Rocky Mountain News to close, publish final edition Friday

[red98]

Colorado's oldest newspaper will publish its final edition Friday.

The Rocky Mountain News, less than two months away from its 150th anniversary, will be closed after a search for a buyer proved unsuccessful, the E.W. Scripps Co. announced today.

"Today the Rocky Mountain News, long the leading voice in Denver, becomes a victim of changing times in our industry and huge economic challenges," Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, said in a prepared statement. "The Rocky is one of America’s very best examples of what local news organizations need to be in the future. Unfortunately, the partnership’s business model is locked in the past."

The Rocky has been in a joint operating agreement with The Denver Post since 2001. The arrangement approved by the U.S. Justice Department allowed the papers to share all business services, from advertising to printing, in order to preserve two editorial voices in the community.

However on December 4 Scripps announced it was putting up for sale the Rocky and its 50 percent interest in the Denver Newspaper Agency, the company that handles business matters for the papers, because it couldn’t continue to sustain its financial losses in Denver. Scripps said the Rocky lost $16 million in 2008.

One possible buyer emerged by the mid-January deadline to express interest in acquiring the paper, Scripps said. But the buyer was “unable to present a viable plan” for the paper, the company’s press release said.

Since then, Scripps said, it has been working with MediaNews Group, owner of The Post, to come up with a plan to allow it to exit Colorado. It also shares 50-50 ownership with MediaNews of Boulder’s Daily Camera and a handful of other smaller papers in the state.

The closure of the Rocky will mean Denver will have just one major newspaper, like the vast majority of American cities today.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/26/rocky-mountain-news-closes-friday-final-edition/

[turftoad]

That sucks bad.

[red98]

That sucks bad.

Less Broncos news to fill the off-season.

(if this is posted in the wrong forum someone feel free to move it)

[tubby]

:(

___

[SR]

I'm gonna miss Dave Kreiger's articles..

[Shazam!]

Man... I used to have a delivered 6x a month subscirption in the early 90's to the Rocky before I got on the Internet. This sucks.

How we need a whole bunch of liberal trashrag toilet papers like the NY Times to close their presses too.

[BroncoJoe]

I wish the Rocky was staying and the Post was closing it's doors.

[broncobryce]

Maybe the Denverpost will hire their sports writers.........

[topscribe]

I had a Rocky Mountain News delivery route on my bicycle when I was in
Junior High.

I remember, as an adult, having my RMN open on my side of the table, and my
uncle having his open on his side, and our reading the morning RMN every
morning over a cup of coffee when we lived in Cherry Creek.

I remember reading Woody Paige's column in the RMN . . . that's where he
started.

Ever since having a computer on the internet, I have had the RMN bookmarked,
and I think I can count on one hand the days I did not read it.

This is not a happy day for me . . .

-----

[Buff]

This definitely sucks, it's unfortunate because the service they provide is still very much in demand, but their business model is no longer viable...

Newspapers now have figure out how to stay afloat based entirely off of online revenues, which means strictly advertising-based revenues won't cut it anymore... But it's tough to try and get readers to pay for content that has been free for so long. Hence their dilemma and why they're going out of business.

[red98]

This definitely sucks, it's unfortunate because the service they provide is still very much in demand, but their business model is no longer viable...

Newspapers now have figure out how to stay afloat based entirely off of online revenues, which means strictly advertising-based revenues won't cut it anymore... But it's tough to try and get readers to pay for content that has been free for so long. Hence their dilemma and why they're going out of business.

Meanwhile news aggregators like the Drudge Report, Huff Post and even PFT
are raking in the big bucks.

[TXBRONC]

I figured because impacts one media sources that we use in discussing the Broncos I thought it might belong here. After 150 years the RMN will on longer be a media source for Denver. :tsk:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/26/rocky-mountain-news-closes-friday-final-edition/

Rocky Mountain News to close, publish final edition Friday
Rocky Mountain News
Published February 26, 2009 at 12:01 p.m.
Updated February 26, 2009 at 1:34 p.m.

The Rocky Mountain News publishes its last paper tomorrow.

Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, broke the news to the Rocky staff at noon today, ending nearly three months of speculation over the paper's future. He called the paper a victim of a terrible economy and an upheaval in the newspaper industry.

"Denver can't support two newspapers anymore," Boehne told staffers, some of whom cried at the news.

