Eight months after publishing a special section decrying massive layoffs at听The Denver Post听and criticizing its owners for losing sight of the paper鈥檚 mission, former editorial page editor Chuck Plunkett will be honored by the National Press Club Nov. 29 for igniting a national dialogue about the fate of local journalism.
鈥淐huck Plunkett鈥檚 decision to publish a newspaper that called out its owners for mismanaging that paper was a remarkable act of courage,鈥� said听Andrea Edney, president of the organization, which will award Plunkett its John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award at the Fourth Estate Dinner in Washington, D.C. 鈥淭hat special section gave voice to papers all around the country that have seen their ranks thinned. It was a clarion call to save local journalism.鈥�
Plunkett resigned from听The Denver Post听shortly after publishing the April 6 package, when the paper tried to block another editorial criticizing owner Alden Global Capital. He now directs听, a student-produced investigative journalism program at the College of Media Communication and Information.