Colorado Press Association

By Kelly Kennedy

On Aug. 8, 1878, 23 fellas gathered at what is now Common Grounds coffee shop at 17th and Wazee in Denver, and created an organization to take trips and drink booze.

They came up with a name for themselves in what were then the parlors of the Grand Central Hotel, and appointed a committee to write a constitution and by-laws.

Then, they got on a train and headed up to Central City. An old Colorado Editor reports, “Everything went smoothly until the train reached a defile known as Running Lode Gulch; here two coaches jumped the track and crashed into the ditch. Fortunately, no great damage was done, the editors suffered chiefly from injured dignity.”

Hence, the glorious beginnings of the Colorado Press Association 125 years ago.

In October, they came up with an official pretext for drinking booze and taking train trips: The Colorado State Press Association was created to advance the business interests of its members; cultivate social and fraternal relations between publishers, editors and salaried writers; and have annual meetings where they would read a poem and give speeches. They also decided to fine members for conduct unbecoming of gentlemen.

That must have spurred this amendment to the new constitution voted on at the 1879 meeting:

“Whereas, women have rights as well as men, therefore, Resolved, that hereafter, when this Association goes on Editorial Excursions, the right of the wives, sisters, daughters, or sweethearts of the Association, such attendance by ladies being limited to one for each member.”

In 1928, they voted to add secretaries to this list.

A slow start

The first few years of CPA weren’t about staff development or legal issues. Sometimes they didn’t even read the mandated poem. In 1893, gentlemen were asked, “but declined with thanks.”

Still, it was the beginning of something great. Over the past 125 years, CPA has moved from a fraternity to an organization whose members fight for First Amendment freedoms, create continuing education programs for journalists, and provide opportunities for people to exchange ideas.

Some things haven’t changed much in the past 100 years: Publishers still want to know how to increase circulation and sell ads, journalists still complain about their paychecks, and some city governments still want to hide the police blotter.

Some things have changed tremendously: Publishers no longer look to politicians to pay for their publications, and press operators are no longer transients who travel the state ruining press equipment – that’s a direct result of work done by the CPA.

It was slow starting. At first, the organization could claim about 50 members, which isn’t bad considering there were only 56 papers in the state in 1879.

In 1886, they celebrated by creating an official insignia: silver formed into a shield, fastened with a pin shaped like a quill. One side had “Colorado Editorial Association” written over an old-fashioned hand press. The other side showed the Colorado coat of arms.

Raising the standards

But in 1889, President J.D. Dillenback, of the Western Newspaper Union, said, “In an important sense, this association will be a failure if it does not operate to raise our professional standards.”

There were 11 members present. They decided to take up the literary programs again, but in 1891, there was such a small attendance that they cancelled some programs, then cancelled the summer meeting entirely. In 1892, there was no meeting at all. In 1893, the silver crash hit, sparking the lowest point for the Colorado Press Association.

In 1896, they got to work. At the Leadville Ice Palace, they labored to secure the passage of more liberal newspaper-libel and legals-printing laws. In 1897, they drafted a law to define fair rates for public printing, as well as discussing the need to prove malice before there could be a recovery of damages in libel cases.

What’s in a name?

They still took train trips, and considering that they elected Wolfe Londoner president in 1900, one may assume they were still drinking. Londoner, one of the founding fathers of the Denver Press Club, former Denver mayor and a Denver grocery merchant, was infamous for the “cyclone cellar” in the basement of his store where reporters would gather to drink and catch up on gossip. The cellar was also the first meeting place of the Press Club.

But they were making progress. In 1900, the CPA created its first paper. An official monthly paper, “The Colorado Press,” was published from 1915 to 1920, before changing its name to “The Inter-Mountain Press,” which became “The Editor” in 1926.

The organization also changed its name a couple of times. It began as the Colorado State Press Association. In 1896, the group voted to change its name to the Colorado State Editorial Association because it had a more-modern ring to it. In 1929, they changed it back to the Colorado Press Association because, well, it sounded more modern.

They also elected their first female president: In 1920, Mrs. Lois F. Allen of Cañon City earned the title.

Bemis means business

The biggest change for the Colorado Press Association came when the organization elected Edwin Bemis, publisher of the Littleton Independent, as president in 1922 – by one vote. Some CPA members were afraid Bemis would concentrate more on the business of newspapering than the business of socializing.

They were right.

Bemis first contacted the CPA when he took over the Littleton Independent in 1919. He wanted advice about how to run a paper. He received train trips and cocktails, so he started doing some of his own investigating. Then he decided the CPA needed a central business organization to meet the needs of the member papers.

The other officers persuaded Bemis to become the new manager until someone else could take it on fulltime. He stayed for 29 years.

His wife took over as editor of the Littleton paper, and Bemis opened up CPA shop. At first, he worked out of the newspaper offices. Then, he convinced the University of Colorado that they needed a secretary of the Bureau of Research and Extension in journalism. For the next 20 years, Bemis was based on campus, and the Editor was published through the journalism department.

Bemis spent most of his time traveling the state visiting publishers. He convinced them that they should use advertisements to pay for their papers – almost all Colorado papers had made the switch by the time he retired in 1951.

He also alerted publishers to scams: the stories from pattern companies that were really just free advertising, the transients who posed as pressmen to make a quick buck then ruined the presses with their lack of knowledge, and the names of companies that weren’t actually going to pay for advertisements they placed with papers.

He addressed the issues of the day: Should editors be made to have licenses as doctors and lawyers do? How should editors treat their typecasting metals? And why should journalists embrace their communities and join their local Chambers of Commerce?

Bemis also began the Colorado Press Clipping Service, using CU students to cut out stories. In 1927, he sent out a newsletter, The Bulletin – which still goes out once a month – with help-wanted and for-hire advertisements. He personally checked the resumes of potential employees before recommending them to publishers.