On Dec. 4, Boehne announced that Scripps was looking for a buyer for the Rocky and its 50 percent interest in the Denver Newspaper Agency, the company that handles business matters for the papers, because it couldn't continue to sustain its financial losses in Denver. Scripps said the Rocky lost $16 million in 2008.

"This moment is nothing like any experience any of us have had," Boehne said. "The industry is in serious, serious trouble."

Boehne said there was nibble from one potential buyer, who withdrew after realizing that it would cost as much as $100 million "just to stay in the game."

The Rocky has been in a joint operating agreement with The Denver Post since 2001. The arrangement approved by the U.S. Justice Department allowed the papers to share all business services, from advertising to printing, in order to preserve two editorial voices in the community.

Since then, Scripps said, it has been working with Post owner MediaNews Group to come up with a plan to allow it to exit Colorado. It also shares 50-50 ownership with MediaNews of Boulder's Daily Camera and a handful of other smaller papers in the state.

The closure of the Rocky will mean Denver will have just one major newspaper, like the vast majority of American cities today.

Scripps said it will now offer for sale the masthead, archives and Web site of the Rocky, separate from its interest in the newspaper agency.

Today's announcement comes as metropolitan newspapers and major newspaper companies find themselves reeling, with plummeting advertising revenues and dramatically diminished share prices. Just this week, Hearst, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, announced that unless it was able to make immediate and steep expense cuts it would put the paper up for sale and possibly close it. Two other papers in JOAs, one in Seattle and the other in Tucson, are facing closure in coming weeks.

The Rocky was founded in 1859 by William Byers, one of the most influential figures in Colorado history. Scripps bought the paper in 1926 and right away entered into a newspaper war with The Post. That fight ebbed and flowed over the course of the rest of the 20th century, culminating in penny-a-day subscriptions in the late '90s. Perhaps the most critical step for the Rocky occurred in 1942. The paper was struggling and facing death when then-Editor Jack Foster switched its format from the more common broadsheet to the tabloid style it has been known for ever since. Readers loved the change and circulation took off.

In the past decade, the Rocky has won four Pulitzer Prizes, more than all but a handful of American papers. Its sports section was named one of the 10 best in the nation this week. Its business section was cited by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers as one of the best in the country last year. And its photo staff is regularly listed among the best in the nation when the top 10 photo newspapers are judged.

"I could say stupid things like 'I know how you feel.' I don't," Boehne said. "We are just deeply sorry. I hope you will accept that."

[BeefStew25]

I had a Rocky Mountain News delivery route on my bicycle when I was in
Junior High.

I remember, as an adult, having my RMN open on my side of the table, and my
uncle having his open on his side, and our reading the morning RMN every
morning over a cup of coffee when we lived in Cherry Creek.

I remember reading Woody Paige's column in the RMN . . . that's where he
started.

Ever since having a computer on the internet, I have had the RMN bookmarked,
and I think I can count on one hand the days I did not read it.

This is not a happy day for me . . .

-----

That must have been cool to witness the transition from written longhand to the printing press, Top.

[EMB6903]

thats disapointing

[TXBRONC]

It is very disappointing.

[Lonestar]

Bummer although I delivered the Post way back I always loved the RMN better.. just did not want to get up that early in the morning to deliver. It was bad enough on my bike in the afternoon when it got cold out.. but NO way at 0400 to get things doe by 0600..

[Denver Native (Carol)]

I'm gonna miss Dave Kreiger's articles..

"The Denver Post also announced that many popular writers and features from the Rocky will be joining The Post. Rocky Mountain News columnists Tina Griego, Penny Parker, Bill Johnson, and Mike Littwin will join The Post, as well as Dave Krieger in sports. Rocky Mountain News Editorial Page Editor Vincent Carroll will join The Post editorial board and will write an editorial page column."

"Also joining The Post will be Rocky Mountain News staff writers Lynn Bartels (politics), Burt Hubbard (database reporting specialist), Kevin Vaughan (general assignment) and Gargi Chakrabarty (energy industry). The Post also will incorporate all Rocky Mountain News comics and many of its puzzles."

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Scripps said it will now offer for sale the masthead, archives and Web site of the Rocky, separate from its interest in the newspaper agency.

