Journalists from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming have been honored for their hard work in the 2026 Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism contest.

Winners were announced at a reception April 25 at the Slate Hotel in downtown Denver.

The contest for professional journalists is sponsored by the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on behalf of SPJ chapters in Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. 

Click here for the full list of winners.

Top of the Rockies is a regional, multi-platform contest for reporters and news organizations in the four states. The contest grew from a Colorado-only contest on the heels of the closure of the Rocky Mountain News in 2009 to ensure a robust and competitive field.

The 2026 contest had more than 2,000 entries — the largest field ever — from 100 news media outlets and 25 freelancers. The entries were judged by journalists in southern California.

“We are pleased to honor so many journalists and media outlets for their tireless journalistic efforts,” said Deb Hurley Brobst, SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter president and the contest’s coordinator. “We are seeing top-notch work from journalists throughout the region, no matter what the staff size.”

Entrants compete in four divisions based on newsroom staff size: extra-large newsrooms, large newsrooms, medium newsrooms and small newsrooms.

Also at the awards reception, the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter presented its 2026 individual awards to Colorado journalism superstars. The honorees are:

• KEEPER OF THE FLAME (career achievement): Linda Carpio Shapley
• JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Jeremy Jojola
• EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR: Doug Cosper (posthumous)
• FIRST AMENDMENT AWARD: Aurora Sentinel

Click here for more on the honorees.

The chapter also presented scholarships to 13 deserving Colorado journalism students. Click here for the recipients.

And the chapter also paid tribute to longtime SPJ leader Fred Brown. A Celebration of Life for Fred is planned for May 7; details here.

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