Editor’s Note | May 2025

Several years ago, I reached out to Yellow Scene Magazine with a gut feeling that I wanted to try my hand at journalism. I didn’t have a master plan, just a hunger to write, to ask questions, and to feel connected to the world around me in a more meaningful way. They liked my writing sample enough to give me a shot. A few weeks later, I was deep in the neck of research and interviews for my first-ever reported story.

It was a big step, and a somewhat chaotic one. But it felt like coming home.

Now, I write this as Yellow Scene’s new Associate Editor at a time that feels just as chaotic, just as formative. We’re in a transitional moment: the magazine is undergoing a kind of internal reorganization and realignment, the kind that comes after 20+ years of publishing and evolving. Like many small, independent outlets, we’re trying to figure out how to keep doing what we do well in an increasingly hostile and complicated media environment. It’s also just a strange, charged time to be a journalist. Especially a local one. Especially one working in a state like Colorado, in a county like Boulder, where national politics and local life no longer feel separate. Where everything is both connected and overwhelming, and trying to distill that into something people can read, trust, and act on is no small task.

When we talk about threats to the press, we often picture the big players: CBS, The Washington Post, CNN. But crackdowns on media don’t just hit the coasts or the cable newsrooms, they ripple outward. Local publications, independent outlets, alt-weeklies, we feel it just as sharply, if not more. Whether it’s legal pressure, economic strain, or the anxiety of what kind of coverage might provoke backlash, the stakes are high. And for us, there’s no corporate safety net. We have our values, our team, and the faith of our readers.

That’s part of what makes this work both more meaningful and more difficult. We don’t just ask questions. We try to ask the right ones. We don’t just report what’s happening. We try to figure out what matters most, and why. And in a time when national headlines dominate the narrative, we double down on the local, not because it’s easier, but because it matters.

At Yellow Scene, we don’t just report what’s happening, we ask why, who it affects, and what needs to be done. We take positions. We believe journalism is at its best when it’s clear-eyed and unflinching. Our readers deserve that. They deserve to know what’s going on in their neighborhoods, in their schools, in their city halls, and to feel just a little more empowered because of it.

One of the things I hope for most is that Yellow Scene continues to be a voice for the people of Boulder County. That we keep showing up with consistency, grow in our reach and impact, and stay rooted in the communities we serve. After we published my story on dark money in public education, I was contacted by the Advocates for Public Education Policy group. They told me how much it meant to see issues that rarely get the spotlight named and taken seriously. A few days later, I joined one of their weekly meetings to answer questions about the research, connect, and listen. It was one of the clearest reminders I’ve had that this work makes a difference.

In the coming months, we’re experimenting with formats, with voices, with how we show up in print and online. That’s part of what it means to be independent: we’re nimble enough to change when we need to, stubborn enough to keep our core intact. We’ll try new things, and not all of them will be perfect. But we’ll keep showing up. We’ll keep asking better questions. And we’ll keep making space for the kinds of stories that don’t always get told, but should.

I’m especially excited to be working with our current team of writers, who are as diverse in experience as they are in voice. We’ve got seasoned journalists who’ve been writing for decades and know their way around a complicated lead. We’ve got writers fresh out of grad school, tackling big stories with sharp minds and open hearts. And we’ve got people who didn’t formally study journalism but whose talent and passion for writing, research, and truth-telling are undeniable. One of Yellow Scene’s greatest strengths is that we let writers develop their voices. We encourage well-sourced, deeply researched pieces. And we give space for people who care to show up and do the work.

Working for an independent magazine in 2025 is, if I’m being honest, not the most rational career move. But that’s kind of the point. Rationality doesn’t always lead to the most vital work. Passion does. Curiosity does. A belief that stories matter and that someone should still be willing to say the things no one else is saying. We’re not owned by a hedge fund. We’re not beholden to corporate interests. We answer to our readers, our mission, and our sense of what’s right.

This job is hard. But it’s also fun. Weirdly fun. Getting to work alongside people who are passionate, scrappy, principled, and a little chaotic, in the best way, is one of the great privileges of my life. I hope the stories we publish reflect that spirit. I hope they help you understand your neighbors, your communities, and your world just a little better. I hope they surprise you sometimes. And I hope they make you feel something.

Thanks for reading. We’ll keep going as long as we can.

— Destiny Hale

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