[SR]

"The Denver Post also announced that many popular writers and features from the Rocky will be joining The Post. Rocky Mountain News columnists Tina Griego, Penny Parker, Bill Johnson, and Mike Littwin will join The Post, as well as Dave Krieger in sports. Rocky Mountain News Editorial Page Editor Vincent Carroll will join The Post editorial board and will write an editorial page column."

"Also joining The Post will be Rocky Mountain News staff writers Lynn Bartels (politics), Burt Hubbard (database reporting specialist), Kevin Vaughan (general assignment) and Gargi Chakrabarty (energy industry). The Post also will incorporate all Rocky Mountain News comics and many of its puzzles."

Awesome. DK is a kind of friend of mine and last time I heard about this and he told me about the likelihood of the DRMN going under, he said he wasn't sure if he'd go to the Post or not. I haven't heard from him since.

[Buff]

Meanwhile news aggregators like the Drudge Report, Huff Post and even PFT
are raking in the big bucks.

Which is kind of a bum deal really, because without traditional journalists, they wouldn't be in business.

It's not as big of a deal for pubs like the NY Times or the Washington Post, who feature the best journalists in the world, to charge for online content... But local newspapers are going to have a hard time putting the toothpaste back in the tube (to borrow beef's analogy) in terms of free content. I expect many more newspapers to go under.

[OrangeHoof]

19th Century technology unable to compete in 21st Century. Sad to see it go but they don't make eight-track tape players anymore either. Technology marches on.

[girler]

Video killed the radio star. :(

[red98]

Which is kind of a bum deal really, because without traditional journalists, they wouldn't be in business.

It's not as big of a deal for pubs like the NY Times or the Washington Post, who feature the best journalists in the world, to charge for online content... But local newspapers are going to have a hard time putting the toothpaste back in the tube (to borrow beef's analogy) in terms of free content. I expect many more newspapers to go under.

True, WSJ has been charging for online content from the get go and making money. One new business model might be where journalists are free agents that collect a royalty when anyone publishes their work.

(I heard this discussed on the Daily Show of all places :shocked:)

[TXBRONC]

I wonder where Rasizer, Legworld, Kreiger, and Sam Adams will go?

[Rex]

Video killed the radio star. :(

Good one.


:headintoiletfullofpuke:

[Denver Native (Carol)]

I wonder where Rasizer, Legworld, Kreiger, and Sam Adams will go?

"The Denver Post also announced that many popular writers and features from the Rocky will be joining The Post. Rocky Mountain News columnists Tina Griego, Penny Parker, Bill Johnson, and Mike Littwin will join The Post, as well as Dave Krieger in sports. Rocky Mountain News Editorial Page Editor Vincent Carroll will join The Post editorial board and will write an editorial page column."

"Also joining The Post will be Rocky Mountain News staff writers Lynn Bartels (politics), Burt Hubbard (database reporting specialist), Kevin Vaughan (general assignment) and Gargi Chakrabarty (energy industry). The Post also will incorporate all Rocky Mountain News comics and many of its puzzles."

[MasterShake]

That sucks. Haven't read the actual paper in years though, mostly online. Pulled the Sunday sports section during football season. Guess people like me is why its going away!

[BeefStew25]

That sucks. Haven't read the actual paper in years though, mostly online. Pulled the Sunday sports section during football season. Guess people like me is why its going away!

Hang your head in shame, Shake. You did this.

[TXBRONC]

"The Denver Post also announced that many popular writers and features from the Rocky will be joining The Post. Rocky Mountain News columnists Tina Griego, Penny Parker, Bill Johnson, and Mike Littwin will join The Post, as well as Dave Krieger in sports. Rocky Mountain News Editorial Page Editor Vincent Carroll will join The Post editorial board and will write an editorial page column."

"Also joining The Post will be Rocky Mountain News staff writers Lynn Bartels (politics), Burt Hubbard (database reporting specialist), Kevin Vaughan (general assignment) and Gargi Chakrabarty (energy industry). The Post also will incorporate all Rocky Mountain News comics and many of its puzzles."

Thanks Carol. I wish some of the other sports writers could make their staff but they can't hire everyone.

[Magnificent Seven]

Executives from E.W. Scripps Co., announce their decision on the future of the Rocky Mountain News in the 150-year-old newspaper's newsroom on 2/26/09 in Denver. In December 2008, the Rocky's parent company put the paper up for sale, citing multi-million dollar annual losses.

