Journalism

Water in the West: Documenting the Change

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Water in the West: Documenting the Change Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/04/2024 - 00:00

Kelsey Simpkins

Above: A braided section of the Arkansas River flows east toward Kansas on Oct. 3, 2020 in Pueblo County, ��ֱ��. Photo by RJ Sangosti.

Photojournalists RJ Sangosti and Elliot Ross, former and current Ted Scripps Fellows at ��ֱ�� Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism, use photography to show immediate and long-term water concerns throughout the rapidly changing Western landscape.

Dead fish line the sun-baked shore of Neenoshe Reservoir in eastern ��ֱ��. Water in the sandy Arkansas River bed inches slowly eastward. Exposed rock, water lines, marooned boats and fresh green growth illustrate dramatic changes to the ��ֱ�� River and its tributaries happening at this very moment.

Two ��ֱ�� photojournalists on the front lines of Western water’s decline have captured these pivotal scenes — and in doing so, RJ Sangosti and Elliot Ross convey the consequences of hundred-year-old legal agreements, showcase what’s at stake and start conversations that will shape not only the future of Western water, but the rights of the people who rely on it.

“Drought, climate change and water issues in the West — no matter if it’s in the ��ֱ�� or Arkansas river basin, it’s all tied together,” said Sangosti.

The photographers received Ted Scripps Fellowships, a philanthropy-funded program celebrating over 25 years at ��ֱ�� Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism. As the region’s environment and its resources rapidly change, seeing is believing.

RJ Sangosti

After two decades of covering ��ֱ�� breaking news for The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti needed a change. In 2020, during his Ted Scripps Fellowship, he found his calling covering Western water issues: “I knew the impact of what was happening on the ��ֱ�� River, but the fellowship made it crystal clear that this was the story of my life,” he said.

Sangosti’s transition to documenting ��ֱ��’s environment was inspired by his firsthand experiences. Over the years, he saw changes happening in his home state that were affecting places he loved. He wanted to bring a voice to something that his kids would be proud of, and water in the West is “the biggest thing that we all need to be concerned about.”

“As climate change affects the West, we’re the first ones to see how a major river is affected,” he said. And in a dry region heavily reliant on major rivers for its water, communities in the West are also “going to be the first ones to feel it.”

“This is a story that I can work on, and should work on, until I don’t want to work anymore,” Sangosti said

Right: A sunken boat reemerges at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada, during low water levels in 2023. Photo by RJ Sangosti.

The story of Western water is a story about people. Whether to drink, complete chores or stay cool, water is not guaranteed in drought-stricken and disproportionately impacted communities.

Children cool off in a pool outside a home in Haswell, ��ֱ��, which was hit hard by drought.

Pelicans gather on a small island exposed by low water levels in 2020 at John Martin Reservoir in Hasty, ��ֱ��. In 2019, ��ֱ�� and Kansas agreed to provide an additional water source to feed the reservoir, which the ��ֱ�� Parks and Wildlife calls a conservation pool. It took 40 years for this agreement to come to fruition.

Yolinda Mejia siphons water into a fivegallon bucket to use for a load of laundry outside her home on the Navaj

Above: The sharp curves within the northwestern arm of Glen Canyon form a stunning backdrop for the dramatic gap between the high-water line, marked by white calcium carbonate deposits, and the black mass of water below

Elliot Ross

Elliot Ross was raised in part on ��ֱ��’s eastern plains in a ranching family focused on weather and water. As he pursued photography, he dreamed of assignments that would take him to wild places around the world. Yet after years of working with elite photographers in New York, he returned home in 2018 to find that “water was more of a conversation than it had been when I left,” he said.

His time as a Ted Scripps Fellow brought him back to his Western roots, using his camera “to understand this most precious resource that we have — that a lot of us, myself included — take for granted [that it] runs clean out of the tap.”

In 2024, for the second half of his Scripps Fellowship, Ross is focusing on issues of water equity and justice to foster conversations about the disadvantaged populations who do not have the same access to this vital resource, especially tribal nations in the region.