In 1928, he announced in the Editor the first CPA contest: The organization would give out a prize cup at the convention, but hadn’t yet decided for what accomplishment.

He led in the state’s legal battles. In 1929, CPA tried to make it a misdemeanor to furnish a newspaper with information that leads to damages for libel, and also asked that people not be able to file a libel suit against a newspaper unless they had asked for a retraction. The state asked that publication fees for legals be paid to the court, which would then distribute funds to publishers.

CPA fought it and won. In 1933, CPA also asked that the CPA be allowed to distribute press credentials, rather than the secretary of state controlling who received them.

He ran ethics columns on such topics as is it libelous to suggest a female is unchaste, to describe a white person as a race other than his or her own, or to say bad things about dead people.

Bemis got CPA through the Depression, often writing that journalism is a great field to be in during bad times because people always need news.

When Ed Bemis came to the Colorado Press Association as general manager in 1922, the organization suddenly took on a more-serious tone.

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Bemis developed a central office from which to manage CPA members’ questions and needs – not that he was in it much. He spent most of his time traveling the state and finding out what was going on in the far outposts of Colorado – not to mention hitting Wyoming and Arizona and their press associations to help them. There is no doubt that he was the point man.

He sent out bulletins updating publishers about whom to hire and whom to avoid. He visited the presses and explained how to maintain equipment. He kept vigil at the Capitol to argue that reporters shouldn’t be required to have licenses like doctors or lawyers, and to request that the CPA issue its own press credentials, rather than having that under the jurisdiction of the secretary of state. In 1943, the association voted to devote a half winter-convention day to legislative matters.

Bemis also published the Editor once a month, which helped develope a sense of community for Colorado’s journalists. The first editions came from the Littleton Independent office, where he was editor until his wife took over. Then, he published from Boulder when he became secretary of the Bureau of Research and Extension in journalism at CU. The school paid for much of his work and still allowed him the freedom to travel.

In 1945, his office moved to the Mary Reed Library at the University of Denver after the association was “disassociated” from CU – in other words, they stopped funding it.

‘Editor’ road show

Every time Bemis moved, he took the Editor with him. The Editor was the first continual effort to try to improve the writing of Colorado journalists. Stories featured advice such as: “Write a lot. Write as you speak. Use short sentences.” That was in 1936.

The Editor could easily advise the same today.

In 1927, Bemis ran a story about ways to humanize editors.

The Editor could easily advise the same today.

Bemis also asked that all reporters carry cameras and pushed editors to use more art in their publications. He encouraged professional journalists to work with students. 1937 marked the first year college students covered the annual convention. They’ll do it again this year.

He also used the Editor to try out new ideas for the member papers. For example, the Christmas 1937 edition featured all green ink for stories, pictures and headlines. Apparently, it was an idea that didn’t catch on.

Bemis did not lose the social end of the organization, however. Every summer, he organized picnics, rafting trips and train rides that were purely for entertainment – plus a visit to the local newspaper, which usually helped sponsor the summer events.

The summer events ended in the 1990s when CPA board members realized that editors and publishers no longer had the time to take a week off in the summer to go play with the other editors and publishers.

Bemis also had to be on top of national issues. In 1943, he encouraged CU to speed up their journalism programs because Colorado editors were losing their reporters to the draft – 9,940 reporters nation-wide went to war and not as correspondents. Bemis also encouraged editors to hire and train women.

Longstanding rules

Many of the rules Bemis helped orchestrate still stand today. In 1943, the association decided publications must be legal papers to become full members of the CPA. This was to help members maintain the sole right to publish legal notices – a right CPA is still working today to keep by posting paper’s legal notices on www.publicnoticeads.com so they can reach as many readers as possible.

Bemis left his position as general manager in 1951, but he continued to write a column called “Memories” until his death in 1978. William Long then took over, and spent a great deal of time looking for a permanent home for the CPA. Until 1964, the association was located over a bowling alley at 1445 Court Place in Denver.

During his last year, 1964, the organization moved to 1336 Glenarm Place, which just happened to be next-door to the Denver Press Club. Member newspapers helped with the initial costs to move.

The Colorado Press Association inhabited the lower level of the building, and an advertising agency filled the second floor.

During the 1978 CPA 100th anniversary convention, members dedicated a brass plaque to Long which still hangs on the front of the Press Building.

Bill Lindsey came on as general manager in 1964, after Long died suddenly. Though Bemis held the office longer, Lindsey may have seen the most change through his retirement in 1988.

During his time, he saw the Sunshine Laws passed in the Colorado Legislature. He ran stories about female journalists rising to the glass ceiling, as well as about the importance of diversity in a newsroom.

During this time, the CPA also hired its first lawyer: Tom Kelley, who is still with the organization. CPA lobbyists were at the Capitol almost every day the Legislature was in session, and they spent a great deal of time fighting against an increase in secret meetings organized by city, school and university officials. CPA representatives continue to spend a great amount of time at the Capitol today making sure the rights fought and won are maintained.

In 1981, Lindsey and the CPA board members bought the CPA building for $1 million. In 1988, Mark Thomas came on as executive director, and Ed Otte followed in 1995. Through their years came a heavier concentration on education for member newspapers and their journalists. Freedom-of-Information requests, Sunshine Laws, seminars and dissemination of information have been major themes. In 1995, CPA took that theme further by creating a Web site with the help of the University of Colorado.

And the fun – or drinking – hasn’t disappeared completely. Since 1959, when CPA first began meeting every year at the Brown Palace Hotel, the jokes have continued at the Ship’s Tavern, the RORAR awards still cause laughter, and everybody knows the stories will never die.