Scripps puts Rocky Mountain News up for sale
Parent company says it will entertain offers -- if any -- for next four-six weeks
By James Paton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Thursday, December 4, 2008
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Photo by Matt McClain © The Rocky
John Temple, editor and publisher of the Rocky, talks with the newspaper's staff Thursday to answer questions about the E.W. Scripps Co.'s decision to put the paper up for sale. Scripps has owned the Rocky, which was founded in 1859, since 1926.
SPECIAL SECTION » The Rocky Mountain News is for sale. On December 4, 2008, E.W. Scripps, the owner of Colorado’s oldest newspaper, said if a buyer does not step forward it will pursue other options – including closure.
Click to read stories about the sale, and see what other news outlets have been saying about the paper since the announcement.
Photo by Matt Mcclain / The Rocky
The ticker on the Denver Newspaper Agency building announces Thursday that the Rocky, the oldest newspaper in Colorado, is for sale. If a buyer doesn't step forward soon, it's possible the newspaper will close.
Photo by Preston Gannaway / The Rocky
E.W. Scripps CEO Rich Boehne rubs his eyes after talking to reporters Thursday about the decision to sell the Rocky Mountain News. He said Scripps expects the Rocky to lose $15 million this year.
- JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Comment about the sale
- SLIDE SHOW: Rocky newsroom hears the news
- SPECIAL REPORT: Rocky Mountain News turns 150
- SHOCK: Staffers cynical, tearful
- VIDEO: Scripps puts Rocky up for sale
- MEMO: From Denver Post owner Dean Singleton
- LITTWIN: You gotta laugh, 'cause crying hurts
- TEMPLE: We're still here for you
- THE BUZZ: What other news outlets and blogs are saying about the sale offering
The Rocky Mountain News is on the sale block, facing an uncertain future as Colorado's oldest newspaper approaches its 150th anniversary.
The head of Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps, the Rocky's owner, acknowledged in making the announcement Thursday that if a buyer does not step forward in the next four to six weeks that the paper could be closed - a move that could occur as soon as early 2009.
"We're not here today to close the paper," Rich Boehne, president and chief executive of Scripps, told staffers gathered in the newsroom late Thursday morning. "We're here today to say the status quo is not going to work."
Scripps expects the Rocky to lose $15 million this year, Boehne said.
"It's too early to write the obituary of the Rocky Mountain News - way, way too early," said Mark Contreras, senior vice president of the newspaper division for Scripps.
The paper is caught in a complex and fast-changing media world and a crumbling economy that has seen newsrooms across the nation decimated in recent months. Just this week, Gannett Co. Inc., the country's largest newspaper company, began a round of layoffs expected to eliminate at least 2,000 jobs at its 85 U.S. newspapers. And nearly every large paper in the country has laid off workers in 2007 and 2008.
The Rocky and its rival, The Denver Post, have struggled with sagging income - including the loss of an estimated $100 million in classified advertisement revenues. Although the two papers are separately owned and competitive, they are partners in a third company, the Denver Newspaper Agency, which handles the business operations of both publications.
Profit sharing
That company returns any profits to Scripps and to The Post's owner, MediaNews Group.
At the Rocky, the costs of operating the newsroom are expected to be about $22 million this year, but Scripps' share of the agency's profit is not projected to be more than $7 million, based on the company's estimate of its losses.
"We left open the possibility of Scripps buying The Post if they wanted to be here more than us," MediaNews CEO Dean Singleton told the Rocky. "But it became clear some time ago Scripps lost its stomach for newspapering in Denver, and we'd end up the last man standing here."
But Boehne said there had not been any substantive negotiations over the sale of The Post between Scripps and MediaNews.
"There's been no serious offer," Boehne said.
The Rocky, founded in 1859, has a circulation of 210,000 daily and 457,000 on Saturday and has 232 newsroom employees. The 2001 joint operating agreement ended a long and heated newspaper war with the Post.
Boehne said that the company had considered the idea of shutting the paper down, but decided the best course was to try to identify "someone else with capital or money or a different view of the market than we do."
Scripps, which has hired New York-based investment banker Broadwater & Associates, said it would entertain offers through the middle of January.
One possible buyer is Media News, but Singleton said under that scenario the Rocky would be shuttered.
"We have a right of first refusal on the News and its 50 percent of the Denver Newspaper Agency," Singleton said. "We certainly want the 50 percent of the agency, but we would not publish the News."
Singleton's company is also heavily leveraged and facing its own financial challenges.
Observers questioned whether a buyer would emerge, given the industry's struggles and the harsh economic climate.
"It's a terrible time to be trying to sell a newspaper," said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla. "There might be some potential buyers, but they might have a hard time getting credit. A couple of years ago I would've said there was a very high chance that Media News would buy it, but they are too stretched right now."
Michael Howard, who joined the Rocky as a reporter in 1965 and served as editor of the paper from 1974 to 1980, said he doesn't "know anyone dumb enough to buy a newspaper right now."
Howard, a descendent of the Howard family that formed half of the former Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, doubted a sale would be successful. He said he believes it was "inevitable we were headed toward a one-newspaper town. It's very sad."
The announcement left staffers in stunned silence Thursday morning at the Rocky, a paper that has won four Pulitzer Prizes in the past eight years.
"The next six weeks or so are going to be really awful," Boehne said. "We've thrown terrible uncertainty into your lives. It'll be confusing. It's just going to be a really, really difficult period for the next month to six weeks.
"For that, I truly and deeply apologize."
Challenges nothing new
John Temple, the Rocky's editor, publisher and president, said the paper had "faced enormous challenges many times over the course of its life."
He noted that Scripps opened its first paper in Denver in 1906 and folded that publication into the Rocky when it purchased it in 1926. In 1942, he said, the paper was on the ropes before then-editor Jack Foster converted it to a reader-friendly tabloid and saw its circulation double in five years.
"This is a day I never wanted to see come, and I am very sorry we have arrived at this point," Temple said. "I wish I'd known what I could have done to avoid this day."
In 1993 "everyone thought the New York Post would die" but 15 years later, as a part of Rupert Murdoch's empire, it is a "vital and vibrant part of the community" of New York, he said.
Scripps board member Nackey Scagliotti cited "deep concern from the board and from the Scripps family about the hard- working people in the Rocky newsroom."
"We're proud of the work you do," Scagliotti said, "and as Rich said, it's premature to write the obituary of the Rocky Mountain News. We hope somebody comes forward and continues the long- standing journalistic tradition."
Boehne said the Scripps board began serious discussions in August about the future of the Rocky, given the rapidly deteriorating business climate for newspapers. On Tuesday, the board approved a plan to put the paper up for sale.
What happens next was the source of rampant speculation Thursday. Boehne said a number of potential buyers had approached Scripps over the years.
"We've never been interested," Boehne said. "This was absolutely unthinkable just a short time ago."
Asked what was a best-case scenario for the paper, Boehne answered "that somebody says, 'I have always wanted to own the Rocky Mountain News and this is my opportunity to do it.' "
And the worst case? "Worst case is we're back here talking about severance," he said.
Business to continue as usual
With the Rocky for sale, readers are sure to have questions. Harry Whipple, president and CEO of the Denver Newspaper Agency, on Thursday maintained it's business as usual.
The DNA handles circulation and advertising for the Rocky and The Denver Post, the city's two largest daily newspapers. The agency was formed in 2001 under a joint operating agreement between the owners of the two newspapers. It is a 50-50 partnership between MediaNews Group, owner of The Post, and E.W. Scripps, which owns the Rocky. Its profits are shared equally by the two parties.
How long will the Rocky Mountain News be published?
I know as much as I can see from the press release that the newspaper is up for sale. I see no reason why the newspaper wouldn't be published.
Are you gathering new subscribers to the Rocky and what are you telling potential subscribers about Thursday's announcement?
Nothing has changed. We are marketing the newspaper as we have in the past. And we will continue to do so until something changes. Whatever the owners of the newspaper wish to say and have to say, they do - just as they did today.
What would happen to existing subscribers if the newspaper finds no buyer and eventually folds?
I don't know that the newspaper will fold. What was announced is that it's up for sale. Speculating on anything else would be premature. Any number of scenarios could come out of this.
What are the advertisers being told?
We are marketing as usual. The announcement was made by E.W. Scripps company with their intentions. We continue as if nothing has changed in terms of audiences, circulation and sales approach.
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December 4, 2008
10:49 a.m.
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CaptainObvious writes:
Shaggy, here's your chance--put your money where your mouth is!
December 4, 2008
10:52 a.m.
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wbb writes:
When it says: "Post your comment" above... That says it all.
December 4, 2008
10:55 a.m.
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SheikYurBooty writes:
I'm in for a buck....
December 4, 2008
10:57 a.m.
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LingLingfor_prez writes:
Sorry, don't need any dead fish wrappers.
December 4, 2008
10:57 a.m.
SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
11:01 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
My family has had a classified ad for over 20 years continious, and we ran a 3/4 page ad yesterday and do so from time to time. Hope somebody picks it up and make a run as Denver needs more than one major paper. It's not a surprise, been expecting it for the last 5 or so years. See how it plays out...
December 4, 2008
11:03 a.m.
BroncoRick69 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
11:05 a.m.
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denverrose15 writes:
Liberal drivel finally caught up with ya, huh?
December 4, 2008
11:06 a.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
My subscription plus thousands and thousands of other like-minded people who would never subscribe to the Denver Post. It's a movement, my friend. Just ask the ultra-liberal papers like the New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Star-Tribune, etc.
The only papers holding their ground are center or center-right papers like the Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Boston Globe.
December 4, 2008
11:07 a.m.
ou8one2 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
11:07 a.m.
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bronco writes:
Why not put the Post up for sale. The quality of journalism at the Rocky far exceeds the Post. Look at all the Pulitzers in the last 10 years alone. The post is the real rag in this town.
December 4, 2008
11:08 a.m.
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MaxPlanck writes:
I just renewed my subscription, too.
December 4, 2008
11:11 a.m.
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JustSayin writes:
They have a "newsroom"? You know, with "reporters" and all? Hadn't been able to tell, lately.......
December 4, 2008
11:12 a.m.
Who_Me writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
11:18 a.m.
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mandzoco writes:
"So long...farewell...auf weidersehen...goodbye..."
December 4, 2008
11:20 a.m.
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KING writes:
I offer 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers piping, 10 lords a leaping, 9 ladies leaping, 8 maids a milking, 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 5 gold rings, 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree...plus a shinny nickel. total estimated offer ....$86,609.05
December 4, 2008
11:21 a.m.
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benn writes:
Some of you crack me up.
The RMN isn't going down because of 'liberal' viewpoints (which is funny, because the RMN is Center to Center-Right), but because of the internet.
How much did most of you pay to read this story online? I can tell ya that I read the RMN everyday, but only online, and I certainly don't pay for a subscription.
December 4, 2008
11:23 a.m.
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rage_against_the_stupid writes:
Around just long enough to conspire in turning Colorado into a Welfare State. Whoops!, I mean a Blue State.
December 4, 2008
11:26 a.m.
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jeslovuandme writes:
They just don't get it. Liberalism in the media and a liberal biased media loses every time. I got so tired of the junk and trash they were calling reporting I also canceled my subscription. Get rid of turkeys like Litwin and others like Him and report in an unbiased manner, the truth, and maybe the Rocky Mountain news will come back. I expect the Denver Post to go next, hopefully so. Only good can come of this.
December 4, 2008
11:26 a.m.
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bronco writes:
What the hell is wrong with being Liberal anyway? Liberal and proud here after 8 consecutive years of conservative disasters.
December 4, 2008
11:27 a.m.
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FlyfishDude52 writes:
I'm with slouching. Subscriber since 1980 & did not renew 6 months ago. Just too much nonsensical, liberal, unsubstantiated rhetoric from a newspaper to continue supporting the rmn. I'm thinking this is occuring for just this reason. Thousands of subscriptions dropped in the last year, hence the $11M loss in the last three quarters.
I feel bad cause the rmn was always somewhat of an icon 'til the media bias took over. Maybe this is a warning to all other conservative news nationwide. Get pragmatic, report the news, not some fat-rats biased views & you can probably still make it in the newspaper world.
December 4, 2008
11:29 a.m.
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dirty writes:
Like many other posters, I stopped my subscription to both the RMS and the DP, a while ago when I felt they were becoming less of "newspapers" reporting the news, and more of putting on, what I perceive to be their own bias into stories.
I still check both papers online, and am still often appalled at the lack of research into fairly basic articles. They repeatedly have to amend articles with basic information after being corrected having rushed to print whatever they were spoonfed by whomever...
My recent favorites are the article on the deserter stating that he is gonna serve 30 days, which they have since retracted. And having no shame the blame it on the fact they copied the article from another news source; and the story on the dead POS street thug which starts with the sentence "Brandon Winn died because of an X-box"...err no, he actually died 'cos he pointed a gun at a cop...no wonder people won't pay for this worthless excuse for a newspaper.
December 4, 2008
11:31 a.m.
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jeslovuandme writes:
that is ok bronco you can be what you want to be. check the facts liberal media never makes it. this is still America and I can express my thoughts just as well as you can. have a blessed day., Jesus loves you.
December 4, 2008
11:32 a.m.
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reddog writes:
Who cares!
December 4, 2008
11:33 a.m.
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rage_against_the_stupid writes:
"bronco writes:
What the hell is wrong with being Liberal anyway? Liberal and proud here after 8 consecutive years of conservative disasters."
It's called JOURNALISM and it used to be a professsion. Nobody cares that you are a liberal, we do care about integrity and honesty in news reporting.
December 4, 2008
11:34 a.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
"What the hell is wrong with being Liberal anyway?"
Well nothing if you enjoy that "being Liberal" means going the way of Europe; you know, declining birthrates, embrace of atheism, statism, cradle to grave socialism, gay marriage, legal drugs, allowing radical Islam to infiltrate and impose Sharia law ... Cause we know what a success Europe is, right?
December 4, 2008
11:35 a.m.
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TC writes:
It says -
"Scripps said the challenge in Denver went beyond funding the two newsrooms. The agency also has approximately $130 million in long-term debt stemming from a recently completed consolidation of its production facilities under one roof with significantly upgraded equipment, such as new printing presses"
This must be were the liberal bias is coming from. It's the danm liberal printing presses!
December 4, 2008
11:36 a.m.
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buffsblg writes:
All of you who canceled your subscription because the RMN did not say what you wanted to hear (liberal media bias is the most popular unsubstantiated whine of the right) can now tell me how you think the quality of journalism in Denver will improve if this is a one newspaper town. For better or for worse, Cities with no newspaper competition just do not get the level of reporting that those in a competitive market get. I know most of you prefer to get your news from Fox News (who you laughingly beleive is "unbiased") but local reporting will suffer if no buyer can be found.
December 4, 2008
11:36 a.m.
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EP writes:
There's actually a pretty scary scenario with the death of newspapers across the country. What happens to democaracy without them? Television news reporting isn't nearly the quality in any valid form, and internet news isn't news to begin with...unless it comes from a newspaper. I hope this turns out in The Rocky's favor, but fear it won't.
December 4, 2008
11:37 a.m.
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bronco writes:
Slouching, it sounds to me like your a bit paranoid or just a little brainwashed from all your right wing garbage news services.
December 4, 2008
11:38 a.m.
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bluecollarbytes writes:
It is the internet killing off print. Thousands of reporters out of work. Will that result in More individual news stories online, or just more links?
December 4, 2008
11:40 a.m.
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kodijack writes:
Why does it cost so much more to run the RMN than the Denver Post? I have always gotten the RMN because the comics are better and the newspaper is easier to read.
It was not the Internet, per se, that killed newspapers, it was Craigslist. Classifieds aren't needed anymore.
December 4, 2008
11:42 a.m.
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ChinaCat writes:
Seems to me that the decline in advertising dollars is to blame. Subscriptions do not bring in very much money anyway.
Sad that we might be down to one paper for Denver. Local reporting will definetley suffer, and we'll be down to only one point-of-view.
December 4, 2008
11:43 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
I subscribe as well as enjoy the online edition. Sales ads and some things you can't get online.
December 4, 2008
11:43 a.m.
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LizO writes:
While I am a Denver Post subscriber, The Rocky has been an institution in Colorado and it's sad to see this happen. BTW, bronco, if you read carefully, The DP is not owned by Scripps and actually it's a great newspaper and I am a libertarian..but that aside, I sure hope that any new owner of The Rocky carries on the traditions and the integrity of Colorado news and works well with the DP. Oh and I am from Colorado Springs and the Gazelle (er Gazette) down here is horrible which is why I subscribe to a Denver paper.
December 4, 2008
11:44 a.m.
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Squatch writes:
119.00 Dollars to subscribe to the paper is one reason they arent making money lower you price and you will get more subscribers.
Back in 98 I had full year subscription for 26.00 a year. I placed some classified adds a few years back to sell some stuff I had sitting around and they charged me 70.00+ dollars for each add since they wouldnt combine them and ran them for a month.