Water equity is a timely topic. When regional leaders begin creating the 2026 interim guidelines for the ��ֱ�� River, Native American tribes will join the negotiating table, and “hopefully, for the first time they’ll be addressing the inequities of the 1922 ��ֱ�� River Compact through indigenous inclusion,” said Ross.

Right (kayak): As water levels have dropped in the upper region of Glen Canyon, many valleys are buried in suffocating silt — some upwards of 200 feet deep.

Elliot Ross’ wife, Genevieve, navigates the soupy, silt-filled aftermath of a flash flood in Iceberg Canyon, which removed about two feet of silt from the canyon in one day. This image “illustrates how quickly deposited sediment has been washed out,” said Ross, visualizing geologic change on a human timeline. Photo by Elliot Ross.

As water recedes from canyon walls and valleys, flora thrives once again, forming a diverse ecosystem within the vast number of tributary canyons that feed into the main ��ֱ�� River channel.

Ross’ summer 2024 exhibition at the Denver Botanic Gardens, “Geography of Hope,” puts a positive spin on these changes and illustrates the opportunities that can take root even in the absence of water. Western ecological documentation was sparse before the construction of Glen Canyon Dam in 1964, which created Lake Powell by flooding almost 190 miles of canyon upstream. As this artificial lake shrinks, we are watching a major river and long-sunk ecosystem reestablish itself in ��ֱ��, said Ross.

Houseboats gather in the deepest water available, with access to one of the last operating boat ramps off Lake Powell’s Bullfrog Bay. Here the decline of Western water is startlingly clear, as recreational boats sit unused on the lake. While 3 million visitors each year vacation and recreate on the reservoir, Ross is more concerned with those unable to access the water. In 2024, for the second half of his Scripps Fellowship, Ross is focusing on issues of water equity and justice to foster conversations about the disadvantaged populations who do not have the same access to this vital resource, especially tribal nations in the region. Water equity is a timely topic. When regional leaders begin creating the 2026 interim guidelines for the ��ֱ�� River, Native American tribes will join the negotiating table, and “hopefully, for the first time they’ll be addressing the inequities of the 1922 ��ֱ�� River Compact through indigenous inclusion,” said Ross

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Photos by RJ Sangosti and Elliot Ross

RJ Sangosti and Elliot Ross, former and current Ted Scripps Fellows at ��ֱ�� Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism, use photography to show immediate and long-term water concerns through the rapidly changing Western landscape.

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Spring 2024

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Impacting ��ֱ��’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network.

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Impacting ��ֱ��’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

For a decade, Sima Bhowmik (PhDJour’24) worked as a journalist in her home country of Bangladesh. But she felt called to education in the U.S., despite not speaking fluent English.

After a journalism fellowship from the State Department and the completion of the U.S. English testing requirement in only four months, she obtained a scholarship to attend the University of Mississippi for her master’s in journalism. She started the doctoral program in journalism at ��ֱ�� Boulder in 2020.

But the pandemic made the move to Boulder difficult for her and her husband.

“We couldn’t meet anyone. Everything was on Zoom,” Bhowmik said.

Bhowmik volunteered on campus in 2021. She welcomed students to campus with the New Student and Family Programs office and worked with the Graduate and Professional Student Government to advocate for graduate students and help build community. She also became a Forever Buff s Network ambassador through the Alumni Association.

“Many people asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’” she said. “But these things were important to me.”

Through her online role with the Alumni Association, Bhowmik spoke with alumni who joined the Forever Buffs Network, a free platform that functions like a ��ֱ��-only LinkedIn, about their college experiences.

Soon she met Jim Stanczak (Fin’93), who became her mentor. The two talk often about job prospects, interviewing techniques and general career advice.

“Sima is incredibly talented and impressive, and she and her work are doing a lot to raise the status of ��ֱ��,” said Stanczak, who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. “Her perspectives and experience offer a wildly diff erent viewpoint and help me better understand how I might contribute to a stronger Buff s alumni network.”

