Toni Tresca named to Editor & Publisher’s ’25 Under 35′

OnStage Colorado correspondent and editor recognized for hyperlocal journalism work at Bucket List Community News.

Toni Tresca, chief correspondent for OnStage Colorado and editor of Bucket List Community News in Denver, has been named to Editor & Publisher magazine’s “25 Under 35” list of emerging news leaders.

“It’s an honor to be recognized alongside my colleagues from across the country who are fighting the good fight to keep journalism alive, honest and community-driven,” Tresca said.

Tresca, who also co-hosts the OnStage Colorado podcast and serves as editor of the recently launched OnScreen Colorado website, is a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in theatre. Tresca went on to earn a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Arts in theatre and performance studies from the University of Colorado Boulder.

OnStage Colorado Editor & Publisher Alex Miller praised Tresca’s trajectory in the field.

“Toni is a great example of a self-taught journalist who used his education in other areas and combined it with a strong writing style and epic levels of curiosity to become one of the top arts journalists in the state,” Miller said. “He is an enormous asset to OnStage Colorado and the new OnScreen Colorado website and brings a level of insightfulness to his reviews that takes many journalists years to master.”

A collaborative approach to editing

In remarks shared with Editor & Publisher, Tresca emphasized that strong editing is fundamentally collaborative work rooted in relationships.

“Editing is ultimately collaborative work,” Tresca said. “It’s about building trust with the reporters you work with and the communities those stories represent.”

He added that the goal of editing is not to impose a singular voice on a piece but to help reporters tell their stories as clearly and effectively as possible.

“That means listening carefully, asking thoughtful questions and recognizing that every reporter brings their own expertise and perspective,” he said.

Championing community voices

At Bucket List Community News, Tresca said much of his work involves helping writers identify and develop stories that might otherwise be overlooked — neighborhood initiatives, local arts organizations, small businesses, civic issues and community-led events.

“These stories may not always make national news, but they are often the ones that matter most to the people who live there,” he said.

Tresca said his broader hope is to help strengthen local journalism by amplifying voices that don’t always reach a wider audience.

“If my work as an editor can help surface more of those stories and create space for more community voices to be heard, I feel like I’m contributing to a stronger, more inclusive local media landscape,” he said.

Colorado arts world

In addition to his editing role at Bucket List and his work with OnScreen Colorado, Tresca is a leading theatre critic in the state, contributing reviews and features to OnStage Colorado and other publications. He co-hosts the OnStage Colorado podcast alongside Miller.

“The arts are the whole reason I got into the wild world of journalism,” Tresca said. “When I moved to Colorado, I was seeing so much incredible work that just wasn’t getting the coverage it deserved. I reached out to a number of outlets whose work I respected, including Alex at OnStage Colorado, and editors like him helped me hone my craft as I learned the tricks of the trade.”

Tresca strives to be informative, fair and funny when he can be.

“I understand that not everyone will agree with everything I write, particularly reviews,” Tresca said. “But when I have to write something critical, I always keep the integrity of the artists in mind while giving audience members a clear understanding of how and why the piece didn’t work on the evening I attended.”

Tresca enjoys his work because it takes him all over the state to see a wide variety of art. He also cherishes the conversations he gets to have with artists, administrators and others in the Colorado arts scene.

“If you had asked me when I was young to describe my dream job, it would look a lot like what I’m doing right now,” he said. “Colorado has a bustling arts and culture scene full of wildly creative people. With Sundance on the horizon, this is a fantastic opportunity to be reporting on the state’s creative industries.”