We at the Society of Professional Journalists Colorado Professional Chapter have lost our brother, our mentor, and our ethical soul. We mourn the passing of longtime Colorado journalist, educator and SPJ leader Fred Brown, a man who was tireless in promoting and bettering journalism and upholding its professional standards.

Fred died April 1 after a stroke. He was 85.

Across decades, Fred was a guiding light for journalists in the Centennial State and nationwide. He served as national SPJ president in 1997-98, and at times was its Rocky Mountain Region 9 director and president of our Colorado chapter. He was a member of the board of the SPJ Foundation, which supports the educational mission of SPJ, at the time of his death.

Journalistic ethics were always front of mind for Fred, so much so that his email address began with “EthicalFred.” He was a former chair of SPJ’s national ethics committee, helped rewrite its Code of Ethics for journalists, and wrote and edited SPJ’s ethics book. He first proposed the idea for SPJ’s Ethics Week nearly three decades ago.

In 2006, SPJ honored Fred with its Wells Memorial Key, its highest honor, for outstanding service to the society.

“Fred is always there. He stands for the principles that SPJ holds dear: honesty, integrity, intelligence and an incredibly strong commitment to journalism ethics,” Deborah Hurley Brobst, who was then Region 9 director of SPJ and is now SPJ Colorado Pro chapter president, wrote in nominating Fred for the award, joined by 12 past SPJ national presidents.

In 2024, SPJ Colorado Pro presented Fred with our Journalist of the Year award.

Fred spent decades covering government and politics on the staff of The Denver Post, was a longtime political analyst at Denver’s KUSA-9News, and taught journalism ethics at the University of Denver.

Here are thoughts about Fred from members of the SPJ Colorado Pro board:

Doug Bell: “When it came to journalism ethics, Fred was true north on the compass. He literally wrote the book on it, and he was the first phone call for many of us when faced with a sticky ethical situation. On a personal level, Fred was a mentor and a colleague and a friend. We came to rely on his gentle wisdom, his steady presence and his understated humor. When I speak to journalism classes about ethics, it always feels like Fred is right there in the room.”

Kara Mason: “I served many SPJ board terms alongside Fred. I feel lucky to be able to say that. His dedication, spirit, and expertise were inspiring. Every Colorado journalist should want to be like Fred Brown.”

Mark Harden: “In the news business, known for sharp elbows and loud opinions, Fred Brown was a gentleman with vast talent and a bone-dry wit. I worked with him for many years at the Post, where he was a brilliant leader of our state politics coverage. He has also been a champion of high ethical standards for journalism for decades, both in Colorado and across the nation. Recently I was privileged to work alongside him on the board of our chapter. He meant a lot to me, personally and professionally, and his passing hits hard.”

Marco Cummings: “I came to know Fred as one of his students when he taught journalism ethics at the University of Denver. One lesson of his has stayed with me: ‘The most ethical decision is almost always the most difficult one.’ Fred was also generous with his time. Whether it was a quick hello in passing or sitting down with me for a guest lecture at DU a couple of years ago, he stayed present in ways that mattered. In a time when journalism faces increasing pressure from those seeking to influence or suppress coverage, along with the growing temptation of AI as an ‘easy solution,’ his emphasis on ethics feels as important as it’s ever been. As Fred told me in his dry sense of humor, ‘I’m glad I’m retired. I don’t think I’d be able to stay neutral.’ I hope he can rest easy, and that those of us who learned from him, and others like him, continue to strive for the same high standards for ethics.”

Michael de Yoanna: “Fred Brown is high on the list of career journalists I admire. It hit me hard to learn of his passing. The SPJ Code of Ethics has guided me for many years. It states that ‘ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.’ Thank you, Fred, for standing up for the best kind of journalism, which plays a critical role at the core of our democracy.”

Corey Hutchins: “When Fred came to talk to my ‘Politics, Ethics & Journalism’ class at Colorado College, he told students: ‘I used to be a journalist. It’s kind of like saying I used to be a priest.’ For him it might have been more of a religion than a profession. He would also go around the room asking students to describe their dream job. It’s hard not to believe he lived his own.” 

Beth Potter: “Fred was a huge mentor to me. He invited me to sit on the SPJ national ethics committee with him, and he, I and committee member Chris Roberts revised and updated all of the links on the SPJ national website related to media ethics. Fred spoke to my students at the recruiting tours I held for the Colorado Student News Service at the state Capitol (and his picture with the fake mustache was still up in the third-floor press office, the last time I checked). I miss him so much.” 

Cara DeGette (former board member): “Ethical Fred was such an honest, decent journalist and gentleman. He seemed ageless, and I hope he is long remembered and honored for his mark on journalism, his delightful wit, and his thoughtful deliberations.”

Decades at the Post

Born in 1940, Fred was one of the first technical journalism majors when Colorado State University started that program in 1961. He also was one of the first inductees into CSU’s Media Hall of Fame 50 years later, in 2011. He was editor of the CSU Collegian in 1960-61, doubling its publication schedule from two to four times a week, after launching a weekly summer edition in 1960.

He graduated in three years, then worked briefly at the Bent County Democrat, the Boulder Daily Camera, and finally, after getting a master’s degree from Northwestern University in 1963, landed his dream job and joined The Denver Post, where he spent 39 years on the staff, mostly covering politics and government. He was its capitol bureau chief for many years.

After his retirement from The Post in 2002, Fred wrote a column on politics for the Denver daily. He also taught journalism ethics at DU from 2006 to 2021.

He was a longtime member of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition board and was its secretary at the time of his death. 

“Fred was there during CFOIC’s earliest days in the late 1980s,” the organization said in a statement. “He cared deeply about access to government information as well as news media ethics. … Over the years, his wisdom and knowledge have been instrumental in CFOIC’s mission to protect the public’s right to know.”

As for Fred’s tenure as an analyst at 9News, the Denver station’s former political reporter Adam Schrager — now teaching journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — commented: “He was the most decent and patient man I have ever met in the political world. I remember him telling me, ‘In journalism, we often say if both sides of a story are unhappy with us, we’ve done something right. Maybe we should also wonder whether they’re both right, and we’re the ones who made a mistake.’ Ethical Fred. Never did a nickname fit a man as well as that.”

Fred was a former president of the Denver Press Club and in 2003 was enshrined in the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame. He was an active swimmer, cyclist and (with wife Mary) a Denver Zoo volunteer and African safari traveler.

In 2002, Fred wrote this limerick to summarize his beloved SPJ Code of Ethics:

Seek truth and report it and think,

Shunning favors, free tickets, and drink.

Please, minimize harm,

And sound the alarm

When someone goes over the brink.

Here at SPJ Colorado Pro, our hearts go out to Mary Brown and all who knew and worked with him.  Our chapter and CFOIC are organizing a celebration of Fred’s life to be held at the Denver Press Club. Watch for details to come.

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Learn more about Fred and his work:

“Longtime Denver Post political journalist Fred Brown, an ethics and open government advocate, dies at 85” (news obituary) — Denver Post, April 2, 2026.

“Fifty years ago, voter approval of the Sunshine Law ushered in a new era of government transparency in Colorado. It also meant no more beer for the state Capitol press corps” — CFOIC, October 6, 2022.

“Denver’s Fred Brown is an instrumental figure in SPJ’s Code of Ethics” (Q&A interview) – SPJ Colorado Pro, April 14, 2015.