The same people that ran Ocean Journey must be running the paper.
December 4, 2008
11:46 a.m.
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ActualThinker writes:
People crack me up. No it's not the liberal leanings of a paper that's not even that liberal leading to its failings. Though it is funny to look at people still blaming "liberal" things after 8 years of disaster by conservatives. No companies have money for ads after these failures!!! Papers across the country, liberal, center, conservative are failing because it's not a successful model anymore. In this era of online and 24/7 news very few people have the need for an actual paper. I read everything online as do most people I know, the only time I miss my subscription is for the sunday ads about 4 weeks out of the year. Given that drop in subscribers and the failed economy drying up companies spending on ads and this is a lot bigger issue than anything being "too liberal".
December 4, 2008
11:46 a.m.
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NoMoe writes:
Can anyone differentiate between Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post?
I believe it used to be the News leaned right, Post, left. Now, its just left and more left. So why have 2 left ideology news organizations? However, 3 lefts make a right. :)
December 4, 2008
11:46 a.m.
bladerunner writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
11:47 a.m.
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MereMortal writes:
The Rocky was once a fine newspaper. The JOA was its' deathknell, the actual demise was just a matter of time. I cancelled my subscription about two years ago. I decided not to support a slightly less liberal version of the Denver Compost. One down, one to go...the Rocky and the Compost have become Tweedledum and Tweedledee. A wise old cowboy once told me, "When your horse is dead...get off."
December 4, 2008
11:48 a.m.
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blacksho89 writes:
"What the hell is wrong with being Liberal anyway?"
Nothing at all, on the editorial pages. In the news section, reports should be straight news, as untainted by bias as possible.
The Rocky was the less liberal of the two Denver dailies, but in recent years that has slipped. Issues such as illegal immigration are never mentioned, only "immigrant rights". Not a single mention of the 30 plus lawsuits filed against President-elect Obama demanding he produce proof of citizenship. No stories about the Planned Parenthood employee in Indiana covering up a rape of a 13 year old by the 30 year old boyfriend of her mother.
Denver is only big enough for one liberal daily, and the Rocky has become irrelevant, sad to say.
December 4, 2008
11:50 a.m.
Oh_Wise_One writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
11:51 a.m.
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watcher1 writes:
Its truly sad to see this happen to the the Rocky.
With that said, this is after all 2008. Maybe they should just go ahead and bite the bullet & fold all three papers (including the Camera) into one new paper while keeping their respective websites intact. Dittos for the four network affiliated television stations. Combine the redundancy and costs of all these staffs into one. In reality, they're selling the same (1) political & economic policy anyway, albeit with slightly different takes. That's the real cold hard truth. Orwellian? No. Good practical economic sense? Yes.
Dispense with the duplication+ of expensive electronic gear and the bodies needed to gather content (and in the case of newspapers, home deliver), the same "product".
The exception might be a Saturday or Sunday paper in Boulder.
Keep the best, cut the rest.
December 4, 2008
11:53 a.m.
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philvysor writes:
I bid $2.00........
December 4, 2008
11:54 a.m.
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Octavia writes:
The reason I subscribe to the RMN has nothing to do with the politcal or editorial slant of the paper. I subscribe to the Rocky because of it's size/smaller format. I find the format of the Post extremely awkward to read at the breakfast table; having to fold it in half in order to get the print on the upper half within a comfortable reading distance. And . . . I'm not quite ready to eat my cereal over my computer keyboard!
December 4, 2008
11:54 a.m.
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twocents writes:
Hate to see this happen. I read online but also have a weekend subscription. HOW ABOUT posting a small field on each internet posting, which makes it easy for online readers to voluntarily pay for the service (even $5 or $10 a year would surely help)? Wonder if anyone would do this?
December 4, 2008
11:56 a.m.
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joggle writes:
SlouchingTowardBoulder: Don't forget higher life expectancies, lower infant mortality rates, lower health care expenses, higher levels of education, much lower higher-level education costs, etc.
Also, legalizing drugs is more of a libertarian issue in my opinion. If you want the government out of your personal business then many drugs should be legalized (although still regulated as tobacco products are).
Several of your other points are very hyperbolic. For example, just try to exaggerate 'cradle to grave socialism' more. I don't think it's possible.
Europe isn't perfect, but several of your points are rather misleading. For example, 'allowing radical Islam to infiltrate...'. Like us, they have a hard time stopping illegal immigrants from moving into their countries. They are much closer to predominantly Muslim countries so have many more illegal immigrants that are Muslim than we do. Like us they are trying to deal with the problem and are specifically trying to deal with integrating their Muslim communities more and also stopping them from enforcing Sharia law (as was recently done in England and earlier in France).
I think one of the biggest pluses of the US over Europe is how well-integrated our minority populations are. Sure, there's still self-segregated communities in some cities in the US but it doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as it is in Europe (where there were riots just a few years ago in Paris by some Muslim immigrant youths). They are also much better represented in government here than Europe where it's virtually unimaginable that a minority could be elected as a head of state.
December 4, 2008
12:02 p.m.
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bmwbabe writes:
Most of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Instead of writing nasty comments and idiotic complaints about the newspaper, think for a minute of all the people who are at risk of losing their jobs. Yes, there is a real newsroom filled with real reporters, real peope with families to take care of. Most of these people will have a hard time finding jobs, not because of the economy, but because newspapers are dying a slow, painful death. And that should make you all think about the future of humanity. Newspapers were created as a means of informing the masses about information the public needed to know. Some papers lost their way, leaned too far one way or another, lost touch with the younger generation, whatever. Without newspapers, voters will be even less informed, which is a scary thought. So put aside your nastiness, please, and think of all the hardworking people who put out the Rocky every day, whether you read it or not.
December 4, 2008
12:06 p.m.
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mrwiizrd writes:
Slouching is misguided neo-con. Nearly 30 days after the election and folks like him still haven't figured out that America is no longer buying what they're selling.
December 4, 2008
12:07 p.m.
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widget68 writes:
Unfortuanatly thisis the only newspaper I have ever enjoyed reading. the Post is to ackward to read so I guess my newspaper days will come to end.
December 4, 2008
12:08 p.m.
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Maple writes:
It is SO SAD to see how little the people who have posted cynical, nasty comments here appreciate the incredible work that goes into producing such a fine newspaper. They also don't understand how the great coverage that the RMN offers this region informs all of us about what is going on in city, county and state government. The reason that the Founding Fathers enshrined freedom of the press as a most important value of our democracy is because they understood that it is the press that keeps government honest and keeps an educated public informed. Regardless of whether or not biased readers imagine a political slant to reporting, it is very sad that they can't see the value in the work itself. I hope the newspaper industry can find a way to transform itself into a viable business again - it is so important to all of us that it does. A world where we have only bloggers to "report" the news will be a very scary place indeed.
December 4, 2008
12:11 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
jeslovuandme writes:
"They just don't get it. Liberalism in the media and a liberal biased media loses every time."
I agree. Just look at the difference between conservative and liberal radio. Air America is always on the brink of bancrupcy because they just can't sell that drivel. Conservative radio is booming. The MSM was incredibly biased in their coverage of the election this year and the masses were turned off.
They made their bed. It's time for them crawl under it and deal.
December 4, 2008
12:11 p.m.
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Kace writes:
Bummer. I hate to see another newspaper go. Denver is so fortunate to be a two-newspaper town (not to mention all the smaller papers here). I hope someone can save the RMN so the healthy competition with the Post will continue, because in the end, it's the citizens who benefit.
December 4, 2008
12:13 p.m.
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roger44 writes:
Maybe they are sick and tired of the village idiots comments?
December 4, 2008
12:17 p.m.
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vimbo writes:
In September, I didn't renew my subscription to the Rocky after 35 years as a loyal customer. The news pages became nothing but leftist opinion, the world and national news was downloaded from the liberal (yes, it is a perjorative, Bronco) Associated Press, and the so-called city columnists - Littwin, Griego and Johnson - became more virulently left each day. The only good thing that happened to the paper over the past year was the demise of Ed Stein's silly Denver Square, one of his two frequent doses of left wing tripe. I rarely found any of the important stories that could be accessed on the internet, either Drudge or Google. The lefty seminar writers above call the Rocky a right wing paper because Vince Carroll and Mike Rosen appear as opinion columnists, yet they're ALWAYS countered by deep thinkers like the Ann Coulter-obsessed Paul Campos and the BDS-afflicted Paul Krugman. I hope the Rocky can stabilize and continue, but only if it takes a critical look at the death of American journalism evidenced in this election cycle, and finds a way to be relevant to anyone who hasn't moved here from California in the past four years.
December 4, 2008
12:21 p.m.
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warrengfunk7 writes:
Why buy newspapers when you can read it all for free on the internet?
December 4, 2008
12:23 p.m.
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Nudnik writes:
Jake Jabs should buy it. He'd get free ads.
December 4, 2008
12:23 p.m.
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warrengfunk7 writes:
Why buy a newspaper, when you can read it all for free online?
December 4, 2008
12:25 p.m.
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jerseycorn writes:
Judging by most of the comments here (mostly from the "liberals are to blame for everything" crowd), I think the Rocky might be hurting due to the low cognitive skills and borderline illiteracy of its readership. The Rocky (particularly its editorial pages) most definitely leans right, but who cares? I'm for a two newspaper town and I'll be sad to see it go -- no matter how angry its conservative bias sometimes makes me.
December 4, 2008
12:30 p.m.
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denverrose15 writes:
Two cents... as long as the RMN continues to spout liberal drivel no one would even pay $5.00 or $2.00. Get some journalists not glorified campaign volunteers to write about life and news and articles the RMN use to be famous for. Yuck on the current opinionist(o/a)s the RMN pays!
December 4, 2008
12:34 p.m.
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LizO writes:
Not sure where my comment went. Anyone? Bueller?
As I was trying to say, it's sad to see a Colorado institution like The Rocky up for sale. I prefer the DP but enjoy the Saturday edition much. For those that think the Denver papers are biased, please pick up a copy of our daily here in C Springs next time you blow through town...the Denver papers offer much more information with excellent reporting.
December 4, 2008
12:35 p.m.
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BeNice writes:
What a hateful group of folks down here in the comments...
December 4, 2008
12:36 p.m.
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stdallman writes:
I am sitting here-looking out the window and its snowing. Every person who comes by and looks out the window agrees that its snowing. Just because everyone says the same thing, does not mean it is suspect.
The RMN, as well as many other papers quit reporting the news without a slant or spin. Its edititorial bias showed in every article.
We only subscribed to the Sunday edition because my wife and I like to sit and read it on Sunday morning, more tradition than anything else. Someone from the RMN called and offered to let us have Thursday, Friday and Saturday for free. We declined, telling I think.
December 4, 2008
12:37 p.m.
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pete10000ft writes:
Sell it to The Onion
December 4, 2008
12:41 p.m.
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buffsblg writes:
Sports coverage will be hurt. The TV stations have already given up on any real sports news, (Drew Soicher and his useless snarky clones could not pick Cutler out of a lineup) and without two newspapers, I am concerned that sports reporting will just be repeating what the teams want us to hear.
December 4, 2008
12:42 p.m.
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Dick_Tater writes:
Is Rich plugging Subway?
December 4, 2008
12:46 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
The Rocky is liberal, but if Denver becomes a one horse town it'll be even worse having only one paper. I wish it had a more balanced editorial staff, but even if I disagree with the opinion being proffered, I enjoy the insight it brings to the issue. Even a liberal makes valid points of contention in debate, especially if it makes you think. Lot of posters I don't agree with, but I do enjoy hearing their opinion if it makes me think and is written with thought and insight. If all I hear or read is one voice, life would be quite boring. Sad if we become a one horse town. Even those ridiculing this paper, as I myself have done a time or two, are posting here. That alone, negative or otherwise, shows it caught their attention enough to respond. Lot of people who post here are quite intresting to read, I enjoy hearing their thoughts and opinions, even debating with them as long as it's civil. Be sad to see the Rocky go; hopefully someone picks it up and brings it back. One horse towns are boring!
December 4, 2008
12:54 p.m.
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GoHawks writes:
I am constantly amazed at the people who can't seem to distinguish between news and opinion in the daily press. Littwin, for instance, is not a news reporter at this time. The large number of posters who seem appalled by the Rocky's "politics" do not seem to have been brainwashed. So what's the beef?
And, seriously, are there many organizations MORE CONSERVATIVE than newspapers? Scripps is all about profit, not politics... a model of American conservatism. The bottom line is that we will all be poorer if we lose the Rocky.
December 4, 2008
12:55 p.m.
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B300 writes:
Does anyone remember $9.95 for any ad except commecial and employment, and those ads would run until the item sold? After the two papers merged the cost of advertising went through the roof! Maybe it would be good to sell one of them to open up competition. Their setup is like a monopoly, or am I wrong?
December 4, 2008
1 p.m.
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HopiMedicineMan writes:
This was at one time the Republican newspaper.
As the Rocky drifted leftward, Republican subscribers jumped ship, many in anger reverberating across the Universe in emails. Broken was the cornflakes bond with long time Republicans such as myself. The Post already owns the liberal market in this town. The Rocky needed to maintain it's presence where it was already present--on my kitchen table. It failed to do that and we'll all pay the price, dearly. If buyer isn't announced in the next few days, circulation will disappear.
December 4, 2008
1 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
I think JOURNALISM, ( it has become an EPITHET, IMHO ) which SPINS the news was the reason.
How about making REPORTING a top priority at the RMN?
Or is it the fact that I ( and many others ) can build a website and do a better job of REPORTING the news ( and make the difference between FACT and OPINION more obvious...) than the Main $tream Media we see today?
I used to support the RMN AND DP with subscriptions, but the VALUE I got was decreasing even 5 years ago. I dropped my last one when the $$$ were too much.
Other sites have replaced M$M, especially the ones added by the small town rags. If we want the REAL, NOT SPIN info, we just get it from the sites that REPORT the news, instead of providing INFOTAINMENT instead of real NEWS...
Oh BTW, our TROLL site has been GROWING in membership.
Can M$M sites make that same claim?
'later. I have had more fun there than here...
www.trollvalhalla.com
December 4, 2008
1:02 p.m.
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buffsblg writes:
To be clear I don't find either of the papers to be paragons of journalism and each has its issues. I subscribe to the RMN print edition because I prefer the format and the comics. Each has its limitations and each could certainly improve. However, given that TV news is sound bites and no thought, losing another local voice, no matter if flawed, is sad. Maybe it is impossible for a paper to survive in this age, but local information will decline if the RMN dies.
December 4, 2008
1:04 p.m.
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Chloe68 writes:
This is a very sad day in Denver. I've been reading the Rocky since I was a kid. Rocky Mountain News, you will really be missed.
December 4, 2008
1:13 p.m.
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cynical_one writes:
If you people don't like the Rocky Mountain News, why are you here?
I guess you can't see the irony.
December 4, 2008
1:16 p.m.
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buffsblg writes:
By the way righties, if the Denver area voted strongly for Obama, (Denver Adams Jefferson and Boulder counties all more than a majority) what makes you think that a Liberal bias would turn off subscribers? Those few right wing diehards that canceled their subscription should have been made up for by liberals who love the bias. This decision has to do with business factors, not with a few delusional right wingers who think any story that does not meet their preconceived prejudices is "biased".
December 4, 2008
1:16 p.m.
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Willy writes:
Both papers have deteriorated rapidly. The solid loud thunk of the paper landing in my driveway has been replaced by something wrapped in plastic that will blow half way down the block with a stiff breeze. When you do open it up and find the news sections among the insert ads, there are only a couple of pages of real news content. All else is more ads and opinions. I fear, the print era is nearing its end as I prefer to read the news on paper rather than a computer screen.
December 4, 2008
1:20 p.m.
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pprdude writes:
My ole My!!! What a shame it is read about the Rocky being sold. And all you all think it is because of what is printed in the paper. Bull Hockey! If a paper printed only what you wanted to read, then why would you buy it! I'll bet more 50% of the time you will agree with what is in the paper. I have been told that is cost over $100 a year just in newsprint to produce a paper. Yet you all think $120 is too much. So by my calculations, that is $20 or so a year to pay for someone to deliver it to your door 365 days a year in all weather! By the way, the cheapest internet provider is what $9.95 per month..hmmm about the same price (I am sure most of you are paying more without questioning its worth!) The paper is more than just news, it is community,entertainment, too. I wonder if will ever get that from the internet? I think not!
December 4, 2008
1:23 p.m.
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me2 writes:
After working for the RMN and Post for 14 years, I think I have more of an idea why it went broke. None of you know of the problem getting reliable drivers to deliver the paper when gas went to $4.00 a gallon and car repairs soared.
All of you conservatives who want to see a paper go away, and people lose their jobs because they offend your delicate conservative sensabilities, are in my opinion, not very good Americans.
