For the latest stories (latest understanding of the case), go right to Westword, no doubt about it. For best early coverage, the Rocky Mountain News is the clear favorite--in fact, they were about the only source getting most key issues correct. In general, for detailed info on a specific event within the long, sordid Columbine tale, look to the Rocky. Avoid the D Post like the plague on the early coverage right after the massacre on April 20, 1999. They get so many of the key points wrong and drive those myths home relentlessly (particularly the jocks myth and the Trench Coat Mafia myth). Unfortunately, the Pulitzer committee--like most of America--had no idea those myths were untrue, and rewarded the Post's shameful coverage with the Pulitzer Prize. Truly a travesty.

The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News have the most thorough coverage by far, on every possible topic, listed in reverse chronological order. Their quality varies greatly: sometimes shoddy journalism, sometimes they really nail it. The early coverage in the News was far, far, far more accurate, the Post better written and much more thorough. (I haven’t read any of the Boulder Camera coverage, but I read the paper occasionally when I lived there. Very small-town paper; I wouldn’t expect much, but you never know what gems might be buried there). Westword got off to a slow start but reporter Alan Prendergast has bird-dogged this story better than anyone, uncovering lots of great info over the past few years, with more scoops on the story than anyone.

* A few of these, notably USA Today, only includes selected stories. In some ways this is good, if you're only looking for highlights, not digging for comprehensive detail. And they had a couple really good local reporters working the story.

With all these sources, be forewarned that virtually every news organization got taken in by the myths, and much of the key information in everyone's early stories is wrong (including mine, I'm ashamed to say). Please be aware that Columbine had nothing to do with jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Certainly nothing to do with Marilyn Manson. Any Columbine reporter will tell you this now, but unfortunately, all our archives are full of misinformation. (For an intro or refresher on the myths, see my September 1999 Salon stories: "Inside the Columbine High investigation: Everything you know about the Littleton killings is wrong," "Kill mankind. No one should survive: The writings of Eric Harris …" and "Who said "Yes"?" (concerning alleged martyr Cassie Bernall).

r     Westword (Denver's alt weekly):  

r     Rocky Mountain News--Columbine summary--NO LONGER ACTIVE: The Rocky has put together a really well-organized site here, with lots of major information easily found on one page. It's mostly limited to their own work, but includes a few links to outside material. Look especially down the left-hand side, where they've done a great job organizing some key items you may be looking for, like 911 tapes/transcripts, photos, the official report, etc.

r     Rocky Mountain News--Columbine summary--abbreviated: A subset of the summary described above, including memorials on the victims, timeline, key links and archives for stories from 99 to 01.

r     Rocky Mountain News--archives: A complete list of all Columbine stories they have published, organized by date, from Arpil 99 to May 05. (It takes a minute to load, even on DSL). This is generally the best source for detailed day-by-day reporting of the story.

r     Salon (unfortunately, it’s missing a few key stories. But those are included in their archive of all my Salon stories)

r     USA Today*