Rebuild Local News Applauds Colorado for Prioritizing Local Media in State Advertising

Colorado’s state agencies must now prioritize placing government advertisements in local news outlets after a successful policy push by local advocates.

A footnote in the state budget, signed by Gov. Jared Polis on May 8, requires state agencies to develop strategies that prioritize spending with local print, broadcast and digital news organizations as part of agency plans.

This marks the second time Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee has advanced budget language on state advertising, following last year’s requirement that state agencies disclose their local ad spending.

The effort was led and championed by the Colorado Press Association, Colorado Media Project, and Advocacy Rising. The coalition drew on Rebuild Local News’ model policy language and efforts in other states to advance greater government advertising transparency and keep more public ad dollars in local communities.

“This matters because trusted local news outlets remain one of the best ways to reach and inform communities across our state,” Colorado Press Association CEO Tim Regan-Porter posted on LinkedIn. “Strong local journalism helps communities stay connected, engaged and informed.”

Colorado joins a growing wave of states turning to government advertising policies as a way to strengthen local news outlets. Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota and Illinois each advanced legislation over the past year to make state advertising more transparent. Early data from some states suggests that government agencies frequently overlook local news outlets as advertising partners.

Colorado’s FY 2026-27 budget footnote reads: “It is the General Assembly’s intent that any agency or department that receives an appropriation for marketing, advertising, or public outreach implement a plan to prioritize expending the appropriated money with Colorado-based members of the media and to ensure that the plan includes specific strategies for prioritizing print, broadcast, and digital news organizations primarily serving Colorado’s local communities.”
The budget takes effect July 1 at the start of the new fiscal year.

The new policy is most similar to California’s AB 1511, enacted in 2024, which encourages state agencies to increase local ad spending rather than requiring a specific percentage of the budget.

Rebuild Local News policy manager Lori Henson said giving priority to Colorado-based local news is a smart reinvestment of public money into communities and small businesses.

“Most local news outlets in Colorado and around the country are small businesses,” Henson said. “Prioritizing government advertising with these outlets makes economic sense, but it has the added benefits of strengthening communities through the essential information, government accountability, and civic engagement that local news provides.”