Good Americans want more, not less print media and media in all forms. We do not glory in the demise of an institution just because it contradicts our bias.
I would be ill if the Washington Post, The National Review, or the Wall Street Journal went under.
The sale of the paper does not validate your conservative views, it does not make you RIGHT. It just gives us all one less source of information.
December 4, 2008
1:24 p.m.
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Jonjonmon writes:
Why don't they ask the Government for a bail-out. It seems to be the thing these days.
December 4, 2008
1:32 p.m.
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Andy writes:
I hope they find a buyer, myself. I've always been an RMN reader and I'd like to continue to be one.
If they do, the Post and the News will be separate entities again, which I think is better for the city. Competition is good.
December 4, 2008
1:34 p.m.
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me2 writes:
As a glow in the dark liberal, I would be sick if the conservative papers and magazines went broke. If the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post or magazines like the National Review died that would be an American disaster.
But then maybe liberals are just better Americans, not so eager to get happy over the troubles of those who they think disagree with them.
Got a news flash for you conservatives, the paper going broke does not mean you and your ideas are RIGHT. It does not in any way validate you.
I worked with these papers, RMN and Post for 14 years and I know why they are in trouble.
What makes you think silencing liberal voices makes your voices any better? And what makes you think the on line version will continue at all?
With the internet, conservative lies and conspiracacy theories get outed in a day, something the newspapers never could do. Look how long it took to shoot down that lie that the auto workers get $70.00 per hour? The newspapers never even investigated.
What is that nasty German word for glorying in the misfortune of others? People losing their jobs and you feel smug. Pathetic.
December 4, 2008
1:36 p.m.
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me2 writes:
sorry folks, looks like there is a lag here, another post comming from me, better written maybe, but this is silly.
December 4, 2008
1:37 p.m.
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Think_First writes:
This is indeed a sad day, but not a day that could not be foreseen. There have been two large mistakes the RMN has made in the last decade. First and obvious, the JOA. Second, the unbelievable mistake of losing Holger Jensen. This lose was the turning point for the papers journalistic value and an unbelievable display of the papers "slant" at the time. When "Holger Jensen left to pursue other interests" we all knew what had happened, Temple finally found a way to smother the voice that haunted him. Whether you liked Holger's articles or not, that is your own view, but any paper that fires an employee for doing their job and for doing it too well, that is just utterly ridiculous. Getting back to the JOA, I have had the privilege of knowing a few of the journalists from the old Rocky and a few who have stuck around, however they all told me @ the time of the JOA, "the papers in trouble" not due to any "liberal leaning" but monetarily. No matter your political views, we can all agree, especially in a capitalist society which some take great pride in, MONEY talks, money walks, and it is money that is responsible for your success or demise. Now we can blame craigslist, low circulation rates, the internet, whatever you want to say, but the simple answer is money. The exact same reason that is stated in the article! So lets stop this lib vs. con drivel, we all have our personal views and thats what makes this country so amazing. The fact that our great city could possibly be one newspaper short in the near future should startle everyone. Whether lib or con we all can agree over the freedom of speech, you as a consumer can choose not to read it, however it is controversy and differences that strike debates and change. We can not find ourselves ready to accept where we are today as the final resting point for the human race, therefore we must embrace the idea of competition and conflicting ideas in the interest in advancing ourselves and laying a road for future generations. I am deeply saddened by this news today. I think we all should be!
December 4, 2008
1:37 p.m.
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Scott writes:
I whole heartily agree with Willie. I ended my subscription to RMN about ten years ago. I will still read it at the restaurant where I eat breakfast, they have a number of copies lying around. However, the dearth of news articles amongst the plethora of advertisements is revolting. I'm done with the paper long before I finish my breakfast.
Equally revolting are the "news" articles that in actuality are nothing more than opinions wearing "news" clothing. Left or right opinion, I don't care, keep that on the editorial page. A news article is suppose to, as Sergent Friday use to say, "Just the facts mame [sp?]."
Scott
December 4, 2008
1:39 p.m.
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argyllskier writes:
B300- The reason you were able to get those prices was because the DP and RMN were trying to get the competitor's business. The two papers were giving away subscriptions nearly for free. That's how they were able to have subscription numbers around 400,000. The numbers were pretty much fake and inflated and was pretty much killing themselves. That downward spiral generated the JOA and allowed the papers to charge fees that could actually pay some bills.
The democracy of our country is at risk here people. If you watch local television news they get all their story info and details from NEWSPAPERS in their area. The staffs of newspapers have been under extreme pressures to produce more with less as hundreds and thousands of journalists are being cut from staffs. If there are less journalists out and about asking the tough questions while you work more people, governments and businesses will be able to get away with some very questionable acts. We have already seen evidence of it in the run up to the Iraq invasion, election and polling irregularities, corrupt politicians (on both sides of the purple line) and I could go on.
As for the "liberal bias" in this paper or that paper, I dare you to research the ownership of a news organization and see who they are and who they support. Many are very conservative-based. Case in point: For the 2000 presidential election Scripps forced ALL of their newspapers to endorse George W. Bush. Tell me that's a liberal company with a straight face.
December 4, 2008
1:51 p.m.
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BroncoDan writes:
Sad...hope it pulls through, I've been reading the Rocky for almost 50 years!!! loved the old compact format...
And, NoMoe...think you got it backwards! The Post was always right, the Rocky left...
December 4, 2008
1:52 p.m.
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silverJ writes:
Government bailout is clearly the only option! Quick, someone get Henry Paulson on this, he can save the day. Bernanke, come quick. Pelosi must also have an opinion...
December 4, 2008
1:54 p.m.
shey writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
1:58 p.m.
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Think_First writes:
This is indeed a very sad day
December 4, 2008
1:59 p.m.
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Diff writes:
Sad to hear!
I do hope that someone, hopefully locally picks it up - I would hate to be a one paper town.
Guess this goes, like nearly everything else - it's about the bucks, and profit. Even in journalism there is no such thing anymore as doing the job for the honor or worth of the work.
December 4, 2008
2 p.m.
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cdmdenver writes:
RMN Maybe all the Denver Propaganda You promote...
Finally caught up with you! All those Denver Govt. Agencies
you protected, maybe they'll bail you out.
December 4, 2008
2:01 p.m.
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NeilT writes:
So...liberalism can't survive in print news or AM radio according to some posters.
I agree!
That's because progressives (such an appropriate word) thrive in newer, actually relevant technologies and mediums.
Former Colorado State Senator John Andrews (R) made a remark about the last election being the "election of YouTube and MySpace" (paraphrased). This was meant to be a derogatory remark, but it only shows conservatives (except Ron Paul) lack of understanding. Actually, they're completely out of touch.
Printed papers and AM radio are dinosaurs and Neo-Cons can keep them. Adapt or die. A lesson Republicans need to learn, but, unfortunately, they won't.
December 4, 2008
2:07 p.m.
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NativeCO writes:
I can't believe Scripps would give you less than two months to be sold. A recovery from these depressive times could take up to a year out from today. Anyone who has any inkling about finance knows that. This seems to be Scripps killing its very flagship.
Several papers, have been up for at least five to nine months and economic recovery will not be seen until well into 2009.
Most of those being sold are going through a longer more dignified process. The Rocky has been the flagship of the chain. This is bad organizational management on the part of Scripps. Perhaps something good will come from this but most of those up for sale are taking many many months. Even the profitable ones.
The chain seemed to sing only in good times and profited from the Rocky's success many, many years. It's the winningest paper and had the most beautiful building up to a few years ago. The chain's move is both harsh and gut-reaction. It's one of the things businesses are being told NOT to do in these times. To gut react from the economic turmoil. Everybody is suffering losses. Deal with it, company! Nobody sees sunny times again without getting through the bad days and months, which a recession guarantees.
The most degreed business reporter you know,
once trained by the Rocky
December 4, 2008
2:08 p.m.
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Sal writes:
Guys, the failure of this paper has nothing to do with being liberal or conservatives. It's just a dying industry. It's all going to be web-based soon enough. In 20 years, there will probably only be one or two newspapers left in America.
I read RMN, but I read it online. Period. I read the news pieces only. No columns, no opinions, no letters to the editor, although I do occasionally read the sports opinions - those are fun.
You ever see the movie "Other People's Money"? Newspapers are like buggy whips. Hardly anyone needs them anymore. Even if you make the best damn buggy whip in America, it won't matter if no one is riding in buggies.
Movie listings? Online.
Daily Comics? Online.
Classifieds? Online.
AP/Reuters News? Online.
Local ads and coupons? Online.
The fact is, the only useful purpose for the RMN is to report local news and sports. That's it. And I'm not certain they need to do it in print. Web-only would be fine. The faster they come to this conclusion, the more solvent they will become. And this doesn't just go for the RMN - it's every one of them.
December 4, 2008
2:19 p.m.
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HankReardon writes:
Breaking News:
Internet Scoops Newspaper, Blog at Eleven
December 4, 2008
2:22 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Boy whats up with Littwin? I don't really care for his writtings, so I skip over the guy. But surely someone here must like the guy. With all the comments here being negative on the guy, surprise they don't find him razor somewhere, listening to Billy Holiday's "Gloomy Sunday", the world's #1 suicide tune! I have to start reading the guy if he can get this many people up in arms; think I'd keep him if he can get this many together to beat him up in his own paper. He surely can generate readers looking at these comments.
December 4, 2008
2:22 p.m.
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farsidefan writes:
Sad to see us become a one newspaper town. Neither is of great journalistic value. I have subbed to the Post ,as that is the paper I grew up with as a kid. It came in the afternoon and the Rocky in the morning.
I agree with lots of the above statements about lack of news,editorializing news, etc.
My one concern is that they are excellent with prep sports and it was/is great for the kids.
If it goes under does this mean the Rockies can raise ticket prices again and bring in more no names to fill the roster ?
December 4, 2008
2:22 p.m.
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Jim writes:
Bring on Rupert and 1001 blogers.
December 4, 2008
2:26 p.m.
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ActualThinker writes:
So just to recap the majority of the views. This paper is failing because a small majority of conservative readers have cancelled their subscriptions (yet still read it online enough to post regularly). It is not failing because a physical paper cannot keep up with the online and 24/7 news companies that can get to the bottom of the latest story that day. And it is not failing because ads the lifeblood of any paper have dropped significantly in the face of the recession and business going out of business.
This is why conservative radio does so much better than liberal radio, they do your thinking for you and give you your talking points! Before you get mad seriously open your mind and consider a few things. Compare this to the RTD strike a few years back. RTD had all the leverage in the world. You know why? Because the majority of their money came from the government and not fares. So a drop in fares didn't hurt them that badly. The newspaper model is similar in that subscription revenue is a small chunk of their revenue, ads are what make them. If companies cant afford ads, and the majority of companies are struggling badly right now, then the newspapers are going to take an awful hit. The decline in subscriptions because of online and many other news options far outweighs the decline in subscriptions for people that see it as too liberal. A news company has a goal of profits, it will give what its viewers want. Any change to their reporting may be explained by Colorado shifting to the blue over the last few years. Don't believe me? Robert Murdoch, King conservative news man himself owns news agencies in other countries that are very liberal because there is a market for it.
Green trumps blue or red anyday for a business.
December 4, 2008
2:27 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Hold it there SAL, it has more uses like packing glass for storage, potty training a puppy, starting a campfire, cleaning glass windows, wall insulation, and my all time favorite use, the bottom of Jinko's bird cage!
December 4, 2008
2:29 p.m.
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HopiMedicineMan writes:
The paper has taken losses because it decided to market to those whose news comes from the Internet. It would be like trying to sell horseshoes to car owners.
December 4, 2008
2:34 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
How many COAL OIL LAMP FACTORIES do you see today?
They used to be a necessity. Not any more.
Adapt or die. Capitalism USED to be based on that premise....
I read YourHub these days. Also my home town news and the browser feeds.
I also read ABC ( not OUR ABC, the one in AUSTRAILIA ) and other news FROM THEIR OWN COUNTRIES!!!
Who could do that twenty years ago? ( except at a REAL library )
You know, maybe we should have restricted DARPANET.
I'm glad I didn't....
( yep, I did networking with the big boys. I'm a CRAY-ON )
You would be surprised at who is in the membership and runs our site....
December 4, 2008
2:36 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
Thinker,
Just like TV commercials with ratings, ad rates are priced based on the number of subscriptions. So a drop in subscriptions affects their bottom line a lot more than cost of lost subscribers because that can't charge as much for the ads.
At least I think it works that way.
December 4, 2008
2:37 p.m.
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joggle writes:
HopiMedicineMan: I agree with you (but for different reasons). Ideally I would like to see two newspapers in Denver, one that is a bit right of center and another that is a bit left of center. I try to get my news from multiple sources and don't often read articles from extremely left or right ones (like many blogs).
I tend to read the Rocky more than the Post because I want my views to be (competently) challenged and see if there's any good counterargument to be found to something I read elsewhere. However, for quite a while now I've been depending on the forums rather than the articles for any decent arguments (which tend to be much less often than I would prefer).
The other conservative source I rely on is foxnews.com (not the channel though--tried, but failed).
Other conservative websites one might consider (like washingtontimes.com) tend to be far too lax in their journalistic standards--so much so that I often find their articles to be outright misleading or simply, factually wrong.
I hope the Rocky survives so that Denver will continue to have two loud, different voices.
BTW, historically there was much more diversity in newspapers in each city, with some much farther to the right and others much farther to the left than we find today (they were also rather lax in their journalistic standards compared to modern papers believe it or not...).
December 4, 2008
2:38 p.m.
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Salsmom writes:
It is a very sad day, there are many wonderful people who work for the newspaper who will need to look for work in a very crappy economy. They contribute to the economy of Denver and Colorado when fully employed. Whether I agree with their politics on any given day is immaterial to this decision. I would rather see both newspapers in business because it says something about our economy and it also speaks to the fact that folks still want to READ a daily newspaper. I for one don't want my news from a local radio personality who is offering opinion not news (and usually poor opinion).
December 4, 2008
2:39 p.m.
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jolinegkg writes:
When Scripps announced last year that it was going to "sell" the Albuquerque Tribune, it hurt like hell -- and it still does.
But at least we didn't have such mean-spirited citizens out there celebrating our demise. Shame on some of you folks.
Our community realized the value of a two-newspaper town, the value of what we tried to do each day. It realized that behind the newsprint were human beings.
I, as a fellow HUMANE human being, as someone who went through this detestable thing with Scripps, as someone who counts many friends among the Rocky staff, I am very saddened by this news and, yes, pretty angry that Scripps is letting down yet another community and another great bunch of people. If anyone should be at risk of losing his or her job, it should be CEO Rich Boehne. But then, that would be mean-spirited.
Chin up, my friends up north. There are many of us here in Albuquerque and throughout the country who mourn this day and wish only the best. Denver just didn't know how lucky it was.
December 4, 2008
2:39 p.m.
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DCCasRock writes:
Do away with the Post instead of the Rocky!
December 4, 2008
2:42 p.m.
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JB writes:
As someone who works with the media for a living I have to echo what Sal said above. This has nothing to do with liberal or conservative bias. The entire newspaper industry is dying because the internet has taken over the primary role that newspapers once filled.
Newspapers actually lose money on subscriptions and the small fee they charge at news stands. Trust me, it costs a heck of a lot more to even print the paper than the 50 cents they charge... not to mention factoring in delivery costs and the need to pay reporters, editors, photographers, etc... They make their money off of advertising, which is why newspapers keep their sales departments and editorial departments seperate to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
The economy has hastened this decision, as most companies are scaling back their display advertising in the face of our current economy. Additionally, there is just no way for any publication to make up the difference between display ad sales with online ad sales such as banner ads. It's really actually sad because freedom of the press is one of the most critical rights we have to ensure a stable democracy. Yes, a lot of news is online, but if all of the newspapers fold, then eventually who will be reporting it besides citizen journalists? Don't get me wrong, citizen journalism is important and great, but you end up with a lot of opinion or misinformation from just your everyday "Joe" blogging about why the cops were at his neighbors house last night.
This is very sad for the Rocky and I hope that a new buyer is found who will uphold the journalistic value of this Colorado institution. Folks, you might think the paper leans one way or another, but remember they have won a large number of Pulitzers over the last several years and have done a very good job for Coloradoans.
December 4, 2008
2:42 p.m.
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P_Denver writes:
Inquiring minds want to know: "Where's jay"?????
He should be in the middle of the bidding, just so he can have the pleasure of personally firing Mike Rosen.
As to bidding: I'll take an even 1 million for the RMN.
I'll be pleased to take their money and turn it back into a good paper again.
What?? They want ME to pay THEM??
Deal's off.
December 4, 2008
2:43 p.m.
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bluffan writes:
This is clearly not a liberal-conservative issue.
As a long-time journalist who has written for both the Wall Street Journal AND the New York Times, I can tell you unequivocally that both institutions (like the Rocky and the Post) have bled money for a decade or more.
