May 12, 2010
Brent Boyer
Stories this photo appears in:
Brent Boyer: Why I 'Ride 4 Yellow'
Ride 4 Yellow is just one of at least three great local events taking place this summer to help in the fight against cancer. If you’ve been touched by cancer in some way, I encourage you to consider being part of any or all of them.
Brent Boyer: The importance of tone and word choice
Sunday's editorial was meant to encourage
I’m guessing Steamboat Springs City Council President Cari Hermacinski wasn’t the only reader who interpreted our editorial to be critical of the city’s involvement in biking initiatives.
Brent Boyer: Your opinion on our opinions
We appreciate feedback on our editorials
The Editorial Board is always open to suggestions for local topics to consider. And we’re looking for two new community representatives to serve four-month terms alongside me, General Manager Scott Stanford and reporter Tom Ross.
Brent Boyer: Last call for Locals
It’s been more than 15 years since the Pilot & Today began publishing an annual Locals section. In that time, we’ve written about hundreds of Routt County residents, some of them newsmakers already, many of them not.
Brent Boyer: Mud season blues, summer to-do’s
Summer in Steamboat has evolved during past decade as cycling bloomed
The best part of mud season? That it promises to give way to summer, my favorite time of year in Steamboat Springs. Summer certainly has evolved here during the past decade. There’s more to do — and to offer visitors — from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend than ever before.
Brent Boyer: Coffee and a Newspaper event helps with story ideas
As is the case for many media organizations, some of our best stories are the result of suggestions or tips from readers. On Wednesday, about 20 readers converged in the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s community room for our third Coffee and a Newspaper gathering.
Brent Boyer: Sheriff story missed the mark
Last week I used this space to defend the importance of journalism education and how it teaches aspiring reporters and editors to, among other things, “be fair, accurate and accountable; think critically; and display good news judgment.” Today, I am using this same space to take responsibility for a recently published article in which I believe we fell short of those journalistic standards.
Brent Boyer: Why journalism programs and accuracy still matter
Many of you saw the ad. Eighteen of you responded to it. The Steamboat Pilot & Today and the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association are sponsoring a free trip to China for a Routt County resident.
Brent Boyer: Redoubling magazine efforts
Earlier this week, we released the latest edition of At Home in Steamboat Springs magazine. Highlighted by the results from our extensive Best of the Boat community survey, I’m convinced it’s the best issue of At Home that we’ve ever produced.
Brent Boyer: Transparency and availability are ‘powerful tools’
Two people showed up to the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s inaugural Coffee and a Newspaper gathering Feb. 2. The second attempt was Wednesday morning, and from a numerical perspective, it was a resounding success. We had a 300 percent increase in community attendance.
Brent Boyer: Telling Jenna's story
Like so many of us, Jenna Erickson had fallen in love with Steamboat Springs and made it her home. She worked two jobs, loved being outdoors, gave selflessly of her time to volunteer with Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports and had a boyfriend. She would have turned 23 on Saturday. Instead, her family and friends will mourn her death during a service in Maryland.
Brent Boyer: News and information on the go
There’s a lot to love about smart phones. Mine has helped organize my work and personal lives with a calendar and contacts list that automatically syncs with my laptop. Many websites offer mobile versions geared specifically for fast loading and browsing on mobile devices.
Brent Boyer: Coffee talk with the community
Starting next month, the Steamboat Pilot & Today is opening its doors and inviting readers to chat about the newspaper — or even just the news — from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of every month with myself and General Manager Scott Stanford.
Brent Boyer: A fresh look for the front page
We haven’t heard a peep in the month since we made one of the most noticeable changes to the Steamboat Today in the eight years I’ve been here. On Dec. 16, the Steamboat Today featured two stories on its front page, and we’ve published two stories on the front page since.
Brent Boyer: Explore Steamboat adds features
Throughout the next few weeks, I’ll be writing about a number of new editorial initiatives at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. Some, like the two-story front page, we’ve already adopted. Today marks the first edition of an expanded Explore Steamboat weekend arts and entertainment section.
Brent Boyer: The cost of a free republic
I suppose I’m not alone in saying that I can’t wait for Memorial Day weekend. Three days of outdoor activities, good food and time spent with family. And if the forecast holds true, it might even be our first prolonged taste of summer here in Routt County.
