Who Had the Worst Week?

August 15, 2025 ~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment

Former Colorado Public Radio host and reporter Vic Vela announced he has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The diagnosis is the latest challenge for Vela, who has been open about his struggles with drug addiction and living with HIV.
The post-COVID hangover, ongoing rider safety concerns and an ill-advised attempt to be all things to all commuting people has caused RTD‘s ridership numbers to continue to drop. The first half of this year saw a 6% ridership decline over the first half of last year.
When fighting a losing battle, some participants will invoke the “Aiken Formula” by simply declaring victory and going home. The Salvation Army appears to have done just that when it announced it had informed the City and County of Denver that it would no longer manage three city homeless shelters next year. The rub: Denver had already notified the Salvation Army that its proposal to run the three shelters had been rejected in favor of other candidates.
Here’s a headline that wouldn’t have seemed plausible 20 years ago but today makes you think, “Yeah, that checks out…” – “Man charged with felony assault for throwing a sandwich at an immigration agent was a DOJ employee.“
It was a tough week in the sports world:
- Retired New York Yankees Hall of Fame reliever Mariano Rivera tore his Achilles tendon playing in the team’s annual Old-Timers’ Day game.
- Two Japanese boxers fighting on the same card but in different fights died following brain injuries sustained in their bouts.
- NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch placed first at Watkins Glen International, but when he climbed atop his car in Victory Lane to celebrate, he slipped, fell and broke his collarbone.
Denver City Council members are not impressed with DIA‘s proposed feasibility study of small nuclear reactors to power the airport.
There are about 1.5 million reasons that this is not “The Official PR Blog of the Denver Broncos.”
Neighbors of an abandoned landmark home on Denver‘s historic 7th Avenue Parkway are staging a “poop protest” by throwing their dogs’ used poop bags onto the front steps.
President Donald Trump‘s jealousy of former President Barack Obama‘s Nobel Peace Prize is well known, and President Trump dropped a not-so-subtle quid pro quo request for one during a tariff conversation with Norway‘s finance minister.
New financial penalties levied against the University of Michigan by the NCAA for the school’s sign-stealing scandal could cost it as much as $30 million.
No new details have emerged following The Wall Street Journal‘s report last week that Nexstar, the owner of Fox31 and CW2, is negotiating to acquire Tegna, the owner of 9News. FCC media ownership rules prevent a single company from owning two of the “Big Four” networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox) in any single market, but analysts suspect that the current FCC would change that rule if it were challenged. If Nexstar owned Fox31, CW2 and 9News, it is likely that a number of positions would be eliminated, including news directors, assignment editors, digital producers, engineering staff, marketing staff, creative services and back-up reporters and meteorologists, among others.
Bad news, Luddites. AOL announced it will discontinue its dial-up internet service effective Sept. 30. Maybe put on some acid-washed jeans and take a moment to pour out a Zima in honor of the OG of the internet.
I shared the results of the recent PRSA Colorado Gold Pick awards last week, but it turns out that the information provided to me was incomplete. Using the highly scientific Denver PR Blog formula (3 points for the Grand Gold Pick, 2 points for Gold Picks, 1 point for Silver Picks), the following were the agency winners:
- Schroderhaus – 10 points
- Sidecar PR – 8 points
- Linhart PR – 7 points
- Barefoot PR – 3 points
- CIG – 3 points
- Jumel PR – 2 points
- Philosophy Communications – 2 points
- ETPR – 1 point
- Prim – 1 point
- Root Marketing & PR – 1 point
- Metropolitan State University was the big overall winner of the night, including winning the PRSA Colorado Grand Gold Pick award for its campaign, “Simulating the Future of Healthcare.” It also won four additional Gold Picks, and barely edged Schroderhaus with 11 points.
- My apologies to Schroderhaus, Linhart and Metro State for shortchanging their scores on the first version.

Who won the week?

President Donald Trump announced this year’s Kennedy Center honorees, and the list was better than many feared: actor Sylvester Stallone, the band Kiss, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, and Broadway performer Michael Crawford.
Jen Pawol became the first female umpire to work a regular-season game in MLB history when she umpired an Atlanta Braves-Miami Marlins game.

Who Had the Worst Week?