Bhowmik, who also teaches media law and ethics at ��ֱ��, plans to graduate two years from now with her doctorate and hopes to someday land a permanent job in academia.

“Connections are really important,” she said. “I want to have some impact on the ��ֱ�� Boulder culture.”

Become a Forever Buff s Network ambassador. Applications for the three-month program open this spring. Visit foreverbuffsnetwork.com to join and apply.

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Photo courtesy Sima Bhowmik

Sima Bhowmik found connections at ��ֱ�� Boulder as an ambassador for the Forever Buffs Network.

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LOOK: 100 Years of Journalism

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

LOOK: 100 Years of Journalism Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Malinda Miller

On April 21, 1922, the ��ֱ�� Board of Regents voted to form the Department of Journalism, and that fall, the university launched its flagship journalism degree program. As the journalism department marks its centennial anniversary, celebration goes to the thousands of alumni currently working in the media industry, many of whom are on the frontlines of news — reporting from the field for NPR, from the Celtics’ sidelines and from inside the White House for Fox News. Read more in the CMCI Now magazine.

Abby Chin (Jour’03), Celtics sideline reporter at NBC Sports Boston

Baker Machado (MJour’11), anchor at Cheddar News

Alanna Rizzo (MJour’03), sports TV host and reporter on MLB Network

John Branch (MJour’96), reporter for The New York Times

Kevin Corke (Jour’88; MA’02), White House correspondent

Kirk Siegler (Jour’00), NPR correspondent, National Desk

Michael Gelman (Jour’83), executive producer, Live with Kelly and Ryan

Linda Villarosa (Jour’81), contributor to The New York Times Magazine, journalist-in-residence at City University of New York

Savannah Sellers (Jour’13), anchor and correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC

Tom Costello (Jour’87), NBC News Washington correspondent

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Photos: Courtesy of CMCI (Kevin Corke and Michael Gelman); Jon SooHoo (Alanna Rizzo); Courtesy of Tom Costello; Allison Shelley/NPR (Kirk Siegler); Courtesy of Baker Machado; Courtesy Savannah Sellers; Courtesy of NBC Sports Group (Abby Chin); Courtesy of John Branch; Nic Villarosa (Linda Villarosa)

On April 21, 1922, the ��ֱ�� Board of Regents voted to form the Department of Journalism and that fall, the university launched its flagship journalism degree program.

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Fall 2022

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Journalist Dave Curtin’s Journey From a Pulitzer to ��ֱ�� and Beyond

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Journalist Dave Curtin’s Journey From a Pulitzer to ��ֱ�� and Beyond Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/05/2021 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

Journalist Dave Curtin (Jour’78) won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1990 for his story about a family whose two young children suffered disfiguring burns after an in-home propane gas explosion. In 2007, he joined the staff at ��ֱ�� Boulder as the executive campus communicator, writing speeches for the chancellor. This summer, he retired after 42 years in writing. Here he reflects on his career and retirement.

You won your Pulitzer Prize in 1990. How did that experience impact your life and your career?

I was 33 when these two tiny children taught me what’s important and changed my perspective on life. As for my career, it opened doors and gave me autonomy.

What drew you to writing and journalism?

The desire to tell stories that could change lives. Many of the stories I told shaped my own life.

Do you still keep in contact with the family you featured in the story?

I did for many years – we shared some family holidays together – but I moved, started a family and they were busy with their lives. I know the children have wonderful families and careers, and it makes my heart sing.

What did you learn about yourself as a writer during that time?

The story is more important than the author, don’t let my emotions bleed into the story, be faithful to everyone in the story, and have the self-discipline to define and fence the story.

What was one of your more memorable moments while working at ��ֱ�� Boulder?