Despite its sterling conservative credentials, the WSJ has been a money loser since the last recession and, in the end, had little choice but to sell out to Rupert Murdoch (who wins prestige but will surely lose money on the purchase for years to come). The NYT, meanwhile, has seen its stock price fall from the mid-40s to the mid-teens over the past decade, and its divided was recently cut by 75%, increasingly the likelihood that it, too, will soon succumb to the market swoon. (My guess, frankly, is that the only money made in the newspaper industry this year was the hawking of reprints of the Obama election win.)
Truth be told, when I first got into journalism in the early 1990s, the death knell was already being sounded for print media. The subsequent rise of free internet news and, most of all, CRAIGSLIST has created an impossible revenue model for most print media, especially newspapers (which once derived as much as half of their revenues from classified ads).
The only solution, IMHO, is a model similar to the St. Petersburg Times, which is owned by the non-profit Poynter Institute, which runs the paper through its philanthropy.
Unfortunately, this isn't a model that's likely to flourish in the current economy.
December 4, 2008
2:47 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
I always heard right wing radio pulls in the biggest bucks; They said Pelosi even wanted to invoke the Fairness Doctrine on them. Print media is failing because of the internet, advertising revenues aren't what they used to be as the free papers are slicing into their pie as well for a lot less cost to the advertiser. I ask my clients each day how they found out about me. Yellow pages is the number one response, followed by the Westword, next is the free Denver Daily, few ever say the Rocky or the Post although we maintain a presence in both everyday for over 20 years in the classified section. Seems it's because the free papers are free and commuters and others always reach for them verses popping money in the box. Thus we maintain a daily 3/4 page ad in the free Denver Daily, and a few ads in the Westword everyday. Yesterday we ran a 3/4 page in the Rocky, but We never would do that daily, it's cost prohibitive verses the responses we get. I am different in business profile from other businesses to be fair however, we make great cash even without advertising because of the nature of our many businesses.
December 4, 2008
2:48 p.m.
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davies writes:
For those hoping for a new owner, I don't think that is the writing on the wall here folks. I think they're only selling off their assets, including probably whatever contractual value there is left to their advertising contracts. If they were seeking a new buyer to actually operate the paper, they wouldn't be talking about how much money it loses. It's over I'm afraid.
December 4, 2008
2:49 p.m.
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NoMoe writes:
Hey BroncoDan. OK. I got it backwards. That means three rights make a left.
No political ideology is ruining the newspaper industry; the power of the Internet is the true subscriptions killer.
Hey RMN, you have been outsourced! (sort of). Welcome to the party.
December 4, 2008
2:56 p.m.
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pprdude writes:
You wait, they will start charging for the on line too, because advertising is not going to cover the cost of posting all the liberal bias??? stories that you all seem to enjoy. Oh wait, all that liberal bias reporting??? comes from NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL DEPARTMENTS. When will you all get a clue that 99% of all the internet news comes from NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL DEPARTMENTS? Never I guess, because when you stop reading newspapers, you all went into a deep dark hole. Nothing read is nothing learned.
December 4, 2008
3:06 p.m.
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zlittlefield writes:
I love the Rocky and this is sad news. Not only for the paper itself, but for all of the folks that work there that have provided us all with great journalism everyday. I hope for the best for all of the Rocky staff.
December 4, 2008
3:09 p.m.
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Blind_Pete writes:
If we NEEDED two (or one) newspaper, the market would support it. Instead, the market is (1.) supporting more efficient and cost effective business models, and (2.) supporting more reliable sources. I agree that the demise of print newspapers is almost entirely the inability to compete with internet and Craig's List. But I don't find it sad at all. The internet has freed us from the oligarchy of information formally reserved for the few information power brokers. Thanks to the internet, the press and freedom of speech has never been stronger. It will look different in the near future, and it is not without its flaws (people need to stop being lazy and look at Snopes and other verification research before passing along internet "news"), but it is far better than leaving it to the few powerful gatekeepers. We're better off.
The market will sort it out by itself. But, I sure will miss Tracey Ringolsby. If he starts a fee based subscription blog, I'll pay to read him. I wouldn't pay for the rest of the lot though. I'll learn more about political truth and real change ideas from a single column by Ron Paul than by anything I've seen in the Rocky for years.
December 4, 2008
3:12 p.m.
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opinionatedcolo writes:
Perhaps punisher is correct. It may be that newspapers cannot compete in this world of instant news and sound bites. Maybe we will all get our information from unedited blogs and unsourced websites and, like Punisher, spend our days on blog forums where we kiss a@@ with those we agree with, attack and insult those we do not like and never have our biases challenged or our thoughts expanded. Perhaps the time has come where people just want to have their prejudices confirmed rather than go to the hassle of having to sort information and apply thought and maybe grow or change. But to think that process will lead to a better informed electorate or citizenry is ludicrous.
December 4, 2008
3:12 p.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
Word on the street is that Ottaway (http://www.ottaway.com/), the local news arm of Dow Jones & Co. may be the most viable (and only?) interested party, albeit at a fire sale price.
I
December 4, 2008
3:14 p.m.
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ou8one2 writes:
Another reason the RMN is going down. Those crap heads monitoring this site remove all of the conservative points of view and leave all of the leftist ones up.
December 4, 2008
3:15 p.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
Word on the street is that Ottaway (http://www.ottaway.com/), the local news arm of Dow Jones & Co. may be the most viable (and only?) interested party, albeit at a fire sale price.
December 4, 2008
3:23 p.m.
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philvysor writes:
I will buy the RMN for 1 million pesos por favor. Gracias.
December 4, 2008
3:24 p.m.
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coarizona writes:
I like online newspapers. When you read an article there is the option of reading what other readers are thinking or feeling about the subject. The enhanced part of discussions adds to the reporting.
December 4, 2008
3:27 p.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
No matter what happens I certainly hope some of the good journalists like Tracy Ringolsby, Vince Carroll and Gargi Chakrhabaty continue writing.
I was going to say Ed Dentry (THE single most underappreciated writer in Denver) but I forgot that he retired earlier this year.
December 4, 2008
3:30 p.m.
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wbb writes:
This surprises no one, does it? Wasn't the JOA obviously transparent to all? Just a delaying tactic for the inevitable. This industry is simply in the midst of an irreversible change to electronics.
What will my parakeet do without newspapers? Oh, sorry. There'll always be Westword.
December 4, 2008
3:35 p.m.
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randybrown writes:
This is sad news.
I was interviewed by some of the people at the Rocky Mountain News during the Columbine Tragedy, and it was their work and their writing that helped expose the truth. They worked under the most difficult conditions to expose the lies and the cover-up by Jefferson County and others. Writers like Lynn Bartels and Kevin Vaughan were incredible. They were some of the heroes from the Columbine Tragedy, of which there were very few.
Vince Carroll and John Temple were incredible too, and they and others will always have my respect, thanks, and admiration for their courage, integrity and search for the truth.
I will miss their reporting and their courage.
I will miss the Rocky Mountain News.
We are all going to be a little worse off if they do go out of business.
"Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you got til it's gone..."
And, for those of you who have written critical and stupid remarks: I have seen these people at work. I have seen their dedication, talent, and strength. They deserve our admiration and respect.
Randy Brown
A Columbine Parent.
December 4, 2008
3:37 p.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
The Rocky will be joining an ever-crowded field; the Copley Press is selling The San Diego Union-Tribune and other properties; Cox is also trying to unload several newspapers including the Austin American-Statesman. Landmark Communications pulled the Virginia-Pilot in Norfolk off the market on Wednesday due problems with buyers lining up financing.
December 4, 2008
3:39 p.m.
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ILoveChipotle writes:
Why couldn't it be the Denver Post?!? I think the RMN leans left in its stories and liberal news outlets around the country are dying (not just newspapers), while fair and balanced outlets like Fox News are stronger than ever. When will the liberal media realize that liberalism doesn't work. In news or in life.
December 4, 2008
3:39 p.m.
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DenverGirl78 writes:
After reading so much whining about how LIBERAL the newspaper is, I'm wondering - what exactly would make you guys happy, make you feel that the paper didn't have a liberal slant? I always wonder this when conservatives start blaming the liberal media for something. Are they liberal because they don't publish articles saying gays rot in hell? What exactly bothers you so much?
December 4, 2008
3:43 p.m.
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DenverGirl78 writes:
Here's what I have wondered for a long time: those of you who complain about the horrible awful blatant leftwing bias in the news...what makes you say this? What would you like to see instead?
December 4, 2008
3:52 p.m.
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HankReardon writes:
Does this mean the end of writing/journalism or the end of newsprint? Isn't it just the inevitible morphing in electronics that wbb mentions?
I feel bad mostly for those involved with the actual paper production and delivery. Those folks are going to be left out, unless they do web design.
December 4, 2008
3:55 p.m.
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ActualThinker writes:
Randy is right. While the paper news struggle mightily to keep up with anything the cable or local news can easily flip around in a day the in depth investigating is something only real papers do well. Unfortunately that part of their operation is probably the most expensive, digging at a story for months even a year before it's complete but those few times a year that it happens it's a beautiful thing to see.
December 4, 2008
4 p.m.
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dirkle writes:
SheikYurBooty: me too. See ya' and raise you one.
Seriously, I will be bummed if the Rocky ceases to exist.
Internet remodel needed. Internet will continue to kill local papers unless they can creatively compete and generate ad revenue.
December 4, 2008
4:09 p.m.
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280Pagoda writes:
We are losing an important voice, even if you didn't always agree with that voice.
The Rocky Mountain News has been an important member of the 4th estate for over a century. It will be VERY sad to see it go, or become an even less shadow of itself than it has been.
All newspapers in the US have been struggling with the advent of the internet, and other advertising venues like Craig's list. However, after looking through the comments posted regarding this sad outcome, there may well be yet another reason - there just aren't enough potential educated readers left to support newspapers.
These profanity filled responses seem to reflect a profound lack of tolerance for any opinion other than their own or their "tribe". This newspaper is dieing because it has a left leaning editorial staff? The staff is editing comments because the comments are too conservative? What tripe.
We live in highly polarized times. There are no disagreements that aren't followed by a drowning slog of attacks on the person so bold as to offer an opinion that might offend the orthodoxy of the mob that person represents. We don't respect other ideas any more than we respect the person offering them.
America and the concept of Democracy requires not only majority rule, but minority rights, which at its heart is realizing that you can disagree and not be disagreeable. And that underscores why our community is richer with the Rocky.
What breaks my heart even more than the demise of another editorial voice in Colorado, is the apparent demise of reasoned voices in Colorado.
Sure they have been cutting back and have made more mistakes in reporting in the last few years than in many decades prior, but you get what you pay for. At least we had another perspective.
The economy is in shambles, but so is our hunger to preserve voices other than those that echo our own, and to value insight, learning and experience.
The Rocky was a valued member of the 4th estate. It is an important part of what Colorado has accomplished to date. We are all weaker with her passing. My hope is we aren't also seeing the passing of valuing dissent, competition and reason.
The graffiti that passes for news commentary on the web, and in these representative postings, will never replace what we are losing today with this announcement.
December 4, 2008
4:18 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
When you REPORT the FACTS, AND I MEAN ALL OF THEM, you just might get some people who are willing to PAY to see them. That includes wading through all the ADVERTISING!!!
Your business model is broken and may be beyond repair.
Some of use have to DIG to get them today. We used to trust REPORTERS to do it. Not anymore...
On Columbine: Do you really think we have all the FACTS???
I don't think so. Russ may have had them...
December 4, 2008
4:24 p.m.
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nuance201 writes:
The Chicago Tribune is "ultra-liberal"? That would be news to them, considering that Obama was the first Democrat they've ever endorsed.
December 4, 2008
4:26 p.m.
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GladysKravitz writes:
I read the paper everyday. As well as online. This is a sad thing to see the decline of newspapers. I foresee something similar to what occured in San Francisco when the 2 dailies (Chronicle and Examiner) dissolved their JOA leaving only the Chronicle standing and the Examiner reduced to a free semi-weekly tabloid. The newspaper industry has cannibalized itself with the internet. The net is cheaper to produce "news". As papers decline, most major cities will be left with one paper and smaller community publications...which compete well for the advertsing dollar. But eventually I think that even the major papers will be free with only ad revenues, and not subscriptions, to keep them afloat. Sad day, sad indeed.
December 4, 2008
4:38 p.m.
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SanctuaryCity writes:
Goodbye TG, I hope
December 4, 2008
4:51 p.m.
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KAR writes:
I'm sad to hear this news. I have fond memories of reading the Rocky's excellent comics page every Sunday with my dad when I was a kid. We would also read the sports section together; I especially remember the old sports columnist in the 90's who wrote "Thoughts, Myths and Half-Truths" every Sunday . . . can't remember his name but I looked forward to it every week.
December 4, 2008
5:01 p.m.
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FelixYunger writes:
Gladys and 280Pagoda are absolutely correct. The internet has had a drastic impact on news, and not in a good way. Every newspaper across the country is feeling the economic pinch, resulting in staff reduction after staff reduction. Dean Singleton's San Jose Mercury News is in a similar place, although not for sale at this time. Quite simply, the traditional newspaper structure is dying as a result of a drop in national advertising revenue. Unfortunately, those who are in charge - CEOs, Publishers and others - are old school. They don't have a grasp on how to handle the changing technology to utilize it for profit stability. Online commercials - similar to the ones seen on MSNBC.com - are the best way to gain financial footing. The commercials are short, and viewers - in most cases - have to watch them to read on. And that translates to an increase of dollars.
December 4, 2008
5:04 p.m.
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stella writes:
Oh! This makes me sad. Why couldn't it be The Denver Post instead? I love the RMN and have been a daily subscriber for years. I read the paper version in the morning and access the online version during the day.
December 4, 2008
5:05 p.m.
LeLo writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 4, 2008
5:08 p.m.
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cdmdenver writes:
ROCKY MTN NEWS FOR SALE, BIAS CAUGHT UP...
RMN and its writers/editors have long been giving Colorado
residents the "slant". Tabloid style articles, now its caught
up. RMN for sale, if someone buys this tabloid, they should
fire most of the current staff including Bernie!
Darwinism, adapt or PERISH!
December 4, 2008
5:12 p.m.
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p_myers661 writes:
you end up with a lot of opinion or misinformation from just your everyday "Joe"
And this is different from the current RMN?
I've posted this before so this will be a short version.
Opinion is detectable when you analyze the verbs, adverbs and adjectives used in a story. This might not be ijntentional, but it is preventable, if a bit boring.
Take any post here including this one. Cut and paste a message at the top of a page. Make a list of the verbs on the left side of the page, the adverbs in the middle and the adjectives on the right. In the right or left margin you can list the nouns.
Neutral verbs are said, looked walked etc
Negative verbs are alleged, admitted, denied, sneaked
Positive verbs are announced, declared, strode
You get the idea. Now cover the article up and give the list a look. If the majority of those verbs etc are negative or positive the article has an attitude.
News reporting should be neutral. It takes a lot of work to go over an article and remove your opinion by examining those parts of speech carefully. Advertising is all about doing exactly the opposite so use a long ad to define positive and negative terms.
December 4, 2008
5:14 p.m.
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p_myers661 writes:
Newspapers don't fill a common need anymore. People used to subscribe to a paper according to their work type and schedule. If you had to be to work early, you took the afternoon paper and read it while waiting for, or after preparing, supper. If you worked in an office and got to go to work after sunrise, you subscribed to the morning paper and read it over coffee and whatever you called breakfast.
The Post was losing in this scenario because the news didn't change that much between the two papers and getting the "first licks" was important for survival. News services had updates and "emergency/urgent/breaking" news announcements during the day. Most news came in at the end of the day and was transmitted to the papers via teletype at a standard time. Had the Post forseen the rapid growth of instant news they would have tried to keep their afternoon publication times. Now we have 24/7 news. You want to know what happened in Little Nutmeg? Jump online and Google for it.
While ad revenue is the lifeblood of the newspaper system, circulation is the only way to create that revenue.
It used to be safe for boys as young as ten to deliver the paper on bicycles. Our current society may still be supplying enough young people who would do the job, but what company can take the legal risk of sending young people out in early morning hours on the streets, almost always alone, to do physical labor?
Newspapers were forced to hire adults who are far more restricted by economic circumstances than the young.
There is another factor and I include the liberal/conservative conversation here too. Conservative radio and newsletters are flourishing. Liberal ones are barely surviving. That isn't a coincidence.
Conservatism is not represented fairly in the mass media. Those who hold conservative views seek out like voices. Businesses, including some of the most liberal like PETA, advertise with these outlets.
Finally, yes, even I have a finally, we have lost a large segment of the population with the drops in literacy and the changes in our population from a supermajority of English speakers to our current situation.
We also made a few substitutions that did nothing for quality.
Penny Parker for Gene Amole is one. You all can find more.
December 4, 2008
5:16 p.m.
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Who_Me writes:
Humorous, not humerous.