The Rocky Mountain News publishes its last paper tomorrow.

Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Rocky-owner Scripps, broke the news to the staff at noon today, ending nearly three months of speculation over the paper's future.

"People are in grief," Editor John Temple said a noon news conference.

But he was intent on making sure the Rocky's final edition, which would include a 52-page wraparound section, was as special as the paper itself.

"This is our last shot at this," Temple said at a second afternoon gathering at the newsroom. "This morning (someone) said it's like playing music at your own funeral. It's an opportunity to make really sweet sounds or blow it. I'd like to go out really proud."

Boehne told staffers that the Rocky was the victim of a terrible economy and an upheaval in the newspaper industry.

"Denver can't support two newspapers any longer," Boehne told staffers, some of whom cried at the news. "It's certainly not good news for you, and it's certainly not good news for Denver."

Tensions were higher at the second staff meeting, held to update additional employees who couldn¹t attend the hastily called noon press conference.

Several employees wanted to know about severance packages, or even if they could buy at discount their computers.

Others were critical of Scripps for not seeking wage concessions first or going online only.

But Mark Contreras, vice president of newspapers for Scripps, said the math simply didn't work.

"If you cut both newsrooms in half, fired half the people in each newsroom, you'd be down to where other market newsrooms are today. And they're struggling," he said.

As for online revenues, he said if they were to grow 40 percent a year for the next five years, they still would be equal to the cost of one newsroom today.

"We're sick that we're here," Contreras said. "We want you to know it's not your fault. There's no paper in Scripps that we hold dearer."

But Boehne said Scripps intended to keep its other media, both print and in broadcast, running.

"Scripps has been around for 130 years. We intend to be around another 130 years," Boehne said. "If you can't make hard decisions, you won't make it."

After Friday, the Denver Post will be the only newspaper in town.

Asked if pubilsher Dean Singleton now walks away with the whole pie, Boehne was blunt.

"He walks away with an unprofitable paper, $130 million in debt and revenues that are down 15-20 percent every year," Boehne said.

Asked if Singleton would have to pay for the presses now, Boehne added, "We had to kill a newspaper. He can pay for the presses."

Reaction came from across the nation and around the block.

"The Rocky Mountain News has chronicled the storied, and at times tumultuous, history of Colorado for nearly 150 years. I am deeply saddened by this news, and my heart goes out to all the talented men and women at the Rocky," U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said in a statement. "I am grateful for their hard work and dedication to not only their profession, but the people of Colorado as well."

At the Statehouse, Rep. Joe Rice (D-Littleton), said the paper would be missed.

"The Rocky Mountain News has been a valued institution in Denver," he said.

"It's a sad, sad day."

Long-time Denver real estate agent Edie Marks called the Rocky a voice of reason, moderation and common sense.

"I think that it was the fairest newspaper, the most diverse, and am important part of my daily life," she said. "I'm going to miss it tremendously."

On Dec. 4, Boehne announced that Scripps was looking for a buyer for the Rocky and its 50 percent interest in the Denver Newspaper Agency, the company that handles business matters for the papers. The move came because of financial losses in Denver, including $16 million in 2008.

"This moment is nothing like any experience any of us have had," Boehne said. "The industry is in serious, serious trouble."

Temple said he was optimistic about the future of journalism but added that newspapers would be "radically different" in the future. He said he had no plans for his own future, although Boehne said Temple has a job with Scripps if he wants it.

Boehne said there was an out-of-state nibble from only one potential buyer, who withdrew after realizing that it would cost as much as $100 million "just to stay in the game."

He said they were in talks with that potential buyer as recently as a couple of weeks ago.

The sale of a newspaper brings out all sorts of colorful characters, Boehne said. "You get calls from pay phones at parks."

Since then, Scripps said it has been working with Post owner MediaNews Group to come up with a plan to leave Colorado. It also shares 50-50 ownership with MediaNews of the Boulder Daily Camera and a handful of other smaller papers in the state.

The Rocky has been in a joint operating agreement with The Denver Post since 2001. The arrangement approved by the U.S. Justice Department allowed the papers to share all business services, from advertising to printing, to preserve two editorial voices in the community.

Since then, Scripps said it has been working with Post owner MediaNews Group to come up with a plan to leave Colorado. It also shares 50-50 ownership with MediaNews of the Boulder Daily Camera and a handful of other smaller papers in the state.