Returning to work on campus 30 years after graduating, I was astonished by the high school GPAs of the students, the research, the number of international students and the growing diversity of the campus. Most memorable are the students I met every year from all walks of life. I was blown away by their accomplishments and service at a young age, and their humility. They make me proud to be a Forever Buff.

What does retirement look like for you?

Camping, hiking, climbing, biking, kayaking and skiing with my family. I see Buffs everywhere I go, and I enjoy connecting with them. I’m also attending ��ֱ�� cultural and athletic events and auditing classes. ��ֱ�� is a wonderful community resource.

You witnessed the journalism industry turn from print to mostly digital in your career. Was there a pivotal moment where you saw a clear change happening?

2006-07. It’s now the consumer’s responsibility to harvest fact from fiction. We all depend on everyone taking that responsibility.

What was it like working as a speechwriter to ��ֱ�� Boulder’s top leader?

Dynamic and a labor of love. Even after 14 years, I was learning new things daily about the university, it’s fluidity and complexities. Chancellor DiStefano is great to work with. He made tough decisions and kept the ship moving forward. It and it was gratifying to play a role.

What advice would you give the journalists of today?

Passion, compassion, fairness, objectivity, trust in your editor. And care for your mental health — you’re covering once-unimaginable tough stuff every day.

Anything else we should know about you?

I’m proud we’re currently a two-generation Buff family. My son, A.J. Curtin (MediaPro’19), graduated from ��ֱ�� Boulder 41 years after I did, in 2019. Of course we bought a brick on the Buff Walk to celebrate!

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Photo courtesy Dave Curtin

After writing for the ��ֱ�� Boulder Chancellor for 14 years, Curtin is retired.

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Fall 2021

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Q&A with CPR's Brad Turner

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 19:54:58 +0000

Q&A with CPR's Brad Turner Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/20/2021 - 13:54

Alexx McMillan

Brad Turner directing a live taping of On Something.

Put Your Headphones On

After working several years as a print reporter and editor, Brad Turner (Jour, Mus’02) moved to ��ֱ�� Public Radio (CPR) where he is now executive producer of the Audio Innovations Studio, overseeing podcasts and other creative audio projects. In his eight years at CPR, he has explored his interests in journalism and music while producing podcasts with the newsroom, composing theme songs and scores, hosting a podcast on modern composers, and reporting stories for the radio. Here, he talks about his time at ��ֱ��, his recent projects and the power of podcasting.

What was the best part of your ��ֱ�� experience?

Well, I met my wife Kim in one of my reporting classes. So that's hard to beat. And there were many places in Boulder I loved. I spent a lot of time on the Boulder Creek Path, in Chautauqua Park and shopping for music at Second Spin, which is long gone but always had something great in the new arrivals section.

What skills did you learn at ��ֱ�� that help you today in your career?

I earned degrees in journalism and music, which was fantastic. Podcasting didn't really exist at that point, but there were still moments where I got a glimpse of what I might like to do for a living. I wrote a couple of features about the Conference on World Affairs for a reporting class, and my instructor Sandra Fish helped get them published in the Boulder Daily Camera. Those first bylines in the newspaper are a thrill for a journalism student, and I loved interviewing people about the ideas that went into their work. On the music side, I remember really pouring myself into chopping up sounds on a computer for my electronic composition classes with John Drumheller and Michael Theodore. I got so into playing with sound on a computer screen that I'd be in the lab well past midnight.

More than anything, I learned at ��ֱ�� that I love the kind of work that lets you sink into a flow state and lose yourself for a few hours. I feel that when I write a script for an audio story, mix a podcast episode or write music.

What is special about podcasts versus other forms of media?

It's a really intimate medium. Great podcasts can have similarities to radio news, documentary film or talk shows, but it feels a little different to have the voice of a host or storyteller in your ear. That's powerful. I think it helps us connect on an emotional level with stories and ideas. I find it very easy to empathize with other people's stories that I hear in podcasts.

I've also come to appreciate that podcasts are a break from screen time. I like that both as a listener and as a parent.