"reporters." not "reporters".
Silly. Rabid. Inconsequential. Circle jerkers. Crow.
Let me guess, you were in media relations? I can tell by your consensus building skills and lack of writing skills.
December 4, 2008
5:43 p.m.
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DougH writes:
Maybe the folks at Westword could come up with the dough to buy the paper. Denver will loose a valued institution if the Rocky goes away. The world is forever changing and things come and go every day, but it would be nice to still have my Rocky Mountain News with me in the morning.
December 4, 2008
5:46 p.m.
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silverJ writes:
Dude, you show an incredible lack of knowledge on how the internet works.
December 4, 2008
5:54 p.m.
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zuropa_man writes:
I cancelled my subscruption because of pathetic, unabashed liberal bias. Good bye and good riddens liberal media!!!
December 4, 2008
6:04 p.m.
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LeLo writes:
Ah, Who_Me, you caught me. A typo or two. Completely invalidates my points. Damn. I lose. You win.
December 4, 2008
6:04 p.m.
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arthistorybabe writes:
But they have the best funnies section! Boo!
December 4, 2008
6:08 p.m.
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LeLo writes:
Ah, Who_Me, you caught me. A couple of typos. Completely invalidates my points. I lose. You win.
Oh, by the way, I had no interest in building consensus with this group of conservatives wack-jobs.
December 4, 2008
6:39 p.m.
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slocatch writes:
'Border Street' is what did them in, in my book. I thought it was very bias and skewed.
December 4, 2008
6:45 p.m.
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slocatch writes:
"Border Street" is what did them in. It was very bias and skewed.
December 4, 2008
7 p.m.
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LS writes:
NativeCO wrote this (in part): The chain's move is both harsh and gut-reaction. It's one of the things businesses are being told NOT to do in these times. To gut react from the economic turmoil. Everybody is suffering losses. Deal with it, company!
This is exactly what I was thinking when I was reading the story. I get the feeling that when Boehne said this decision would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, then why so sudden now? Look to retool, look to minimize where you have to... but to give it such a short amount of time to find a buyer? Well, that's just not good thinkin'. I worked for the old Rocky years ago, during and just out of college. Way before the Internet came about. I wish the folks there well.
December 4, 2008
7:03 p.m.
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silverfox110 writes:
Denver has an extreme liberal newspaper and it is called the Denver Post. The Rocky should have recognized this and stayed true to it's roots and remained conservative. Your liberal leanings caused many subscribers, myself included, to cancel subscriptions. I really feel sad for the employees who have to worry about this during what should be a happy season. But most of all, I worry about kooks like Lelo. Where are they going to spew their liberal crap now.
December 4, 2008
7:05 p.m.
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FelixYunger writes:
Those who are calling The Rocky "liberal" must be so far right they can see hell. John Temple, in public meetings, has agreed that the Rocky is indeed a conservative newspaper. That is largely why the state's minority community does not have a strong tie to the organization. The reporting is completely right of center. Open your eyes. Learn to read.
December 4, 2008
7:10 p.m.
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leavemealone writes:
Right on!!!
December 4, 2008
7:12 p.m.
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malis writes:
The problem isn’t unique to the RMN—it’s likely that daily, home-delivered, physical newsprint newspapers will be all but extinct within 20 years. The first symptom of that will be the disappearance of the 2nd paper in most cities. There are a lot of these 2nd papers for sale right now, and not a lot of buyers.
The biggest problem for newspapers is, of course, the Internet revolution. For hundreds of years, newspapers had a monopoly on rapid dissemination of current events. In the 20th century, radio and television cut into that a little, but they couldn’t approach the detail, and ‘any-time’ ability of newspapers.
But, I’d guess most folks here would say the Internet is now their primary news source—perhaps we’re not a representative sample of the public, but this movement from papers to Internet over the last 10 years (if you’re old enough!) seems irreversible.
Many of us don’t even get a delivered newspaper anymore but, like many in my generation (mid-50s), I’m a news and politics junkie, I still love my daily newspaper. From Colorado Springs, I subscribe to the daily Denver Post and the Sunday NY Times. Even so, nearly every day I read (some of) the online Op-Ed sections of the NY Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune (the only major conservative paper left in the nation), Rocky Mountain News, and COS Gazette (plus a couple more from a rotating list of about 30). I also like Slate, The Economist, and a couple other Internet-only sites (Groklaw is a favorite).
But…notice most of these are the Internet sites of traditional newspapers? They’re the only ones that can afford to dedicate extensive staff to news-gathering, especially of local events. Although even I've reached the point where I’d much rather give up my physical newspaper than my on-line papers; what happens when everyone like me does stop reading the daily paper? Their online versions are not yet profitable enough to support themselves (and Craigslist eliminated their cash-cow classified ads)—who funds the news-gathering and editing then?
A conundrum to be sure, and I have no idea how it will work out.
December 4, 2008
7:31 p.m.
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malis writes:
On a different tangent, notice how every story about a newspaper in trouble brings in the ‘blinders on’ far left and far right obsessives, (just read this string) saying the problem is the obvious far [left/right] bias causing folks to cancel, and get their REAL news from [Fox/MSN], [Rush/Pacifica], and [WorldNetDaily/Daily Kos].
The RMN is uncontroversially Center/Right. As a handy reference, here are major newspapers where you can get editorials and opinion, slanted the way YOU want! (caveat—this is only my opinion from personal experience—your mileage may vary):
FAR LEFT:
- Alanta Journal-Constitution
- Minneapolis Star-Tribune
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer
STRAIGHT LEFT:
- New York Times
- LA Times
- San Francisco Chronicle
- Cleveland Plain-Dealer
- Detroit Free Press
CENTER LEFT (the most common position)
- Denver Post (though it’s been moving right, and is right of the RMN on certain topics like Unions and anything to do with Gov Ritter)
- Seattle Times
- Portland Oregonian
- Dallas Morning News
- Cincinnati Enquirer
- Houston Chronicle
- Kansas City Star
- Miami Herald
- Philadelphia Inquirer
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
CENTER
-Washington Post. Surprises you, right? Fifteen years ago WaPo was Conventional Left but has been moving steadily right since then, purposefully I think. There are few truly centrist newspapers (can’t think of any other)…most find it better for circulation, to appeal to one side or the other.
CENTER RIGHT
- Chicago Tribune (come on…home-towner Obama is the only Dem they’ve EVER endorsed for Pres)
- Arizona Republic
- Rocky Mountain News
STRAIGHT RIGHT and FAR RIGHT
- None, and that’s too bad. I’m not counting vanity projects like the Pittsburg Union-Tribune and Washington (DC) Times, both of which would otherwise be FAR RIGHT; or ‘scandal-rag’ tabloids like the NY Post and Daily News (home of the famous “Headless Body in Topless Bar!” headline). Of Freedom Communications properties, even the Orange County Register (LA) isn’t considered a major paper…and we won’t even get into the COS Gazette.
I’m sure there are others but these are only ones I regularly read. I’d appreciate your opinion and other nominations (especially LeLo and others in the business). I’d particularly like to know of a Straight Right major paper, if any exists.
December 4, 2008
7:36 p.m.
Suggest removal
landon writes:
"I have always gotten the RMN because the comics are better and the newspaper is easier to read."
I think there's your answer, in a nutshell, as to why the RMN slid so badly the last 15 years. Other than a weepy Pulitzer given because people get sad over pictures of dead bodies (Columbine, Iraq war) and equate that to "good journalism" (See some of David Simon's opinions about this matter. You know, the guy who left newspapers to write "The Wire"), the RMN gave its readers a comic-filled, dumbed-down, "easier to read" paper, and smugly thought it was a great paper - when it wasn't.
That said, it really isn't the fault of newspapers why they're failing. It's the fault of people like the one who left the original comment above I highlighted.
Simple-minded people who just want to be "entertained" for a few minutes, before they move on to their next useless, non-productive activity.
Their children and grandchildren will all pay the price some day - when we're living in a Fox News/Cheney-style world where there is only one news source, and the state owns it.
In other words, we'll slowly turn into Nazy Germany with no independent, free press.
Now, go back to your comics now, you simpletons.
December 4, 2008
7:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
David_R writes:
The newspaper war of the 90's killed both papers -- the RMN is just the first to keel over. Both papers incurred incredible debt with their $.01 per day subscriptions coupled with ridiculously low advertising rates as they had to keep cutting rates to attract the advertisers. Major advertisers played the papers against each other and both papers refused to call their bluffs (remember Jake Jabs outrage that there would only be one agency accepting ads - the DNA - after the JOA?).
The JOA, reduced paper allotments, assine classifieds policy and rates, and loss of a Sunday RMN bled it to death.
Unfortunately, the age of the internet is slowly rendering newspapers obsolete.
Perhaps Pelosi and company will give them a bailout....
December 4, 2008
7:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
TallPaul writes:
After 28 years, I canceled my subscription last month. The left wing opinions and propaganda supporting the Blue agenda became ridiculous. Sorry, Dave Krieger and Mike Rosen: you are shining stars. Too bad the rest of the paper didn't have the same quality.
December 4, 2008
8:40 p.m.
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redwhiteandBLUE writes:
tiero @ 4:38
LOL..I forgot about her.. LOL!!!
December 4, 2008
8:46 p.m.
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redwhiteandBLUE writes:
tiero @4:38
LOL! I forgot about her LOL!
December 4, 2008
8:54 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
The CROTCH caters to the GLBT and HAUTE crowd...
( That is what we used to refer to the SF Chronicle in the SFBA )
When Herb Caen and similar greats left, the paper went into competition with the Berkeley Barb....
The SJMN went to pandering to ILLEGAL ALIENS...
Even though most of the ILLEGALS can't even read the Spanish version....
BTW, will we see the use of the PROPER, LEGAL TERM for a while? It has been actually showing up at the Rocky...
To put MASS COMMUNICATION in place on DARPANET, a company had to invest in a MAINFRAME, then pay between $5000 to $10000 for the interface. THEN pay between $400-$2000 A MONTH to join the select group that lived on the backbone...That was in 1983 dollars, folks...
Only a privileged few wanted to or had to spend the bucks....
Most traffic was military stuff. Then the OTHER Big Businesses wanted in. You know, like BOEING and BIG OIL..
And then the floodgates opened. After all it was a PUBLIC system!! ( because a lot of the people who built the software & hardware had ties to UNIVERSITIES )
What does that translate to today? I just picked up the network cards for some PCs. Cost: 3 for $10. You have the same power in your desktops we had designed into the X-MP and Y-MP supercomputers in the 80's. How much do YOU pay a month for DSL? Not $400 a month!
But does everyone have the same smarts? I think not.
On the talk about bias in OUR M$M:
The very fact that we can SEE the BIAS is proof that you have other sources to compare the RMN and DP to. The world is getting smaller and you really have your choices. You didn't before unless you had beaucoup $$$ and time to read all those papers..
So there is a rapid and forced evolution going on. Again, you have to ADAPT or DIE.
I think that people have had their blinders taken off. some face REALITY, others DENY it. DENIAL is not a river in Egypt...
Oh, and what happens if the Internet dies? The die hards can still use UUCP and stuff like FIDONET....Like we did....before the Internet....
December 4, 2008
9:08 p.m.
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Achilles writes:
Maybe Griego can write another somber lububrious piece that will depress people into buying the paper again. Maybe Littwin will turn in his greatest Obama encomium ever tomorrow. Maybe Campos will turn in his most shameless slander. Or maybe Salzman will write his greatest ode to the AP he has ever written. Or maybe Johnson will...uh...do whatever it is he does.
Or maybe they'll all do what is right and resign from the paper in order to save it.
December 4, 2008
9:12 p.m.
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redwhiteandBLUE writes:
Sorry about the double comment. I didn't think it went through.
December 4, 2008
9:21 p.m.
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anderson writes:
The idiots who rail about the RMN's "bias" and attribute their problems to this, will get what you deserve--more stupid media--like talk radio--like worldnetdaily--like an infomercial--one point of view. The KISS principle. Yellow journalism.
malis, nice list of newspapers, but I'm not sure how useful it is to categorize them this way. We need good sources of information, and journalist investigation.--a role newspapers have traditionally taken. Why didn't you include the Wall Street Journal, or Christian Science Monitor, or the Des Moines Register?
December 4, 2008
9:24 p.m.
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jwbeuk writes:
Denver newspaper agency killed the Rocky. RMN has a great weekday paper, and had a great Saturday. When Denver Newspaper came in they forced the Denver Post on RMN subscribers and cut the Saturday paper down to nothing. We stopped our subscription because we got tired of paying for a crap paper on Saturday and a paper we didn't want on Sunday.
December 4, 2008
9:30 p.m.
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market_man writes:
That's what you get RMN for charging $400 to post a rental ad!!
December 4, 2008
10:19 p.m.
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avsfan71085 writes:
welcome to the world of the internet. Just a thought, but why don't they just stop paper publication and only do online? It's MUCH cheaper and they should just FORCE you to subscribe to online. I dunna, this is crazy though
December 4, 2008
10:42 p.m.
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p_myers661 writes:
"Those who are calling The Rocky "liberal" must be so far right they can see hell"
In Siberia 40 degrees F is a heat wave, but it is still 40 degrees F.
Slanted viewpoints on the editorial pages never did any damage to a paper because that is where they belong. Putting the same viewpoints in the news sections is one of the things that is annoying at best.
Look at how certain political celebrities are treated. Take any story on the bailout and use the method I described above. We need to understand that the physical paper is not going to survive. See any town criers lately? (16th Street Mall not included.)
Technology has doomed the newspapers and Craigslist has starved them to the point of invisibility. I have a simple question that has not been answered yet.
Why do they charge for the online version of the paper that includes the ads and offer the ad free version for free?
The only reason I would buy the online subscription is if they included the centerfold ads on Wednesday and Sunday. (Simple if they would just link to the proper web sites.)
Those who are upset about certain columnists can ask yourselves if your favorite hero/demon will be silenced or already has a news outlet in use.
Ignore the phenomena of RUSH on the air. Explain his newsletter's success. It produces revenue so great that he will never need to make another radio broadcast unless he wants to. Could it be that the conservatives are doing what they do in the media because they enjoy it and believe what they are doing is right while the left is merely doing what others tell them is right?
I don't know. I DO know I have a ten year old whose greatest reward is to be allowed to listen to an hour of RUSH or to get to sleep with his newsletter under her pillow.
I agree with much that he says. I have been listening for almost 18 years. If he ran this paper, I agree that the liberal bias would be gone from the whole paper. I don't know if it would be a conservative slant outside the editorial pages, probably though.
There would be a liberal presence and those who disagreed would be welcome if they could keep it clean. I bet they would be able to post more than 3K too.
We will end up with a much different city because the News is only the first. The Post will be next and it won't be much longer. HB would have fired the entire staff ages ago.
December 4, 2008
10:46 p.m.
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PiedType writes:
I retired from printing/publishing ten years ago and although I'm glad to be out of the fray, it saddens me to see newspapers fighting a losing battle against the Internet and the economy. I'm crossing my fingers that this time will be different and a buyer will be found.
December 4, 2008
10:58 p.m.
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RegusPatoff writes:
Nooooooo..... this can't be happening. The RMN is the ONLY good source of daily comics in Colorado.... noooooooooooooooo.....
December 4, 2008
10:58 p.m.
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peterpi writes:
Way too many posts ago, a writer complained that the editorials were biased. That sums up the intelligence of this whole discussion. Mike Littlwin Mike Rosen, Tina Greigo, Vincent Carroll, etc. are paid to offer their opinions. So are the editorials. That's why they are called opinion pieces.
Anyone who thinks the RMN is liberal is so far to the right they can see Genghis Khan's horse's, umm, waste-ejection port.
The Rocky is Center-Right. The Post is Center-Left (though the Post is Right on Unions, and Paranoid on Ritter).
*sigh* I guess I'm getting too old. I like newspapers. I read the Internet, but I feel I don't get the reading comprehension I do from a piece of solid black-on-white newsprint. I like newspapers because I could read stories sequentially. Plus, the newsprint on newspapers doesn't disappear every 30 minutes. To make a comparison between this website and a newspaper: Imagine having to go back to the front page every time you want to read the next news story in the paper.
I liked the Rocky because you could open it up without needing the entire dining room to do so. But I agree with others: The JOA was a "mercy period" for the Rocky. The brutal newspaper wars saddled both sides with debt.
I often disagreed with Vincent Carroll, sometimes vehemently. But every time I coressponded with him via e-mail, he reesponded. We would have a great debate.
But sounds like the Cons don't want that. They only want news that comports to their world view. In the end, maybe that's what's killing the Rocky, other papers: Along with high costs, low income, maybe the fact they run straight news in a US that only wants to hear what they already believe.
December 4, 2008
11:12 p.m.
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dkmartin writes:
Gene Amole is weeping tonight.
December 5, 2008
12:14 a.m.