Brent Boyer: Addressing online civility
Steamboat resident Paul Hughes’ letter to the editor (“Require identities”) Wednesday was well-timed. Web anonymity and civility is a subject being debated in news organizations across the country.
Brent Boyer: A story that impacts us all
On Friday, the Pilot & Today will unveil Part 1 of a five-part series titled "House of Cards: The rise and fall of Routt County's real estate economy." Staff members have spent the past couple of months reporting this in-depth look at the buildup and fallout of the real estate-driven economy.
Brent Boyer: More coverage without 4 Points
I've lived in Steamboat Springs only seven years, but it's been long enough to witness incredible growth in our arts community. Just the past few years have seen an explosion of new gallery spaces in downtown Steamboat.
Brent Boyer: Number crunching
Take a guess at the most-read story of the past year on Steamboatpilot.com. I'll give you a hint: It has nothing to do with our sheriff, although he did crack the top 10.
Brent Boyer: Unmasking the Editorial Board
One of the most rewarding and challenging parts of my job is leading the newspaper's Editorial Board. For 90 minutes every Tuesday, our six-member group debates important issues happening in our community and beyond.
Brent Boyer: New E-edition available starting today
Beginning today, our Web site includes a daily E-edition that's an exact copy of the print paper. A click on our E-edition widget is all readers will need to open a full-screen version of the Steamboat Pilot & Today.
Brent Boyer: Attaching value to news
The grim financial situation facing many newspapers, particularly those in large media markets, has rekindled the debate about whether media companies should charge users for online content.
Brent Boyer: Irony and Rob Douglas
I sometimes joke with Rob Douglas that his columns aren't worth the complaints I receive about them. But the truth is, I was thrilled when he recently agreed to sign on for a second year of penning Friday opinion pieces.
Brent Boyer: Stocks, Tigers and Twitter - oh my
There was a time when many newspapers devoted multiple pages to stock listings. Those times have passed. Any number of Web sites provide real-time tracking of the financial markets, which makes printing Wednesday's market results in Thursday's paper seem silly.
Brent Boyer: Transcending journalism
Less than 30 of us gathered in a sunlit corner meeting room on the second floor of the Brown Palace hotel in downtown Denver to listen to Jim Sheeler - a master storyteller with a gift for uncovering the details that make a good story great and a great story unforgettable.
Brent Boyer: A word about the Pilot & Today
The timing of Thursday's announcement that the Rocky Mountain News would publish its final edition on Friday was, on some level, symbolic.
Brent Boyer: Playing it out front
Longtime Steamboat Springs resident and veteran Pilot & Today reporter Tom Ross was as excited as I've ever seen him Friday morning. Like other members of Routt County's dedicated Nordic skiing community, Ross was glued to his computer, watching the results from the first Nordic combined event of the 2009 World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic.
Brent Boyer: With obituaries, families come 1st
One of my duties as this newspaper's education reporter was compiling and editing obituaries submitted by our readers and funeral homes across the country. It wasn't the most glamorous duty, but it was an important and often overlooked one.
Brent Boyer: Locals celebrates community
It's easy for journalists to get caught up in the routine of their respective beats. Meeting coverage and event previews are important, but they don't make for a well-rounded community newspaper on their own.
Brent Boyer: Getting with the times
For several years, I resisted the temptation. The urging of friends and colleagues couldn't sway me, nor could the hard reality that social networking via the Internet and mobile devices has become the communication method of choice for many Americans younger than 30.
Brent Boyer: Lost in translation
I was this newspaper's education reporter when the Steamboat Springs School District first experienced a surge in the number of students whose native language was not English.
Brent Boyer: Help us help you
An error - four of them, actually - in Tuesday's newspaper reminded me how important the Happenings page is to our readers.
Brent Boyer: Newspapers must focus on Web
News from within the newspaper industry has been pretty dire in recent weeks. The Rocky Mountain News, said to be Colorado's oldest business, is for sale.
Brent Boyer: Changes in store for Pilot & Today
A group at the Pilot & Today has spent the past couple months evaluating our newspaper products and refining ideas for how to make them better. Some of them come down to efficiency and best use of resources. Some of them involve the changing nature of newspapers and newspaper readership.
Brent Boyer: Calling all teen readers
Last week was national Teen Read Week, and Bud Werner Memorial Library celebrated the event with a kick-off party, weeklong activities, and amnesty for teens who had fines for overdue books.
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