You’ve helped produce many podcasts at CPR. Is there one that you are particularly proud of?

I am really proud of Systemic, which we released earlier this year. I hired a brilliant producer named Jo Erickson last fall, and in her first week or two on the job she came to me and pitched this great idea for a documentary series. She wanted to follow Black police officers who were working to make changes to law enforcement from the inside. This seemed like such an important story to tell. So Jo and the rest of our team collected audio over the next few months, and we released the show around the anniversary of George Floyd's murder. Apple Podcasts placed Systemic in its featured podcast queue that week, and it was amazing to have so many listeners discover the show during that national moment of reflection.

**You've launched a new podcast, Music Blocks. Tell us about it.**

Music Blocks grew out of a research project with CPR Classical, the classical music station at ��ֱ�� Public Radio. We wanted to create a show for younger listeners. We had conversations with teachers and curriculum experts in ��ֱ�� schools and heard they could use something to help students think more deeply about music. We’ve released eight episodes so far, using listening examples from both current pop music and classical music. The common thread in each episode is an emotion, like happiness or fear.

**You helped create Back From Broken, an interview podcast about recovery and comeback stories. What inspired this series’ creation?**

It began as a passion project. Our host, Vic Vela, is a journalist who's in recovery himself. A small team worked with Vic to find a format, and we settled on an intimate series of one-on-one interviews about substance abuse and other challenges people struggle to overcome. We hear about how the person's life got off track, what the worst moments were like, how they found a path back and what they've learned from it all. It touches on incredibly raw subjects at times, but it always ends in a hopeful place. I think it's important that we interview some big names like members of ��ֱ�� folk-rock band The Lumineers or professional wrestler Jake the Snake Roberts along with everyday people, because addiction and mental health affect people in so many different ways.

Why is telling these stories important?

Back From Broken changes lives. We've had other podcasts that racked up more downloads, but the volume of messages we get from Back From Broken listeners is incredible. We've had listeners say that hearing the show led them to re-examine their lives or decide to seek treatment. Or we hear from family members who have a newfound sense of empathy for a loved one who's struggling. It's a great feeling to work on a show that means so much to listeners who need it. We saw the listenership grow quite a bit during the pandemic, probably because people wanted to hear stories about overcoming difficult times and finding hope.

What is your go-to podcast?

I listen to so many podcasts because I need to stay on top of what kinds of new shows people are making and talking about. I end up listening to a little of everything, but rarely make it through a whole season of anything because there's just so much to hear. But the exception to that is probably Heavyweight, a show that helps people find closure for unresolved moments from their past. That podcast is so beautifully written, and I'm pretty sure I've laughed out loud at some point in every episode.

What are your favorite things to do when you’re not working?

I like to spend my weekends with my family, usually riding bikes or hanging out in the mountains. We also love to visit national parks. I'm really happy that concert venues and movie theaters are opening back up. I've been at Red Rocks and the Alamo Drafthouse lately, making up for a lot of music and films that I didn't see over the past year and a half. And I still like to play bass and make music on the computer, just like when I was at ��ֱ��.

Condensed and edited by Alexx McMillan.

Photo courtesy of Brad Turner

Brad Turner, executive producer of ��ֱ�� Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio, talks about his time at ��ֱ��, his recent projects and the power of podcasting.

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On Record

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 19:30:48 +0000

On Record Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/15/2020 - 13:30

by G. Brown (Jour'79)
(��ֱ�� Music Experience, 340 Pages; 2020)

Buy the Book

��ֱ�� Music Experience founding director and author G. Brown covered popular music at the Denver Post for 26 years, interviewing well over 3,200 musicians, including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, and Kurt Cobain, all of whom recounted their escapades and reminisced about what their time on the charts meant to them personally and musically. Over the decades, G. also amassed an archive of close to 15,000 rare promotional photos.

Each volume of the On Record series presents nearly 200 rare archival images and 100 interviews with an array of performers, from the late Jerry Garcia and Dave Matthews to Bono and Santana. Beautifully crafted, these books belong in the library of every music fan and music institute.