Boehne said that the Post's traditional format and established Sunday edition made it more economically viable.

"In this environment, where there's so little room to take economic risk, I really feel the best chance for survival belongs to the broadsheet," he said.

The closure of the Rocky will mean Denver will have just one major newspaper, like the vast majority of American cities today.

"I certainly feel that all of (us) did what we could to make this paper successful, and I want to thank you for that," Temple told the staff. "To me, this is the very sad end of a beautiful thing."

Scripps said it will now offer for sale the masthead, archives and Web site of the Rocky, separate from its interest in the newspaper agency.

Today's announcement comes as metropolitan newspapers and major newspaper companies find themselves reeling, with plummeting advertising revenues and dramatically diminished share prices. Just this week, Hearst, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, announced that unless it was able to make immediate and steep expense cuts it would put the paper up for sale and possibly close it. Two other papers in JOAs, one in Seattle and the other in Tucson, are facing closure in coming weeks.

The Rocky was founded in 1859 by William Byers, one of the most influential figures in Colorado history. Scripps bought the paper in 1926 and immediately began a newspaper war with The Post. That fight ebbed and flowed over the course of the rest of the 20th century, culminating in penny-a-day subscriptions in the late '90s.

Perhaps the most critical step for the Rocky occurred in 1942, when then-Editor Jack Foster saved it by adopting the tabloid style it has been known for ever since. Readers loved the change, and circulation took off.

In the past decade, the Rocky has won four Pulitzer Prizes, more than all but a handful of American papers. Its sports section was named one of the 10 best in the nation this week. Its business section was cited by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers as one of the best in the country last year. And its photo staff is regularly listed among the best in the nation when the top 10 photo newspapers are judged.

Staffers were told to come in Friday to collect personal effects.

"I could say stupid things like 'I know how you feel.' I don't," Boehne said. "We are just deeply sorry. I hope you will accept that."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/26/rocky-mountain-news-closes-friday-final-edition/

[Magnificent Seven]

Thank you for many, many years. You will be sorely missed in Colorado. Salute!

[LordTrychon]

Wow. That's very sad.

[OrangeHoof]

What becomes of Tracy Ringolsby? With his credentials, he shouldn't have trouble finding a job.

[MOtorboat]

What becomes of Tracy Ringolsby? With his credentials, he shouldn't have trouble finding a job.

He already is a Baseball America columnist. He'll either catch on full time with them or retire, and continue his bi-monthly column for BA.

[Timmy!]

This sucks.

[Rex]

This sucks.

You can read?:confused:

[Magnificent Seven]

Goodbye, Colorado

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over. Thousands of men and women have worked at this newspaper since William Byers produced its first edition on the banks of Cherry Creek on April 23, 1859. We speak, we believe, for all of them, when we say that it has been an honor to serve you. To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days. But what was present in the paper then and has remained to this day is a belief in this community and the people who make it what it has become and what it will be. We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling, and we will not be there to do so. We have celebrated life in Colorado, praising its ways, but we have warned, too, against steps we thought were mistaken. We have always been a part of this special place, striving to reflect it accurately and with compassion. We hope Coloradans will remember this newspaper fondly from generation to generation, a reminder of Denver’s history – the ambitions, foibles and virtues of its settlers and those who followed. We are confident that you will build on their dreams and find new ways to tell your story. Farewell – and thank you for so many memorable years together.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/27/goodbye-colorado/

[Magnificent Seven]

Goodbye, Colorado

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over. Thousands of men and women have worked at this newspaper since William Byers produced its first edition on the banks of Cherry Creek on April 23, 1859. We speak, we believe, for all of them, when we say that it has been an honor to serve you. To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days. But what was present in the paper then and has remained to this day is a belief in this community and the people who make it what it has become and what it will be. We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling, and we will not be there to do so. We have celebrated life in Colorado, praising its ways, but we have warned, too, against steps we thought were mistaken. We have always been a part of this special place, striving to reflect it accurately and with compassion. We hope Coloradans will remember this newspaper fondly from generation to generation, a reminder of Denver’s history – the ambitions, foibles and virtues of its settlers and those who followed. We are confident that you will build on their dreams and find new ways to tell your story. Farewell – and thank you for so many memorable years together.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/27/goodbye-colorado/

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/photos/2009/feb/27/130341/