The Lantern
We founded The Douglas County Lantern in July 2025 on the heels of the Home Rule special election to cover hyper-local news, publish research, and investigate major issues in our community.
The Douglas County Lantern, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation registered in the State of Colorado. We have received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
Our team adopts the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. If you have an ethical concern please message a member of our team or email the editor at editor@dougcolantern.org.
Our main areas of coverage include:
Douglas County Government
Local elections
Transparency & accountability issues
Hyper-local interest news not covered by regional outlets
If you have a tip or idea for The Lantern, please email us at: newstips@dougcolantern.org
Guest Contributors
Interested in writing for The Lantern? Pitch an idea by sending an email to editor@dougcolantern.org. All guest contributors must create a Substack account to be attributed in the byline. All contributions go through a peer-review and are edited before publishing; guest posts must meet our editorial guidelines. All contributors are volunteers.
Guest contributions should be at least 750-1,500 words, well-researched and sourced, and fit into one of our major coverage areas.
Regular Contributors
Interested in being a consistent writer for The Lantern? We are seeking contributors to write 1-2 articles per month and participate in our peer review system. You must be a resident of Douglas County. Email editor@dougcolantern.org to learn more.
Opinion Columns & Letters to the Editor
If you are interested in submitting an opinion column or Letter to the Editor:
Pitch a column (500-1,200 words) by emailing opinion@dougcolantern.org; you may also submit a draft column. All columns are edited prior to publishing to meet trust and editorial standards. Column writers must create a Substack account for attribution.
Letter to the Editor (500 words or less), email your LTE directly in the body of an email to editor@dougcolantern.org. All LTEs are edited for typos and clarity.
Editorial Guidelines: Trust, Bias, and Peer Review
Everyone at The Lantern is a volunteer contributor and resident of Douglas County. With that in mind, it can be difficult to maintain absolute separation from the issues affecting our own community. However, as a nonprofit corporation we have obligations to not engage in partisan political activity and we hold ourselves to an ethical standard of transparency, accountability, and trust.
Our regular posts go through peer review editing to ensure we are properly sourcing information, making clear assertions, and guiding readers to a better understanding of Douglas County. We do not publish calls to action or recommendations for how to advocate on a local issue.
The Lantern does not endorse political candidates or ballot issues. However, our contributors are free to do so as individuals.
Mailing Address:
558 Castle Pines Parkway, Ste B4-105
Castle Pines, CO 80108
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