Proceeds from book sales will benefit the ��ֱ�� Music Experience.

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The Hardest Day

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 20:33:46 +0000

The Hardest Day Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/22/2020 - 13:33

Sarah Kuta

Photojournalist Ross Taylor captured the final moments between pet owners and their companions. The work has gone viral.

The photographs are heartbreaking.

As they watch their beloved pets take a final breath, the families photographed by Ross Taylor cover their mouths in despair, wipe tears on the backs of their arms and wail in agony. They cradle their companions in their arms and kiss them goodbye.

With his “Last Moments” photo series and forthcoming documentary, The Hardest Day, Taylor captured the visceral emotions of dog and cat owners as they euthanized their pets at home. His work resonated with people worldwide — millions have viewed his photos online.

For Taylor, assistant professor of journalism at ��ֱ�� Boulder, the project was a chance to highlight the connection between humans and animals. He also hopes to comfort grieving pet owners by showing they’re not alone.

“We should not minimize the intensity of the human-animal bond,” said Taylor, whose other work has earned numerous awards, including a 2012 Pulitzer Prize nomination. “If somebody is going through a difficult moment with the loss of a pet, we should stop and move with greater care toward each other.”

Taylor was inspired for the project by a friend who opted for a home euthanasia procedure for her dog in 2016. After researching the practice, he spent several weeks in Tampa, Florida, the next summer shadowing staff members at Lap of Love, a national network of veterinarians who offer hospice and in-home euthanasia services. He also followed veterinarians with the organization Caring Pathways in Denver.

My dogs are there for me no matter what — on my darkest days, on my best days.”

He photographed the final moments of pet owners like Wendy Lehr, whose dog, Mimosa, was euthanized in August 2017 after the nine-year-old South African Boerboel was diagnosed with liver cancer.

Though the photographs of Mimosa were painful to view, Lehr said they helped soothe and validate her grief.

“A lot of people look down on pet owners as if we’re being ridiculous — ‘It’s just a dog,’ or ‘I can’t believe you’re acting this way,’” said Lehr, who lives in Odessa, Florida. “They don’t understand the kind of bond that a human can form with a dog. My dogs are there for me no matter what — on my darkest days, on my best days.”

Taylor and co-filmmaker Luke Rafferty are entering the 53-minute Hardest Day documentary into festivals and plan to make it available in late 2020. The film offers a window into the challenging work veterinarians perform on a daily basis — caring for pets, but also offering compassion and support to their humans.

“It’s not enough to love animals,” said Dr. Dani McVety, Lap of Love’s founder. “Everybody loves animals, but you have to love the people who love the animals. And that’s what we do. When they’re crying, you just look at them and you say, ‘I know.’”

“Last Moments” offers teaching moments for Taylor’s ��ֱ�� classes. For instance, the project exemplifies a modern digital phenomenon: going viral. His work was seen in The Washington Post, Daily Mail and People. When posted on Buzzfeed, the photos were viewed more than 1.5 million times in one week alone.

“Whenever you do any type of journalism, it’s really crucial to make sure your motives are sound,” Taylor said.

Taylor learned photography in his father’s darkroom in Mint Hill, North Carolina, before studying journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Syracuse University, where he earned a master’s degree. Though Taylor’s seen a lot during his career — he’s photographed conflict zones, trauma hospitals and the aftermath of natural disasters — he was moved by the pain he witnessed as families said goodbye to their pets.

“You don’t show emotion in the moment, but you absolutely feel it and your heart breaks for people every single time,” said Taylor. “I definitely get emotional talking about it, and when I edited the film, I cried a thousand times.”

Photos by Ross Taylor

Hardest Day Collection

Photojournalist Ross Taylor captured the final moments between pet owners and their companions. The work has gone viral.

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Winter 2020

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Our Next Guest Is...

