YIKES: Anschutz businessman Chris Reen replaces journalist at helm of Gazette

This piece first appeared in the Colorado Times Recorder.

Colorado’s Gazette newspaper chain, owned by GOP billionaire Phil Anschutz, is botching yet another chance to prove it’s a professional news operation, instead of the Anschutz family’s tool to boost its business interests and favored political causes and candidates.

In a July 19 story, the Colorado chain, which includes the Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado Politics, and the Denver Gazette, announced that Vince Bzdek will no longer serve as executive editor and will instead write his column and work on projects until the end of the year, when he will be named “editor emeritus.”

The explanation: he’s retiring, a development that was not unexpected within the Gazette. Still, you’d be forgiven for having your doubts. An email to Bzdek asking if he was pushed out or leaving due to a dispute went unanswered.

In a Politburo-esque statement toward the end of the Gazette article about Bzdek’s retirement, which was spotlighted by journalism reporter Corey Hutchins, the Gazette reported that Gazette Publisher Chris Reen, who runs Anschutz’s Clarity Media company, would “now” serve as Bzdek’s replacement for an unspecified period.

“Editors in Colorado Springs and Denver offices now will report directly to Reen, who last November won ‘Publisher of the Year’ from the industry journal ‘Editor and Publisher,’” reported the Gazette.

Traditionally at major news operations like the Gazette, the publisher represents the interests of the owner, in this case Anschutz and his family, and runs the business operations — and the top editor stands up for journalism and the public interest.

So the Gazette’s boast about Reen being named “Publisher of the Year” is at best irrelevant to the question of whether he’s qualified to serve as editor and, at worst, misleading to normal people who don’t understand the traditional role of a publisher at a newspaper chain.

I trust many of the editors who are now reporting to Reen, and I understand that they are the workhorses and the firewall against meddling by Anschutz, but having Reen at the top, without a news person alongside him, is a basic problem journalism-wise.

Reen’s letter to the Gazette’s staff about Bzdek also failed to address glaring journalistic issues arising from Bzdek’s retirement, including Reen’s role now and in the future.

Reen’s letter lauded Bzdek and then stated, in part, “Vince is winding down his daily responsibilities yet will retain his weekly column and work on special projects for the balance of the year. Our editors in Colorado Springs and Denver will report directly to me as Publisher.

“Please help me congratulate Vince on an exceptional journalistic career. I know you’ll join me in thanking him for his contributions and years of service to the Gazette family, and for making such a positive difference in the lives of our subscribers, readers, and all Coloradoans.”

So what’s up? Why transfer the oversight of the news decisions to a businessman without a concurrent announcement of a replacement or at least a statement about whether one would be forthcoming?

I put those questions to Reen via email, but got no response. I also asked him why he felt he was qualified to take Bzdek’s responsibilities. Likewise, Bzdek didn’t say whether he thought Reen was qualified or if he was happy that Reen would take over his role.

The announcement of Reen’s appointment is particularly depressing in view of the fragility of Colorado’s professional news outlets, with The Denver Post, local TV news, and experimental outlets all on shaky ground as journalism’s business model has yet to re-emerge after crashing with the rise of the internet. The Gazette, on the other hand, is flourishing and considering an expansion into Aurora, according to Bzdek, under the loving support of the state’s richest person, who’s a Republican activist.

RELATED: Spiked: A Conservative ‘Shadow’ Hangs Over Colorado Newspapers Owned by GOP Billionaire Phil Anschutz

Given the quality of much of the journalism you read in the Gazette platforms, I wish I could not be alarmed at the Gazette’s bizarre announcement of Bzdek’s retirement and the insertion of Reen as executive editor. I wish I could accept that it’s a temporary necessity.

But the Gazette has an ugly record of using its news-gathering operation to boost not only Anschutz’s businesses but his favored political candidates and causes. Under Bzdek and Reen, the Gazette once intervened to protect Anschutz’s pick for U.S. Senate, according to multiple credible sources. Reporters have said they don’t even try to report critically on Anschutz’s business interests. And the conservative lean of the news page is seen regularly. And the connections between the Gazette chain and leading conservative activist organizations become clearer with every initiative on the Colorado ballot.

“Some media critics and observers, including this newsletter, have raised some legitimate questions over the years about influence from ownership, the business side, and the Anschutz family in coverage,” wrote Hutchins in his Inside the News in Colorado newsletter July 23.

The dark stuff occurs as many Gazette reporters continue to produce top-shelf journalism that benefits the community, no doubt.

In light of this, you can make a good case that, despite his serious lapses, Bzdek has done as good a job as any editor could do at the Gazette chain, under the circumstances.

I’m honestly not looking forward to seeing who replaces Bzdek, but I know Reen is the wrong guy for the job, even if it’s only temporarily.

RELATED: How Anschutz’s Gazette Killed a News Story 7 Years Ago — And Why It Matters Today