WATERVILLE, Maine — Maine’s Colby College will honor the former editorial page editor for the Denver Post, and a current Colorado Sun contributor, who published an editorial criticizing the owners of The Post with the 2018 Lovejoy Award for courageous journalism.
Chuck Plunkett resigned from the Denver Post earlier this year and continues to work as an advocate for local journalism in the face of corporate downsizing.
The Morning Sentinel reports the Lovejoy Award is named for Colby graduate Elijah Parish Lovejoy, who was killed in 1837 for his anti-slavery editorials.
Colby has recognized courage in journalism with the Lovejoy award since 1952. Last year’s recipient was Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Alec MacGillis of ProPublica.
Plunkett will receive the award, along with an honorary degree from the college, at a ceremony on Oct. 8.
Plunkett is now serving as the CU News Corps director at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is also a contributing opinion writer for The Colorado Sun.
Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.
MORE: Plunkett: A new Sun is born, and brighter days are ahead