March 7, 2025 ~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment

Streaming services may have mastered on-demand content, but they keep having trouble with high-profile live events. Four months ago, Netflix botched the Mike Tyson–Jake Paul boxing match when demand overwhelmed its capacity, and last weekend Hulu‘s stream of The Oscars was plagued with technical glitches, including prematurely ending the feed before the Best Actress and Best Picture awards were announced.
Colorado Community Media is shutting down two of its newspapers – the Washington Park Profile and Life on Capitol Hill.
Data shows that ridership on RTD failed to grow in 2024. New RTD board member Chris Nicholson put it succinctly: “We’ve lost customers who used to trust us with their travel.”
More than 25 people were injured in South Korea when fighter jets participating in a live-fire drill accidentally dropped bombs on a civilian area.
The entire staff of the Michelin-recommended AJ’s Pit Barb-B-Q walked out after allegations that management hasn’t been paying payroll taxes or contributing to their healthcare insurance,
Mark Botnick, crypto-fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried‘s high-profile crisis PR representative, quit after his client went on Tucker Carlson‘s podcast without telling him.
There has been a second death associated with the measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico. These are the first measles deaths in the U.S. in a decade. As federal officials worked around the clock to aid the response in Texas, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was vacationing in Coachella, Instagramming his hike.
The early-bird price for the unrestricted adult Epic Pass for next season has crossed the $1,000 barrier. Next year’s pass is $1,051, compared to $982 a year ago.
It was a tough week for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, who were widely assumed to be the two most viable candidates for Colorado governor when Jared Polis‘ term ends in 2026. But in a surprise move, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet moved to freeze the field by announcing that he is “very, very seriously” considering a run.
A SpaceX spacecraft disrupted air traffic in Florida when it exploded mid-flight. A previous attempt in January also resulted in an explosion.
Well, it’s official. Former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson no longer has any ties to Denver. He and his wife Ciara have shut down the last House of LR&C clothing store location that was at DIA.
If you are wondering what the 2025 version of “Freedom Fries” would be, wonder no longer. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has proposed renaming the New York strip steak the Texas strip steak.

Who won the week?

The Denver Public Library is hiring a marketing specialist.
Jane Dvorak is accepting applications for her summer class of PR interns.
Denver’s Dumb Friends League has rebranded as Humane Colorado.
After 25 years with the Denver Business Journal, Deborah Sadinsky announced she will retire next month.
Sports talk show host Stephen A. Smith signed a five-year, $100-million contract with ESPN.
China’s Mixue Ice Cream and Tea is now the world’s largest food-and-beverage chain, surpassing McDonald’s and Starbucks in terms of number of locations.

Who Had the Worst Week?

March 1, 2024 ~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment

Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations firm, posted a 9.7% drop in revenue in the U.S. in 2023 and a 3.7% decrease globally.
The Denver Nuggets were rated as having the least fan-friendly arena in the NBA for food. The survey found that Ball Arena has few concession stands, hot dogs that cost $6.50 and beer that runs nearly $1 per ounce.
AT&T is giving wireless customers a one-time $5 credit after its massive network outage last week.
WeightWatchers’ stock dropped 25% after Oprah announced she was leaving the company’s board of directors.
An Irish woman lost her $820,000 injury claim after a picture emerged of her winning a contest to see who could toss a Christmas tree the farthest.
Wendy’s tried to introduce something it called “dynamic pricing,” but it wasn’t ready for the backlash from consumers who rebranded it “surge pricing.”
The FAA has given Boeing 90 days to develop a plan to address “systemic quality-control issues.”
A Houston man who goes by “Christopher” discovered that his legal first name is “Infant” thanks to a mistake with his birth certificate 23 years ago. He tried to change the name, but it requires a notarized form and must first show ID with “Infant” listed as his first name, which he does not have.
Experts say that Mexico City may just be months away from a severe water crisis. The city has depleted its underground aquifers at such a high rate that the city is sinking by around 20 inches per year.
Denver7 parent company Scripps saw its stock drop below $4 this week, setting yet another 52-week low. Meanwhile, 9News parent company Tegna also hit a 52-week low after it reported a 21% drop in Q4 year-over-year revenue.
Colorado State has unceremoniously dumped Athletic Director Joe Parker, an apparent victim of the football’s team’s lack of success. He has been replaced by John Weber, the head of the school’s NIL collective.
Jefferson County is considering closing Lookout Mountain Road – the Lombard Street of Colorado – due to a rash of “robberies, felony assaults, overdose deaths, stolen vehicles, sex assaults, pass-outs behind the wheel, minors in possession, (and) suicides.”
Madonna removed Luther Vandross from a tribute to artists who died from AIDS-related complications after his family notified her that Vandross died from a stroke and never was diagnosed with AIDS. The tribute is a regular part of Madonna’s concerts.
You’d think alcohol sales would be the root of unruly fan behavior, but Philadelphia Phillies executives have identified a different culprit – $1 hot dog night. Apparently many (drunk?) fans buy the aerodynamic projectiles just to throw them on the field. That the Phillies are banning cheap hot dogs and not beer tells you everything you need to know about the margins on beer sales.
Former 104.3 The Fan program director Raj Sharan has taken a job as the promotions director and afternoon-drive DJ at Colorado Springs‘ Cat Country 95.1. The only catch – for the country station, he will go by the name “Roger Sharan.”

So, who won the week?

Fox31/KWGN Assistant News Director Linda Kicak has been named news director at 9News. She replaces Tim Ryan.
“Dry January” helped lead to a spike in sales of nonalcoholic beers in Denver.
Two years ago, professional golfer Jake Knapp had to also work as a bouncer to make ends meet. This week, he won the PGA Tour’s Mexico Open and the $1.5 million that goes with it.
IHOP has introduced a Girl Scouts Thin Mint pancake.
The satirical French newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur is rarer than Punxsutawney Phil – it is only published every four years on Leap Day. The 2023 edition appeared this week covering news events of the past four years.