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 20:00:00 +0000

Our Next Guest Is... Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/01/2018 - 14:00

Our Next Guest Is...

Larger-than-life cultural figures make their way to ��ֱ�� Boulder every year. Spring 2018 offered a conspicuous bounty, with live appearances by, among others: Pundit Ann Coulter, comedian Hasan Minhaj, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Olympic medalist Aly Raisman, astronaut-physician Mae Jemison and hip hop artist Common (all pictured). David Sedaris was here, too. Who’s on deck? Stay tuned.

Photos by Glenn Asakawa, Casey A. Cass and Daniel Paiz

Larger-than-life cultural figures make their way to ��ֱ�� Boulder every year. Spring 2018 offered a conspicuous bounty.

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Rodeo Kings

Anonymous — Tue, 08 May 2018 17:47:02 +0000

Rodeo Kings Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/08/2018 - 11:47

Eric Gershon

John Branch (Mktg’89; MJour’96), a Pulitzer Prize-winning sports reporter for The New York Times, recently published The Last Cowboys, a book about America’s most successful rodeo family, the Wrights of southwest Utah. Branch responded to questions from the Coloradan by email.

Bill and Evelyn Wright have 13 children and many grandchildren. How many compete in rodeos, and how many national titles have they won?

John Branch

Seven of those 13 children are boys, and they've all competed in big-time rodeo. Right now, five of the Wright brothers are pro cowboys, and three have won season-long titles in saddle-bronc riding, rodeo's classic event. Cody, the oldest brother, has three boys who have turned pro, and one won the title last year. Think of it this way: The Wrights are to rodeo what the Mannings are to football, if the Mannings had a few more NFL quarterbacks and others on the way.

What seems to explain their success?

Part of it is genetics, part of it is persistence. But the secret is Cody. He was successful as a teenager in all the riding and roping events, but settled into saddle bronc. He became the best in the world, the best possible teacher to each of his brothers and, eventually, his own sons.

How did you first encounter the Wrights, and what made you realize their story might be worth telling at length?

A former editor told me about this big family from Utah with a bunch of bronc-riding boys. It wasn't just rodeo that made the story interesting. It was this family, led by Bill and Evelyn, and the land where they ran a modest cattle operation, on the boundary of Zion National Park. It's stunningly beautiful and has been part of the family since the Mormon migration about 150 years ago.

Bill, especially, wants to leave a legacy for his children and grandchildren, so he's trying to build the herd big enough to sustain the coming generations, fueled by rodeo earnings. The idea of hinging a future in the New West to rodeo and ranching, two anachronisms of the Old West, fascinated me.

Was there a central question you had in mind as you reported it?

Is there still a place for these people as the outside world closes in? Their traditions are being trampled by the churning wheels of change, including urbanization, federal-land debates, global warming and drought. It might chase the Wrights off their precious land. That's the crux of the story — how to build a future while holding on to the past.

What did you learn about rodeo that you never knew or fully appreciated?

One, it is crazy dangerous. I've covered all the major sports, and plenty of extreme ones, and rodeo cowboys are the toughest athletes I know. Two, they go to incredible lengths — literally, sometimes driving 1,000 miles — just to ride a bronc or a bull, all without the promise of a single dollar. And it's always a long ride home.

Did reporting Last Cowboys affect the way you see the West?

I grew up in Golden, ��ֱ�� — “Where the West Lives!” as the arch over Washington Street downtown shouts — and spend a lot of time bouncing around the West for The New York Times. But I certainly think a bit more deeply when I see broad rangeland, barbed-wire fences, herds of cattle and sun-baked men in cowboy hats. I wonder how many more generations that way of life will last.

If you’ve tried saddle-bronc riding, how’d it go?

I haven’t, and I wouldn’t. But it's now one of my favorite spectator sports.

Photos courtesy John Branch

John Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, shared what he learned about America’s most successful rodeo family.