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freemarketworks writes:
So Scripts wants to sell the 'Rocky.' I say it's time for a fair and balanced company, such as News Corp, to take control of the 'News' and bring back some of those readers that it has lost over the years.
Getting news on-line is great; however, there's no substitute for that morning trip to the toilet with my newspaper under my arm. The 'Post' just doesn't have the personality, differing views, ‘Get Fuzzy’, or the easy-to-read tabloid style of the 'News.'
December 5, 2008
1:29 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
What am I going to read now at 1:30 in the morning when I roll out of bed; whether it leans one way or the other, I always enjoyed reading this paper. I knew this was coming and am surprised to see it hang on for so long. Even if you hated this paper or it's editorial staff, it sure was nice to keep your enemy close to you I always thought. I have subscribed to the print edition for many years, our businesses have been advertising here everyday in the classifieds, and we run run full page ads from time to time. Damn, going to miss this paper!
December 5, 2008
1:38 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Freemarket, you're right the Post doesn't have any personality to speak of. Another thought is advertising has shifted to many other areas and formats. Becoming a one horse town is sad, I never cared for the Post although we have a daily classified advertising there as well. I don't think it'll be sold, print media is a relic of the past in todays fast breaking world of events streaming out every minute. I won't be picking up the Post so I guess I will be bound to use the internet. My Wall Street I will still get in print however.
December 5, 2008
3:34 a.m.
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andrew_bisset writes:
I love you, Rocky.
I was raised on you. My parent were never Post fans, and I held that allegiance until my adult life.
I'm a photojournalism student at Metro. The Rocky was always a destination for me, an institution I had always aspired to be a part of. I can only hope that there still is a Rocky for me to work for when I graduate.
December 5, 2008
3:37 a.m.
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andrew_bisset writes:
I love you, Rocky.
I was raised on you. My parent were never Post fans, and I held that allegiance until my adult life.
I'm a photojournalism student at Metro. The Rocky was always a destination for our program. I can only hope that there still is a Rocky for me to work for when I graduate.
December 5, 2008
4:46 a.m.
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Hola writes:
Bummer for the people who work there. Sorry to see people lose there jobs. Ideally, we'd have a bunch of news sources and places for different ideas. Well, we do on the internet.
I have a desire for local news, as do a lot of us. Guess we'll see what the next thing is soon enough..
Anyone know of any good local news web sites (side from this)?
December 5, 2008
5:51 a.m.
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diggtbks writes:
Liberal media reporting is again rejected.
No pity here.
December 5, 2008
6:11 a.m.
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denverrose15 writes:
Do you think that maybe if RMN/Post ever gave fair and balanced coverage in everything they print it may have survived? I don't agree that internet service killed it off. I read it online first thing in the morning and when I have break I still buy a paper but I am so sick of the onhe-sideness of this RMN/Post. Get a life guys!
December 5, 2008
6:19 a.m.
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denverrose15 writes:
Me2... where do you get off saying conservatives want this liberal paper to die? It shouldn't have been one-sided then no one would be offended if it was fair a balanced. You are obviously another one who equates opinion with news. Don't you know the difference? That isn't news they have been reporting it is opinion! Opinion is what you think... news is reporting what happened WITHOUT your opinion to color or muddy it.
December 5, 2008
6:47 a.m.
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INC writes:
I Bid $10.00...
I have been a loyal reader ever since I got my first job delivering the RMN in the 70's. Over the years It has angered me with the occasional (left or right) propaganda. However it has also educated me in ways I never would have imagined. The RMN has been a continual source of information and I have cited it in more than a few research papers written in college.
December 5, 2008
7:34 a.m.
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Marshdale writes:
This rag is not closing because there was Liberal content in it. It is closing because they offer nothing more newsworthy than TV style fluff for stories. Failure to invest in good old gum shoe type investigative stories that are compelling is one of the major reasons this paper is closing. Hopping in bed with with local TV news is another. On line readership is another. Newspapers have created this wierd symbiotic relationship with advertisers that has killed the investigative journalist. Yes they have always had a relationship with advertisers, but the nature of it is so friendly that to do any type of in depth reporting on company fraud or misconduct threatens the advertising budget. The flip side of this is that subcriptions go way down without compelling reading. The younger generation does not read the paper either. It is an outdated way of getting information.
You watch, Fox News will attempt to buy this rag and I'm sure they will make it "fair and Ballanced". What a joke that network is. Fairwell Rocky Mountain News, and fairwell to all the great people I know that work there. This was a management issue. This is not some news room guy/gals fault. It's like the big three auto makers. Bad management.
December 5, 2008
7:35 a.m.
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ktlmn writes:
I started delivering papers for the RMN in 1979 and didn't stop until 1985. I remeber those days of pushing a bike through a foot of snow at 5 in the morning. It will be a sad day for me if they close. It used to be so much easier to read when it was a bi-fold paper. Now you have to spread it around the floor or have a huge table to yourself to read it.
December 5, 2008
7:39 a.m.
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Confusedone writes:
SlouchingTowardBoulder,
I think when birthrates decline it is a good thing. Did you go to college? As for socialism, you must be an idiot if you do not think a 750 billion dollar bailout doesn't stink of socialism. As for the legalization of drugs. What good does it do us to incinerate pot-heads? Oh I forgot, pot-heads get high and get the craving to rape and kill little babies and old people. Reefer Madness!!!! So to put it out there, there is nothing wrong with being a Liberal. You people from the right don't get that the word liberal lost it's negative connotation a while ago. Try radical, that still makes people uncomfortable, sorta.... As for this story. For the people that don't read the RMN because of its supposed liberal bias, does that mean you watch fox news then? Cause I heard they are fair and balanced.
December 5, 2008
7:46 a.m.
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Confusedone writes:
SlouchingTowardBoulder,
I just can't get past your comment,
"Well nothing if you enjoy that "being Liberal" means going the way of Europe; you know, declining birthrates, embrace of atheism, statism, cradle to grave socialism, gay marriage, legal drugs, allowing radical Islam to infiltrate and impose Sharia law ... Cause we know what a success Europe is, right?"
I have a few questions for you. So with the rise of atheism in Europe, What god should I believe in? Gay marriage, that bugs you huhn? Is it because you are a bigot and you feel it will somehow threaten your marriage with your wife? And as for radical Islam, what would you call groups such as Focus on the Family here in the U.S?
You are living in the 50's SlouchingTowardBoulder, face it progress is gonna happen and you can't stop it.
December 5, 2008
8:05 a.m.
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schnauzer writes:
I was a long time Rocky subscriber and really notice the papers swing hard left in the last few years. I exchanged a number of emails with John Temple pointing this out. He was kind enough to answer but I noticed no change in the paper. I don't like seeing people put out of work but Ed Stein and Mike Littwin's hard left, Bush hating "work" of the last few years forced me to end my subscription. They can write what they want but not on my dime.
Maybe a consevative group would take over the paper and return it to a conservative voice in Colorado.
The Rocky, like the rest of the MSM was a big supporter of Obama, this is their reward.....
December 5, 2008
8:10 a.m.
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fishtanksamurai writes:
That's what you get for turning into an apologist rag. The content stunk worse than the fish it wasn't fit to wrap.
December 5, 2008
8:13 a.m.
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fishtanksamurai writes:
...and thank your executive management for failing, miserably!
December 5, 2008
8:20 a.m.
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Scott writes:
ktlmn, Did you deliver papers around the 84th & Franklin area? We bought our house in 1983 and had a WONDERFUL paperboy when we moved in. After he went to college it was never ever the same. "Adults" that couldn't get another job or needed a second job to make ends meet. BTW, I threw the Lincoln Journal in Lincoln, Nebraska (evening paper back then) for four years when I was a kid ('68 to '72). Ah ... memories :-)
Does anyone know the real reason as to why newspapers stopped using boys to deliver the papers? To this day I think it is a mistake. A paper route is an outstanding way to teach kids responsibility, money management, etc..
Scott
December 5, 2008
8:28 a.m.
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denverrose15 writes:
Confusedone... I read the paper because at least there is some truth in it. Why do you confuse opinion with news? News is simply "reporting the facts, ma'am" not opinionating and that is what the RMN/Post have done for a long time... opine, and that is what has caused the collapse. You do understand that opinion is good but not at the expense of facts, right? Well very few facts and all opinion will make anyone want to go away. I hope Fox News does buy it and make it "fair and balanced". I honestly don't believe that most "liberals" have ever watched Fox News. I rarely watch it but read it online and I sometimes am stung by the things they say about conservatives. That is "fair and balanced" not one-sided opinion. There is a place for opinion so these guys at RMN cannot be considered reporters. They are "columnists." They are a big part of the problem why RMN is losing money but not all of it. NEWS: A headline about McCain dedicated four lines to him the rest about 40 more lines to Obama. Headline about Obama not one mention of McCain except that he is behind in the polls... or Sarah Palin is dragging him down... both OPINIONS...NOT fact, THAT... is the problem. That is biased slant.
December 5, 2008
8:41 a.m.
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Miss_Kitty_Kat_Girl writes:
Times are changing and the paper needs to change, which they have by changing the form of the paper is being printed. I like this change and I enjoyed reading all the Pulitzer stories. I hope that this paper gets bought as Denver needs a 2 paper town.
And for all you who think it was the liberals who ran this paper into the ground, well, I'm a liberal and I prefered reading this paper over the Post, so there goes that theory.
December 5, 2008
8:46 a.m.
Oh_Wise_One writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
December 5, 2008
8:46 a.m.
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SteveFesch writes:
Haven't purchased a newspaper in years. Haven't paid for a classified ad since Craigslist started.
December 5, 2008
8:47 a.m.
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Oh_Wise_One writes:
You're censoring comments now?
December 5, 2008
8:59 a.m.
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Willy writes:
This debate is funny. There is one simple reason the RMN is going away - print media is dying. I get about 50 magazines a month - news, trade and hobbies. Includes Time, US News &WR, Barrons, Economist, National Geographic, Forbes, etc. I don't pay a dime for any of them.
It's a shame in my opinion, but it's a fact.
December 5, 2008
9 a.m.
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dovid31 writes:
Sad :(
December 5, 2008
9:04 a.m.
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doctorfixit writes:
Good riddance to liberal fascist rubbish newsrags
December 5, 2008
9:42 a.m.
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TheDenverB writes:
"Cause we know what a success Europe is, right?"
lol. this is funny you say this in these horrid economic times when yes, Europe is far more successful than America is.
thanks for the laugh, clown.
December 5, 2008
9:48 a.m.
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Diff writes:
Found one of my first jobs in the "The NEWS" back when I first got out of the USAF.
Found the job I have now via the web postings..
Guess that sums it up - things are changing...are thing will.
But I'll still miss my News with my morning coffee -
hope someone can by it and keep it alive - and keep Denver a two paper town - but I doubt it.
I understand why, and am even a part of it - get most of my news from the web - (including here) and TV. Use craigs list, etc etc..
But it is still sad to see it go -
December 5, 2008
9:50 a.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
You want print media? Add a surplus Lexmark or HP printer like JD Edwards ( or any OLDER company had ) and print the stuff directly from your Internet connection.
Then you can find out just how much those dead tree conveniences really cost. Most companies don't even print manuals now. You get a CD with the item; YOU get to print the manual if you need it.
I threw the SJMN for years in the SFBA...I think the money handling problem ( collecting was a B!tch in apartments ) is what really doomed the paper route for kids...
Like I said before; LOCAL REPORTING may be the key, along with reducing the physical plant. People just might PAY to get real NEWS instead of only INFOTAINMENT...
December 5, 2008
9:59 a.m.
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opinionatedcolo writes:
Denverrose, you are most amusing because of your stubborn insistence that what you believe is the truth and all other viewpoints are skewed and biased. If you agree, it is "fact" if you do not it is "opinion". Look up narcissism and look carefully at the picture next to it, you might recognize it.
December 5, 2008
9:59 a.m.
Suggest removal
Confusedone writes:
denverrose15,
"I hope Fox News does buy it and make it "fair and balanced". I honestly don't believe that most "liberals" have ever watched Fox News. I rarely watch it but read it online and I sometimes am stung by the things they say about conservatives. That is "fair and balanced" not one-sided opinion."
You didn't just say Fox news is "fair and balanced" did you? Your just another right wing idiot if you think so.
Also....
A headline about McCain dedicated four lines to him the rest about 40 more lines to Obama. Headline about Obama not one mention of McCain except that he is behind in the polls... or Sarah Palin is dragging him down... both OPINIONS...NOT fact, THAT... is the problem."
Well if you look into the facts...
McCain was behind in the polls, I think the election took care of that one for us. As for Palin, I pray everyday that the republican party will put her up for the nomination against Obama in 2012. Don't you understand that Palin did draw McCain down. You might be able to put a lot of the blame on SNL, but all they did was poke fun at comments that the Barbi from Alaska made herself. Such as her being able to see Russia from her front porch, or not being able to state one newspaper she reads to keep informed on current events." Also I am sorry that Fox new's comments about conservatives stings you so much, poor baby....
Lastly,Those stating that RMN is closing because of its so called "liberal agenda," aren't you all making these comments ONLINE??? After reading this article ONLINE?????
December 5, 2008
10:01 a.m.
Suggest removal
Confusedone writes:
denverrose15,
"I hope Fox News does buy it and make it "fair and balanced". I honestly don't believe that most "liberals" have ever watched Fox News. I rarely watch it but read it online and I sometimes am stung by the things they say about conservatives. That is "fair and balanced" not one-sided opinion."
You didn't just say Fox news is "fair and balanced" did you? Your just another right wing idiot if you think so.
Also....
A headline about McCain dedicated four lines to him the rest about 40 more lines to Obama. Headline about Obama not one mention of McCain except that he is behind in the polls... or Sarah Palin is dragging him down... both OPINIONS...NOT fact, THAT... is the problem."
Well if you look into the facts...
McCain was behind in the polls, I think the election took care of that one for us. As for Palin, I pray everyday that the republican party will put her up for the nomination against Obama in 2012. Don't you understand that Palin did draw McCain down. You might be able to put a lot of the blame on SNL, but all they did was poke fun at comments that the Barbi from Alaska made herself. Such as her being able to see Russia from her front porch, or not being able to state one newspaper she reads to keep informed on current events." Also I am sorry that Fox new's comments about conservatives stings you so much, poor baby....
Lastly,Those stating that RMN is closing because of its so called "liberal agenda," aren't you all making these comments ONLINE??? After reading this article ONLINE?????
December 5, 2008
10:11 a.m.
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KarenSDR writes:
I'm hoping for a miracle, but not expecting one. This makes me so sad. I've read the RMN at my breakfast table since June 6, 1968 (and read the comics before that, but I was a little kid then.) That day was a coming-of-age for me (I was eleven) and since then I've clipped many articles (and posted many comics on my fridge) and had many of my letters to the editor published. I followed Gene Amole's column for decades, and clipped the ones that later became his book on dying, which I also bought.
Breakfast will never be the same. I go out every morning at 6:30 to look for my paper, and my driveway will seem lonely and empty without it.
December 5, 2008
10:16 a.m.
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conservative111 writes:
These are the reasons I cancelled my subscription and emailed Temple and told him why: Littwin, Griego and Johnson, day after day, their LIBERAL drivel. Sure, Mike Rosen makes his appearance once a week and half the time it is so boring I don't read it. And, have you noticed, most of the news stories are AP reruns anyway?
December 5, 2008
10:49 a.m.
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DenverGirl78 writes:
p_myers661, I feel more sorry than I can say for your kid. Another brainwashed rightie who will grow up to whine about the "war" on a holiday that consumes the entire nation for six weeks or more per year. Sad, sad.
December 5, 2008
10:49 a.m.
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peterpi writes:
KarenSDR, I've had numerous letters published myself. I gotta tell you, seeing a letter in print beats seeing it on a computer monitor.
To all you Cons gloating over the apparent death of a "liberal" paper, and presumably waiting for the day when all liberal papers die ...
There are countries where only one editorial viewpoint is heard, where only the "best" news is published, where nothing is ever written that goes against the prevailing view, ... those countries are called totalitarian.
You want to talk about a slanted newspaper, look at the RMN between roughly 1985 and 1992. They had an editorial commentator who openly mocked wild animals dying off in winter. For a while during that period, you could routinely count on Wednesday editorials denouncing gay people. And their editorial opinions definitely bled into their local news coverage.
Under Temple and Carroll, the Rocky became more professional, the local news coverage became straightforward, and the paper became better.
But, if you want Fox "unfair and imbalanced" News, go right ahead and watch it.
December 5, 2008
10:55 a.m.
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tooteaching writes:
I make these reflections as the son of a deceased newspaper editor. I am someone who grew up around newsrooms. However (and my father might hate me saying this or might agree), I don't subscribe to any newspapers. Why? Why would I spend money on something I will throw away at the end of the day anyway? I can go the web and get any newspaper I want and when I'm done I simply close the browser.
