Denver - Jan 16, 2013 - Rocky Mountain PBS, I-News and Jazz 89 KUVO/KVJZ are merging. "At a time when most media outlets are contracting, Rocky Mountain PBS is expanding services and growing membership," said Doug Price, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain PBS. "We are proud of the partnerships we've developed with I-News and KUVO/KVJZ over the years."

Rocky Mountain PBS and I-News have partnered since the launch of the nonprofit investigative news service in 2009. The organizations have shared content and location. The I-News leadership team and correspondents are award-winning journalists who are the recipients of three Emmys and five Pulitzers.

KUVO/KVJZ and Rocky Mountain PBS have also enjoyed a long tradition of collaboration on projects of significance for our audiences.

The three organizations have started the transition to share resources, information and newsgathering capabilities. The result will be strengthened collaboration, improved resources and a deeper ability to meet consumer needs in this evolving media environment. The formal merger between KUVO/KVJZ and Rocky Mountain PBS is anticipated to close in April 2013.

These mergers are a product of a strategic planning process that was inspired by the Rocky Mountain PBS board of directors and the Gill Foundation. In August 2012, Rocky Mountain PBS joined forces with the foundation to open the Tim Gill Center for Public Media in Colorado Springs. This public media center brings together more than 20 different partners and is serving as the public media hub for the Southern Colorado community.

The collaboration is a model for the entire state and country about how public media, universities, libraries and nonprofits can join together to serve the community. The merged partners hope to announce additional collaborations that will continue to build on this new definition of public media.