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Anchorman Draws a Laugh

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 16:59:00 +0000

Anchorman Draws a Laugh Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/08/2018 - 09:59

Eric Gershon

He wore a suit, but the Anderson Cooper who showed up at ��ֱ�� Boulder March 6 was hardly buttoned up.

Optimistic, enthusiastic and clearly relaxed, the silver-haired celebrity CNN anchor even let loose a few bursts of salty language during a public appearance at Macky Auditorium that drew so much applause, he assured spectators it was ok to dial it down.

“You all don’t have to clap after everything I say,” he said in apparent surprise and amusement.

He also poked fun at himself and other prominent people.

A veteran of war zones and disaster areas who is among the most recognizable faces in television news, Cooper covered a lot of ground in roughly 90 minutes onstage, first in prepared remarks, then in a longer Q&A moderated by two students from the Distinguished Speakers Board, which organized the event.

The newsman, 50, touched on the perpetual news cycle, the personal tragedies that have shaped his career, acts of inspiring humanity amid catastrophe, information leaks from the White House (he called it a “leaking sieve”), the thrill of delivering breaking news with a blank teleprompter and a lot more.

He also poked fun at himself and some other prominent people.

Thanked by a student moderator for “coming out” to Boulder, Cooper, who is openly gay, quipped, “I actually came out a couple years ago, but I get your point.”

The audience, which included a huge contingent of undergraduates, loved it.

When the moderators projected a tweet from President Donald Trump attacking the news media, including CNN, on a giant screen above the stage, Cooper said, “Oh, did he tweet in? That’s so nice. I’ve actually muted him, so I don’t get them anymore.”

It was one of the biggest laugh lines of the night. (The tweet was an old one.)

And in recalling the time he asked his mother, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, for job interview advice, Cooper reported that she took a few days to think it over, then said, “Wear vertical stripes, because they’re slimming.”

At the time, he said, he was a teenager and hadn’t considered that “my mom hasn’t really had a lot of job interviews.”

There was more to the night than clever quipping.

Reviewing dramatic episodes from his 25 years in the news business, Cooper talked in sometimes graphic terms about horrors he’s seen, including the deaths of children amid genocide. He said journalists should strive to experience their work as feeling humans despite their profession’s expectation of dispassionate observation.

It’s important, he said, “to be able to walk in other people’s shoes.”

Cooper addressed two major personal tragedies and their influence on his career: The death of his father when he was 10, and the suicide of his older brother before Cooper’s senior year of college.

“He had jumped off the balcony of our apartment building in front of my mom,” he said.

Those losses stripped him of a sense of safety, he said, and paradoxically fed his interest in experiencing dangerous parts of the world.

“I wanted to go places where the language of loss was spoken,” he said.

Despite his own role as an information provider, Cooper lamented the perpetual news cycle and the state of information overload enabled by social media. It’s exhausting for him, he said, and feeds a broad, pessimistic sense that humanity is in worse shape than it’s ever been — a view Cooper rejects.

“By all measurements,” he said, “the exact opposite is true,” citing statistics showing greater literacy and less poverty worldwide than ever before.

But the deluge of news and opinion available to us in the social media age intensifies awareness of the suffering and danger that is and has always been inherent in life and society.

In his work, Cooper has seen a lot of suffering up close — after earthquakes in Haiti and tsunamis in Sri Lanka, amid genocide in Rwanda and war in Somalia, after mass shootings in the United States.

Over the years, Cooper, who also works for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” has balanced the painful drama with a healthy diet of celebrity interviews. But, having grown up in a household visited by the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Truman Capote, for instance, he long ago came to see them as less than extraordinary, he said — often far less so than the ordinary people he’s encountered in extraordinary circumstances.

Of himself, the ubiquitous newsman said he never set out to be well-known, describing himself as a “very shy” introvert.

That may be true. You’d never know it.

Photos by Glenn Asakawa/��ֱ�� Boulder

At ��ֱ�� Boulder, CNN's Anderson Cooper, a "very shy" introvert, opens up and brings down the house.

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