This is a sign of changing times. Last year the Chicago Tribune was bought out by Sam Zell a private invester. The Christian Science Monitor announced it was going weekly and online.
As much as some conservatives think, this is not an issue of bias. First, they think every newspaper of tv news broadcast (except Fox). If that were the case, no one would watch any media. Second, I know many of these folks. I know the RMN strives (like any other newspaper) to put forth a fair balanced product. The problem that is plauging newspapers is really changing times.
We not longer use the telegraph or the pony express do we? Of course not. We have found better, faster and cheaper methods to communicate. However, Western Union got into money transfering and is still around. The Pony Express did not adapt or find a news business model. It's gone for good.
What's a newspaper to do? They need to change. For example, The New York Times has had a digital edition for years that people subscribe to. It has information and an interface that cannot be found through the web. Newspapers need to provide people content in these digital editions that cannot be found on the website. If people are paying they expect a little more. Another option is putting newspapers on e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle or the Iliad. Also,newspapers could create a product that could be used and subscribed to from a cell phone.
Overall, I feel sorry for the people who put these newspapers together. These folks (from the editors to the reporters to the press people) work long hours to put their product together. They have families to support The problem isn't the content. It's the format it's placed.
In the end, I hope someone does buy the RMN and looks at ways the product can be retooled. The media, journalism, the public and folks who make their money in this industry depends on it.
December 5, 2008
11:34 a.m.
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meatwad writes:
In truth, conservatives need liberal media as liberals need conservative media. Otherwise we'd never know the criticisms against each other. Unless you're too insecure to read both sides, which would lead to a bunch of uninformed sheep....oh wait.
December 5, 2008
11:55 a.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
I would LOVE to see Rupert take over this paper and bring good conservative and traditional values back to this state and do away with this nonsense about abnormal things like gay marriage.
December 5, 2008
11:59 a.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
Actually, the very best part of this story will be watching the long-haired leftist Mike Littwin getting a minimum wage job fetching coffee for the Colorado Democratic Party. Either that or writing press releases for Tim Gill. Which is about the same thing.
December 5, 2008
12:01 p.m.
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JonBen writes:
I can't believe - excuse me, I CAN believe but am still disgusted by - all the vile, sarcastic comments this story has engendered. The Rocky Mountain News has been in print since 1859. Thousands of people work for it or its suppliers, and this announcement coming a few weeks before Christmas must be agonizing for them.
Some of you commenters should "do unto others as you'd have them do unto you" and take a moment to use your head and your heart before you write your drivel.
The Rocky and the Post are both victims - as much other mainstream media - of changing habits and markets. The Rocky is a terrific newspaper - not perfect, of course, but a damn good paper! - and this is a terrible situation for it, for its employees and contractors, for its readers, and for the entire Rocky Mountain west. I hope a buyer is found!
December 5, 2008
12:09 p.m.
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rage_against_the_stupid writes:
Wow you lefties are sensitive, the archaic and liberal RNM goes down and we are suddenly slipping into a totalitarian state. The right has been left out of the information cycle for decades. We found ways of getting our voices heard through radio and grass root organizations. That was it!
So don't complain to us about lack of exposure; just pick up your Denver Compost, turn on the TV, go to any university or college, visit the library, watch a movie, go see a play, visit a public school and get all the left wing drivel you can handle.
December 5, 2008
12:15 p.m.
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Maple writes:
Here here, JonBen. Many of these comments are disgusting and disrespectful.
December 5, 2008
12:19 p.m.
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Wak_Em writes:
Liberal - the NRA is bad because they fight for some parts of the constitution, the ACLU is good because they fight for some parts of the constitution.
December 5, 2008
12:20 p.m.
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Wak_Em writes:
Of course the ACLU lawyer does not think this is a big deal, his side won.
December 5, 2008
12:28 p.m.
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ptorres writes:
Sorry to see the News being sold. As for Papers I would better if the Post were in trouble so David Migoya the snake bitter would loss his job. Good luck families of the News staff
December 5, 2008
12:36 p.m.
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Withheld_99 writes:
Newspapers are rapidly becoming an anachronism. With TV and the internet showing news as it happens, and also showing rational commentary from all parts of the spectrum, why would anyone want to pay money for yesterday's news and one-sided commentary? I'm sorry, Rocky, your time has come and gone.
December 5, 2008
12:56 p.m.
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Alistexp6121 writes:
Well spoken, Withheld. I'm thinking of the poor trees and the energy it takes to run the presses, being sacrificed every day to put out a single edition. Then I get REALLY agitated when I stop to think about the amount of advertisements in the paper, and it makes me want to cancel our subscription, but my husband likes to hold the paper in his hands. I'm sorry for the good, honest (no matter WHICH side they're on) reporters and workers who just want to make a living.
December 5, 2008
1:02 p.m.
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bluecollarbytes writes:
Having thrown the RMN for 7 years, it was with a bit of pity laced with nostalgia that I finally signed up again earlier this year for weekend delivery of the paper. They line my drive in bunches till I need to reline parrot cages. I apologize for my part in the paper's failure. forgive me
December 5, 2008
1:21 p.m.
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BcdErick writes:
This is the ultimate in "what goes around, comes around." Left liberal opinions are mostly dead wrong yet newspapers like this one and many others fiercely tried to defy reality and impose their loony ideology on the rest of us. And where it matters, in their wallets, people have finally figured that out. They get news on their own because papers like the Rocky Mountain News failed them miserably. On the bright side, I hear Wal-Mart is hiring.
December 5, 2008
1:39 p.m.
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Edav38 writes:
I'll buy it for $100, that is all the entire LIBERAL Rag is worth.
And in One Year I will turn it around, and have it selling More than the Denver Post, because ALL Sides of the issues will be Voiced, instead of Only the Communistic-Liberal side!
December 5, 2008
1:44 p.m.
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ES347 writes:
SAVE the Rocky! Some of the best TV is on public television, why not a public newspaper? The Rocky Mountain News could (and should) be one of the best newspapers in the world. The people of Denver and Colorado should see it as a matter of civic pride that we preserve our oldest institution. Local newspapers (in their intended form) are a cornerstone of healthy democracy, and cover MANY aspects our lives that other forms of media do not. Left or right, we all lose if the RMN ceases to exist.
December 5, 2008
1:52 p.m.
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Edav38 writes:
Yes, Here Here, JonBen, Cause being Politically Correct ever got anyone anywhere, and if you are Not Nice, instead of being Honest (which ain't always NICE), then you must be a Mean Hateful Conservative.......
The Sad Truth of the matter, no matter how Harsh it is, is that The RMN has brought this upon themselves, because they, like Every Single Other paper that is on the chopping block, has IGNORED Reporting the NEWS and Reported ONLY the Liberal Slant.
That is not a Hateful or UnKind point of view, that is an Honest point of view, when a Paper becomes known for giving Only One Side of a story, then they are No Longer a NEWS Organization, they are now an OPINION Journal. There IS a Difference.
Looking at the Voting for president in Colorado this year, it Shows that the RMN and the Post are ONLY interested in reporting the Left side of the Opinions, and NOT the NEWS itself, because Colorado is Easily 40% (that is about 1.8 MILLION Coloradans) Conservative, and since No News organization in the state is willing to report from Their Side, that means they Do Not Represent the state.
They have brought this on themselves, Regardless of what time of the year it is.
December 5, 2008
1:54 p.m.
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kenharper writes:
It's just like being in Fallujah, just saying.
Peace to all my brothers and sisters up in The Rocky!
k
December 5, 2008
2 p.m.
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franksolich writes:
There's no need for the demise of the print media, other than that the past two, three, generations, one newspaper's become just like another newspaper.
There's nothing special, nothing distinguishing, about big-city newspapers, as they all hawk the same wares, the Democrat-liberal-primitive party-line.
The "market"'s oversaturated with this product.
One recalls that the heyday of the Denver Post was when the Post was rock-ribbed conservative, competing with the liberal Rocky Mountain News. Well, the Denver Post nowadays is about as liberal as one can get, giving Denverites the choice between two ultra-liberal newspapers, and no other product.
Cornflakes and cornflakes.
One suspects that if a new owner of the Rocky Mountain News began offering a different perspective, a different "take," and more-accurately balanced news, the market would snap it up.
There's no need for the historic Rocky Mountain News to go under; all that's needed is to offer a product different from what's offered in most big cities. Something new, something distinctive.
December 5, 2008
2:11 p.m.
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easy writes:
WHAT????!!!!!!!
Now where are all the (d)ouchebags who lurk around here spreading their pseudo intellectucal BS going to hang out? Aw, too bad for all the right-wing nutjobs who call this place home. It must be like being kicked out on the street for you guys.
If you need a shoulder to cry on ... that's lame. B/C as I've learned from all of you, having sympathy or emotions or thoughtful responses to the world is for commie, pinko terrorists.
December 5, 2008
2:58 p.m.
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Willy writes:
easy writes:
WHAT????!!!!!!!
Now where are all the (d)ouchebags who lurk around here spreading their pseudo intellectucal BS going to hang out? Aw, too bad for all the right-wing nutjobs and left wing whackos who call this place home. It must be like being kicked out on the street for you guys.
fixed it for you easy :)
December 5, 2008
3:23 p.m.
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me2 writes:
Please stop picking on the conservatives, the imagined demise of a supposed liberal newspaper, is all they may have to hold to their cold little hearts.
If you were a conservative, wouldn't you think, "ah ha, we showed them?"
Can't win an election, but by Goddess we can destroy a newspaper who dares to print Littwin, Stein and Tina.
So until we hear more, I mean no one is jumping to conclusions here, right? let the celebration be held off.
Gloating before winning is what the RNC did, and look what that got them.
December 5, 2008
3:26 p.m.
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bluecollarbytes writes:
Again, this paper's demise has to do with the internet, the current economic conditions, etc. The day will probably come when all papers are gone or consumed by google ads. What are the chances of an internet-only RMN? I bet an operation like that might work although with a couple dozen employees.
For the record, RMN has always been my favorite paper here, but the internet presents news of the entire world now through the individual 'portal' of my laptop.
The demise of print could work out, creating "citizen journalists" for real, filling the gaps. But don't count on it. News is a business, with daily hourly obligations, overhead, and employees. Left to casual participants who fancy a title, I don't expect much.
December 5, 2008
3:42 p.m.
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Horvil_Tiki writes:
Hey guy. I just sorry to see the denver bronco news people guy maybe not have job. especiate in holliday time.
December 5, 2008
3:54 p.m.
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Blktailhunter writes:
I say let the RMP and the other 30 struggling newspapers go under. Unbiased reporting ended in 2008 when the media decided to blatantly back one presidential candidate and ignore associations that should have prevented him from even being his party's nominee. The print media is dead. RIP.
December 5, 2008
3:56 p.m.
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shoulder2shoulder writes:
Love it!!! Looks like defending every illegal immigrant/criminal wasn't such a good business move!! hahaha
December 5, 2008
3:59 p.m.
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BroncoRick69 writes:
This isn't a political discussion. It's too bad some of you took the opportunity to try to make it that. Get over yourselves. Simply put, those of us that have lived in Colorado for all, or the majority of our lives have enjoyed reading The Rocky Mountain News for as long as we have been around. It has helped us to have an identity that everyone was unsure of, but one thing was sure, and that was that The Rocky Mountains were there and this was Denver's newspaper. It's easier to read with the tabloid format. The Denver Post always gets spread out and tossed around. Not good for solo breakfasts. You could just pick it up and go. Anyway....I hope this isn't the end for the News.
December 5, 2008
4:13 p.m.
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bugmenot writes:
Much is being made of the decision to sell The Rocky Mountain News. It is an unfortunate decision, but one that must be made because the management of the newspaper chose to pursue an anti-American agenda instead of being objective, moral, and ethical.
Thank you for your time.
http://theoutlander.19.forumer.com/in...
December 5, 2008
4:59 p.m.
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jadeus writes:
I love how the easily influenced by media types (liberals) keep making statements like the "few" conservatives who boycotted the news paper or the "minority" who still listen to AM radio. Wasn't it like eight years ago that the Democratic Party couldn't get a donkey into office? Now since the "media" election of 2008 they think they run the world. Unfortunately, we will all learn that in the last eight years the Democratic Party STILL has no platform. Their political ideology is this - opposite what the republicans say. We smart conservatives say what exactly is opposite of Bush. They dumb easily influenced by media types say CHANGE...DUHHH. We say umm ok, what change? They say NOT Bush type change. We say which is... Give them four years and these liberals will need the conservatives to tell them what to do. BTW - keep up the good work putting the media in its place republicans. The biased coverage this election cycle "killed media". Boycott these guys and watch them fall. They will learn that the majority who elected BUSH is more then just a FEW people and this bias has consequences.
December 5, 2008
5:20 p.m.
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Solarslim writes:
First the Town Crier and now newsprint. I gave up on home delivery ten years ago because it had become unreliable; late, stolen, wet or simply not delivered. Then I discovered that you didn't have to be satisfied with a few columns of print biased or not. With the internet you could read several versions of the same story, do some research on the subject and come out having a much better idea of what actually happened. I also discovered that there truly is bias. I miss Gene Amole, I'll never miss the RMN.
December 5, 2008
5:28 p.m.
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slocatch writes:
Hey Mike Littwin, if you were as great as you think you are this would not be happening. You need a soda for sure.
December 5, 2008
5:35 p.m.
Suggest removal
Jordan5 writes:
Malis -- You asked for info about a straight right paper. The Oklahoman, out of Oklahoma City, is a very conservative paper. It is also a bad paper, not because it is conservative (so am I), but simply because it is a bad paper. (Few people in Oklahoma City would contest my opinion about the paper.) It has always, however, been a very profitable paper. Apparently it no longer is.
December 5, 2008
8:12 p.m.
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avgjoe writes:
When you became a political liberal biased newspaper, what did you expect would happen? The funny thing is that the RMN thinks they are unbiased, see where denial gets you. You alienate half your readers who no longer see the advertisements to buy products from your customers. Print media is dead and everything you need is on the internet where you can access it faster with more information. Oh by the way, don’t worry about the liberal Denver Post being the only paper in town because they’re on their way out too.
December 5, 2008
9:51 p.m.
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me2 writes:
Wow, where ever did I get the idea that conservatives are dancing on the grave of this supposed liberal paper? Could it have been from this thread, and fredaBorden is a great example.
After 14 years with them I pretty much know what happened but it is making the conservatives so happy, this sale, that I won't try like the others to show them that it is next to impossible to find people to deliver 100 to 200, 4 pound papers every Sunday, and work 7 days a week for pennies per paper, and no gas allowance. But what the hell do I know, when you all know it so much better.
No benefits, low tips, and they have to pay for the bags and rubber bands, as well as paying for the bookkeeping services that do their paychecks. I will bet not one of you here knew these little inside details. Plus the cost on commercial instead of regular insurance on the cars that keep breaking down or having flat tires, and the tickets for driving on the wrong side of residentual streets early in the morning.
But you experts carry on, do tell us all why the papers are dying. Something to do with not catering to your far right opinions, wasn't it?
December 5, 2008
10:15 p.m.
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Who_Me writes:
Wrongo, me2. Aside from being a DM, I was a carrier for 10 years. Last route was actually two routes, 560 papers on Sunday, fortunately all houses (this time). Had two three-story outside steps apartment routes in the 97 blizzard. Next to impossible is trying to fill the apartment routes in Glendale. What's your point? Circulation cost is the same for both since the JOA.
December 5, 2008
10:26 p.m.
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ColoradoNative writes:
If I had the money I'd buy it and ideologically purge it. This city has way too much liberal media. Its a literal monopoly.
December 5, 2008
10:35 p.m.
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peterpi writes:
Put Rush Limbaugh and Bill "Christmas is dead unless department stores validate it" O'Reilly on all cable channels 24/7, put them and only them in every newspaper still standing and the conservative jackasses here would love it. The rest of us would be starved for real news.
Oh! and block the Internet in the US from running any liberal news. Chuck Colson would be the arbiter of what is liberal or not.
You guys and gals wouldn't know real news if a Fox remote truck ran over it repeatedly.
December 5, 2008
11:04 p.m.
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Frank25 writes:
So many of you lament going to a one paper town. Westword will still be published, and Aurora Sentinel will give you all the leftist stuff you could ever hope for. I have had a subscription to both papers since I retired, and worked as volunteer officer in several veterans and seniors organizations. Both Denver papers sold their validity in 2006 and more so in 2008. I continued to receive both papers, so I could research and answer members questions. Veterans have been working for new VAMC since 1994 when Lowry closed, and we could see that Fitzsimons Army Medical Center would close. But with 3 secretaries of VA we are still hung up even after congress agreed and funded building, plans received in Jan 08, and now we face new administration with new secretary. I have met and worked with colorado delegation and colorado represenatives and senators, and you can believe the papers were fair, but my opinion is newspapers, television, and radio sold their souls to DNC long time ago. I planned to cancel both subscriptions when they run out in January, but this takes away my reason. I still will not renew. And I am unaffiliated voter, having been a member of both parties in my lifetime. At 79, both parties now have platforms that do not conform to their base 20 years ago. And fixed bloggers do not help, except they can be recognized since they spout same crap that Randi Rhodes and Al Francken, James Carville, Bob Beckel, Paul Begalo do. Over and over and over again. Even Randi got too obscene for Air America, and now works for Nova (parent company). Female Howard Stern with uncontrolled verbiage.
