ColoradoBiz has named Jon Haubert as publisher, replacing Sylvia Young who had served as publisher for more than a decade. Hauber is the owner of H.B. Legacy Media, a strategic communications firm “designed to tackle complex and difficult-to-message topics.” Among its projects was the launch of Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED), a pro-oil and gas advocacy group that was highly visible during recent election cycles.

“Jon will be a tremendous asset and fit in perfectly with our talented team,” said Dan Wiesner, owner of ColoradoBiz parent company WiesnerMedia. “He’s proven that he holds that right mix of thought-provoking story ideas, businesses and people to profile, and the advertising support needed to maintain business operations that any successful magazine needs not only to survive, but to thrive.”

The Denver Business Journal has promoted Kourtney Geers from managing editor to editor in chief. She replaces Rebecca Troyer who left last month to take a position with the paper’s parent company.

Prior to joining the DBJ, Geers was the director of digital news production for The Denver Post. She also worked for Politico.

The “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley’s attorney, Albert Watkins, speaking eloquently on behalf of his client:

It’s hardly a secret that communications professionals have a mental ranking of journalists. Those rankings usually reflect various factors such as influence, objectivity*, responsiveness, and the overall experience of working with them. (And, spoiler alert, journalists have similar mental rankings of communications professionals.)

Most of us have the God-given sense to keep those lists in our heads rather than on paper. But Jesse Paul at the Colorado Sun obtained a list distributed recently by Colorado House Republicans that rated media outlets according to “friendliness.” And based on journalist feedback on Twitter, it was a barn-burner.

The happiest journalists were those at outlets deemed “not friendly,” and the most ambivalent journalists were those at outlets described as “friendly.” The unhappiest were journalists at outlets that didn’t even make the list (I’m looking at you, Denverite, Aurora Sentinel and Colorado Community Media).

An interesting quirk to this list: the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel is listed as friendly to Republicans, but its politics reporter Charles Ashby can’t even get a return phone call, much less a comment, from his U.S. House Rep. Lauren Boebert. Maybe Charles should email the list to the Congresswoman.

(*”Objectivity” actually means more likely to be receptive to the opinions of the communications professional)

Attorneys General across the country have lined up to sue Purdue Pharma, and the members of the Sackler family that own it, for the manner in which it distributed opioids. In an interesting new development, the state of Massachusetts has now filed suit against the public relations and advertising firm Publicis Health (a division of Publicis Groupe) for helping Purdue Pharma market opioids in what the state says is an irresponsible manner.

Lecia Bushak at Medical Marketing & Media reports:

“Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has filed a lawsuit against Publicis Health over its work for Purdue Pharma during the opioid epidemic. The complaint filed Thursday alleges that Publicis Health worked with Purdue between 2010 and 2019 – the years encompassing the height of the opioid crisis – on a variety of marketing campaigns aiming to make doctors prescribe more opioids to patients, and at higher doses.” 

“This decade-long marketing scheme had clear goals: to sell more OxyContin, make a profit and manage Purdue’s reputation as the opioid epidemic was raging,” Healey said during a press conference. Healey argues that Publicis Health created marketing strategies that aimed to reduce hesitancy among prescribers to give patients OxyContin. The agency planned campaigns to “humanize” the OxyContin brand to doctors, with the goal of getting more patients on higher doses, she alleges.

Westword is out with its annual “Best of Denver” issue, and the winners include:

Best Talk-Radio Host
Ryan Warner, Colorado Matters, Colorado Public Radio

Best Podcast
City Cast Denver hosted by Bree Davies

Best Serial Podcast
The Syndicate by Chris Walker

Best Local TV Morning News Show
CBS4 Denver

Best Local TV Evening News Show
Denver 7

Best Local TV News Anchor
Tom Green, 9News

Best Local TV Weathercaster
Matt Makens, Fox31/KWGN

Linhart PR announced it has promoted four team members:

• Kelly Brown was promoted to Management Supervisor. She has been with the firm for seven years, and she will continue to lead communications strategy, community engagement and media relations programs for clients in the energy, utilities, infrastructure and healthcare industries, as well as support firm new business efforts.
• Emily Rado was promoted to Account Supervisor. She will celebrate her five-year anniversary this month and she delivers strategic counsel and leads media relations, digital and influencer strategies for consumer brands including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Nature’s Heart, and the NCBA’s “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.” campaign.
• Shannon Hughes was promoted to Account Supervisor. She joined the team in 2016 and she provides communications counsel, plans community engagement activations, and leads media relations strategies for clients in the energy and utilities, professional services, and multi-unit restaurant industries.
• Jenny Nailling has been promoted to Account Executive, after joining Linhart PR in early 2020. She executes local, national and trade media relations programs, develops content, and helps to manage social media and influencer activations for several of Linhart PR’s clients across a range of industries.

If you have been following The Denver Post‘s exhaustive coverage of the issues at the Colorado Supreme Court (conveniently tagged “Colorado Judiciary Scandal” on its website for easy reference), you know that it has been a tough few months. It could have been much tougher, though.

Word on the street is that the Colorado Supreme Court hired Steve Silvers and Paul Jacobson from SilversJacobson shortly after David Migoya at The Denver Post broke the story about allegations of widespread sexual harassment, discrimination and unethical behavior throughout the Colorado Judiciary Branch. The result has been some positive developments – Chief Justice Boatright took full ownership of the situation, asked the other branches of government to oversee an independent investigation, and has hammered the idea of wholesale culture change.

Silvers’ crisis and controversy consulting goes back to the 1993 Aurora Chuck E. Cheese murders and the building of Denver International Airport, and Jacobson spent years on Capitol Hill and in corporate communications director jobs, including the largest corporate bankruptcy reorganization in U.S. history.

Colorado Sun Editor Larry Ryckman: “The Colorado Sun is now part owner and operator of 24 suburban newspapers in the Denver metro area. The Sun has partnered with a new nonprofit called the National Trust for Local News, which is using this endeavor with us as a pilot project to show that national funders and local journalists can collaborate to keep newspapers in local hands.”

“Together, The Sun and the National Trust have purchased Colorado Community Media, which has 24 weekly and monthly newspapers serving eight counties including and surrounding Denver. Some of these newspapers are more than 100 years old (the Golden Transcript alone is 153 years old), and they range from Castle Rock to Brighton, Evergreen to Arvada, Parker to Denver’s Washington Park and beyond.”

“This is a bit of a departure for The Colorado Sun, which has been an all-digital news site since our founding in 2018. But our entire staff has extensive experience in the print newspaper world, so we’re confident we still remember how it’s done. And the preservation of these newspapers is absolutely part of our mission of public service.”