frank and the honor during comments taped last month for the award program slated for Jan. 22 at the History Colorado center in Denver.

The news collaborative, also called CoLab, is a statewide effort among about 200 news outlets working together to report stories they couldn’t do alone. The organization has recently focused on helping news media develop and implement sustainable business models.

Frank, a former investigative reporter, spent decades in journalism holding a wide range of government and business leaders accountable and telling the stories of everyday residents. Frank has worked in every news medium, from print to broadcast journalism.

As local newsrooms across the state began to struggle with shrinking resources, Frank joined CoLab to help bring together journalists and organizations around the idea that collaboration could help sustain local news, according to a statement announcing the award.

That effort became the Colorado News Collaborative.

The Sentinel is a part of the collaborative, and joint efforts have been key for the Aurora newsroom in launching numerous investigative and explanatory stories over the past five years, including lauded work focusing on Aurora police.

“Readers at the Sentinel and others across Colorado have Frank to thank for her relentless efforts to keep trusted journalism in front of the public at a time when it’s critically needed,” Perry said.

Frank said the honor reflects on the work she focuses on.

“To see journalism honored for public service means so much,” she said. “This award really belongs to all the people who work so hard to keep their neighbors informed every day.”

Judy Muller, a veteran journalist and CoLab board member, called Frank’s work and the impact of CoLab “nothing short of transformational,” citing its role in rebuilding trust, innovation and civic connection.