December 6, 2008
2:48 a.m.
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Brkn_hrtd_jrnlst writes:
Politics aside, what compels some of you to write such venomous things about the Rocky?
I graduated in May from Metro State in Denver with a degree in journalism, at which time I was lucky enough to snag a job at The Greeley Tribune. Five months later, I'm among several others at the paper who have been laid off due to budget cuts.
And let me tell you, with the holidays right around the corner, it feels swell to wake up and know I have no way to pay my bills, let alone buy gifts for my friends and family.
To those of you writing hateful things about the Rocky, why rub salt in the wounds of people who are suffering? Did you ever stop to think that many of the employees have little to no say in the editorial content? The publisher, columnists and editorial board? Sure. But what about the copy editors, graphic designers, those maintaining the web site, printing press operators, mail room workers, distributors, security, janitorial and maintenance services?
Do they deserve what's coming to them too?
The truth of the matter is that many of these people, whether or not they're journalists, will have to sweat this thing out instead of enjoying their holiday. And for some, losing this job will be far more than an inconvenience. It will mean a strain on their family, their finances and even their health.
I just wish those of you hurling insults through the safety of your computer screens could show a little compassion for others, especially given the time of year.
December 6, 2008
7:08 a.m.
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DisplacedColoradoan writes:
I think when all is said and done, America will realize that liberal media bias, particularly by the RMN, was the cause of our current global economic meltdown.
If the media, and the RMN in particular, had just toed the conservative line, we could have averted this crisis. It's really not American's faults they were leveraging themselves to the hilt with exotic mortgages (if you can really call zero-down mortgages "leveraged") that contained not-so-hidden increases in interest rates and payments in the future. It was all the liberal media's fault and their criticism of the Bush administration.
The Wall Street Journal always warned of the dangers of these mortgages, and were *especially* critical of the practice of pooling these and other "assets" together and selling them as bonds, while hedging against default risk by purchasing default swaps. And because of fiscally responsible conservative leadership like that provided by the investigative reporting of the Wall Street Journal and other pillars of the Conservative Pantheon (O'Really, Lamebug, and Insanity) we have stable, crisis-free, and well functioning capital markets led by wonderful banks and outrageously profitable investment banks like Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley.
Yes, this "mental recession" we're all in is the fault of the liberal media.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to Circuit City to get that 52" HDTV I need. Where's that WaMu credit card?
December 6, 2008
7:48 a.m.
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geezey writes:
The writers like Litwin will join their like-minded friends in the leaky lifeboat at the Post and their collective intellectual dead weight will quickly sink that fishwrapper as well. Odds are better than 50-50 that the final edition of both papers will be printed in spanish as a tribute to the only true constituency of either paper-the illegal immigrant community that most of their writers and editors spend so much time protecting.
December 6, 2008
8:18 a.m.
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gary writes:
It might be different...if there really was two newspapers in Denver. But there has not been for many years. They both belong to the Denver News Agency. One or both of them need to go. What is needed is a newspaper that reports unbiased news. This has not been done for many years in Denver.
Yes, the numerous posts point out that bias of the newspapers.
It is real and it is one of the leading reasons why the RMN will not last.
"you people don't like the Rocky Mountain News, why are you here?
I guess you can't see the irony."
Posted by someone that can not see the forest because of a tree!
Nuff Said!
December 6, 2008
9:12 a.m.
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pfwag writes:
Replace all the high priced management, reporters, editorial writers, and cartoonists with low cost illegal aliens and the RMN will be in the black.
December 6, 2008
9:17 a.m.
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mytwosense writes:
I truly wish the best for RMN and its writers. While I'm not a rightwinger, I've always read this paper instead of the Post for several reasons:
- More thorough coverage of local issues
- An attention to animal interest stories
- Mike Littwin, Bill Scanlon, Vincent Carroll (although I profoundly disagree with much of his politics), Tina Griego, Jason Salzman
- A physical layout that makes handling the paper much easier as I read through it than the traditional newspaper layout
- My fellow peanut gallery members on the Internet version!
Also, I've had occasion to contact the RMN and the Post over the years on a few different occasions, for both professional and personal reasons. By far, the RMN's news editors and reporters are MUCH more responsive than the Post's.
December 6, 2008
10:15 a.m.
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peterpi writes:
I thought I wrote something similar before, but it doesn't seem to be here.
Freda and others (you know who you are), regarding BrknHrtd? How dare s/he question your compassion? I'll tell you how dare s/he!
I have never seen such a bunch of venal, mean-spirited crap in a long time. A 150-year-old institution is dying, and you laugh as the grave is dug and spit on the people currently employed there. People with kids in college, mortgages to pay, and you say throw 'em in the garbage, they're liberal scum.
Vincent Carroll isn't liberal scum. Maybe he wasn't far enough right of Atilla the Hun for you all. Maybe he actually knew how to think, and saw the world as complex. But nope. Throw him to the breadlines and fleabag hotels!
Mike Littwin? Bill Johnson? They're human beings too. Tina Griego? I suspect you all despise her because her name isn't Trish Green.
Get this straight: Conservative local papers are going under also. It has everything to do with "I want it now" news, technology, and probably some bad business decision-making. It has nothing to do with liberalism.
If people in this country truly thought liberalism was Godawful, we wouldn't have a Democratic president-elect, a Democratic Congress, and the majority of governors Democratic. If people in this state thought liberalism was Godawful, we wouldn't have a Democratic governor, Democratic legislature and Amendment 48 would be law.
Jesus of Nazareth was a liberal. So were his earliest disciples.
I hope Santa dumps a ton of coal mine waste -- not the coal -- into your holiday stockings.
And thank you, BrknHrtd.
December 6, 2008
10:18 a.m.
Suggest removal
pprdude writes:
You all will miss this way to have your dribble(opinion) post. Do you think the Pest will care what you have to say?
December 6, 2008
10:25 a.m.
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mytwosense writes:
I just don't see how any rational person could conclude the RMN is a liberal newspaper. Only a poster who belongs to the far, far right could believe this, and there is no use trying to reason with them.
"Liberals" is their all-purpose boogeyman for every perceived ill they see in the world. This is so entrenched in their thinking it would be an insurmountable mental effort on their part to even entertain other explanations.
The funny thing is, they complain non-stop about bias, yet base this on the fact that the RMN employs some liberal opinion columnists. If the RMN only published far rightwing opinions, I guess they wouldn't consider it a "biased" paper anymore. Makes no sense, but then, what does in the far rightwing rabbit hole?
December 6, 2008
10:45 a.m.
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davehughes writes:
I am amazed, after reading all 254 comments above how few posters understand why, not only the Rocky Mountain News, but why virtually every large city newspaper is in financial trouble. The LEAST of their problem is their political slant.
Its pretty simple high-school economics. Older people get the ‘news’ 24/7 from cable television, and younger people get it from the Internet. Who needs ‘newspapers’ now for the ‘news?’
A huge portion of necessary revenue for newspapers comes from Advertising, not from ‘subscriptions’ both of which have also declined greatly from the competition by both cable and internet marketing.
And the costs – for newsprint, production, distribution – home or office delivery – has skyrocketed since I was a paper boy delivering the RMN at 4AM in Denver around Cheesman Park on my bicycle in 1940. Happy to earn about $10 a week. While my delivery paperman here, has to drive a car, and get more than that an hour.
Whatever else ‘newspapers’ are, they are hard headed businesses. Expected to make a profit for their owners. When their income is less than their costs, they sell or shut down. Very, very few individuals or companies are willing to subsidize – losing millions a month – just for the ‘love of journalism.’
Big and medium sized city print newspapering is dead. Someone above said it would be a calamity if the New York Times/Washington Post failed. THEY ARE FAILING. The Post just laid off 100 from their news staff. The Christian Science Monitor has just stopped weekly print production and is going entirely online. So has, I believe US News & World Report is going only online also.
Now here is the rub. The ONLY way traditional news reporting and editorial opinion distribution is going to survive is to adapt to the Internet and be coupled with Cable. Believe it or not, the Rocky Mountain News made a valiant try several years ago by creating the online HUB service. Which they call ‘citizen journalism’ – letting you post, within very broad limits, anything your heart desires. Hoping to attract online enough readers that enough will see and react to the ads they sell for online display, to justify their much lowered costs. And start to make a profit from that ‘extension’ of their print paper. And then weekly, by neighborhoods, putting a HUB insert containing the best and illustrated pieces, inside the delivered RMN.
The Colorado Springs Gazette which is, in spite of being very conservative, is losing out, declining circulation, laying off staff, producing a smaller daily, spent about $500,000 buying the Southern Colorado rights to the RMN developed HUB. They even took 10 reporters off print reporting, to manage the HUB and recruit local people to write ‘citizen journalism’ pieces, mainly though not entirely, ‘local’ stories.
December 6, 2008
10:46 a.m.
Suggest removal
davehughes writes:
I have intensely, after being asked over a year ago written for the Gazette’s HUB. Over 100 pieces, that really gets read, both online, and in the weekly print HUB (because I am a hell of a writer who has lived a long life and have plenty to say). And have been online, world wide from before many of their reporters were born – 1979. I have read millions of words online and produced millions of my own. I have seen it all.
BUT, neither the Gazette nor RMN get it! They still – at the management AND editorial AND reporter level still think and act like print newspapermen. And their software is poor, no matter how much they paid for it.
First of all, the conceit of ‘citizen journalism’ is a non sequiter. It is ‘citizen reporting’ or ‘writing’ – just like you who have posted here 250+ times, although more formal, with photos or graphics. It is NOT Journalism. It does not abide by the journalistic rules every trained reporter and editor has had to learn – learning from and quoting only from credible multiple sources, editing by an editor who also assigns, questions, and reviews the first cut by the reporter before releasing it.
Now the sad thing is, there is NO REASON why the same journalistic method could not be put online as readily as in print.
But if really good reporting/editing is being done by paid staff, management has to really consider where sufficient income will come from. Either it has to come from so many people willing to log on and read the news stories AND be exposed to the online paid Advertising, OR the online version has to be paid Subscription only, OR both. I don’t get reports that the Wall Street Journal is about to be shut down. You have to have a subscription to read it online.
Its astonishing to me the management of large city papers haven’t changed their business model in that direction enough. The HUB just doesn’t cut the mustard. There are NO reporters OR editors in there.
December 6, 2008
10:47 a.m.
Suggest removal
davehughes writes:
In fact another shortcoming the online HUB like operations show is that such ‘comments’ streams such as this one, DO NOT HAVE A WISE MODERATOR.
Oh yeah, it has a behind the scenes someone who deletes bad entries or ones complained about, but it just lets the public babble. So it does NOT become, if there is a skilled moderator online (and any editor, reporter or manager worth his salt is capable of moderating a discussion online just as they do in a room full of people.
Litwin or Carrol are both quite capable or moderating, asynchronously this stream of comments. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see, among the comments by everybody talking to themselves, comments by the RMN that correct statements, or illuminate with some facts, or render THEIR opinion on what is being said.
We learned how to do that in person in the New England Town Halls of the 1700s. I don’t know why we forget it online now.
Now there is NO REASON the Rocky Mountain News or the Gazette Telegraph could not (maybe having taken too long to get serious and spend the time and money changing their business model) could not be an Online, Offline, and to some point a print publication. It really is not Rocket Science.
But none are so blind as those who will not see.
But I can guarantee you that there WILL be real journalism AND citizen journalism AND a profit for those who take the financial risk of launching such an enterprise in the future.
And if you haven’t noticed, many ‘neighborhood’ print newspapers are thriving, and growing, and profiting. We have several here in Colorado Springs.
I don’t want to see the Rocky Mountain News - or the Gazette Telegraph - close down or cease all print versions.
And I have advised, gratis, the management, editors, of the Gazette’s HUB. (If I were not fully retired, I would charge them $100,000 for my consulting advise) But they continue to keep doing the same things as they slide downhill. Sad
December 6, 2008
11:02 a.m.
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mytwosense writes:
davehughes, don't you think that the simple fact news is free and instant now - via the Internet - is what is hurting the print medium?
Even television viewership is declining. TV ad revenue is declining, while mobile marketing ads are on the upswing.
Now, I don't think that the Internet will ever completely replace TV and print. But business models for both the latter industries must change in some way, and not just in the realm of transferring over to the Internet. They simply aren't going to make up lost ad revenue through online ads, because there are too many other Internet sites to compete with for advertisers.
Perhaps large-scale print papers and magazines will just die out to some degree, but I believe along with you that we'll see a proliferation of smaller, more locally focused print publications that are less expensive to produce fill that void.
December 6, 2008
12:05 p.m.
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peterpi writes:
Mike Rosen, now THERE'S an unbiased source, ROTFLMAO!
Freda, Mike Littwin writes opinion disguised as opinion. He may think it's cute and clever, you may think it's patronizing and sanctimonious, but he, myself, mytwosense, and others recognize it as opinion.
Mike Rosen writes opinion he thinks is Gospel truth. Rosen, at least in print, has a one-dimensional mindset that conservative always equals good and liberal always equals bad.
Believe me, I have a firm grip on reality.
If you want a dog-eat-dog, show-no-mercy, attack those who are down world go for it.
It's not for me.
December 6, 2008
12:18 p.m.
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mytwosense writes:
peterpi writes: "Mike Rosen, now THERE'S an unbiased source, ROTFLMAO! Freda, Mike Littwin writes opinion disguised as opinion. He may think it's cute and clever, you may think it's patronizing and sanctimonious, but he, myself, mytwosense, and others recognize it as opinion."
Not to mention, his columns are found on the clearly labeled OPINION pages.
As are Mike Rosen's, Dave Koppel's, George Will's, Charles Krauthammer's, Betsy Hart's, and other conservative opinion columnists, both local and syndicated, *in addition to* Vincent Carroll.
But again, you can't reason with people who have such an emotional investment in their own viewpoints that they actually ignore plain-as-day facts.
I mean, seriously... how could a rational person actually accuse a columnist of "masquerading" an opinion piece as a news story...when the piece in question is clearly written in a first-person opinion style AND found in the opinion pages??
December 6, 2008
12:54 p.m.
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redwhiteandBLUE writes:
tiero@4:38
Looks like TG can pack her bags like C.Rodriguez did and
hit the road Jack!
December 6, 2008
1:15 p.m.
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mytwosense writes:
Freda, maybe that is their intention, but not for the reasons you think, which I assume is liberal bias. Almost all news outlets these days run many sensationalist headlines and photos that often misrepresent the articles in question.
The purpose is to create conflict, to get people agitated - because that ups their ratings. People get hooked into stories that feature controversial topics (religion, abortion, immigration, liberalism, conservatives, etc.), especially if they can comment on it, and thus will keep returning to the story to comment more. Ultimately, that's good for the site's ad revenue, because they can claim to advertisers that they are a high-traffic site.
Same with TV news, look how tabloidish that's become with it's scary "action movie" music and rapid-fire graphic images that explode across the screen.
It's crass, it dumbs us all down, and ultimately puts more and more citizens on edge and on alert - against each other.
That's why I take periodic breaks from the RMN online and the Internet in general. And I haven't had cable hooked up for years, which basically means no TV.
December 6, 2008
1:43 p.m.
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qwerty_dave writes:
The LA Times has a similar problem as the RMN. The people who say that it’s too liberal are correct but for the possibly the wrong reasons. It’s not just that the two papers (RMN and DP) are chasing liberals, it’s that liberals have lost and are loosing their ability to read. My guess is that like the LA times there are heart warming stories of the poor and needy (undocumented) and life is hard stories. Basically whining stories. Now who wants to read that except those with problems who can neither pay for a paper or who cannot read? I feel bad for anyone who may loose their job but one has to critically ask themselves everyday what they bring to the table and what skills do they have and what saddens me most is that a large portion of the staff will have real trouble finding jobs. On occasion the LA Times has good story and would track down the facts and would use no embellishment to point out a weasel politician, but that’s infrequent. If the paper fails it maybe dare I say deserving? Sorry
December 6, 2008
1:48 p.m.
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mytwosense writes:
Freda, to give another example of how the media has "conflict bias" - i.e., the setting up of stories where two opponents or sides are pitted against each other, instead of more nuanced, in-depth coverage - harken back to the Palin/Turkey slaughterhouse debacle a few weeks ago.
I saw one article about this with the headline "PETA condemns Palin video." Now, reading that headline, you would immediately think PETA put out a press release "condemning" Palin for choosing that locale as her press interview spot, or for the press to even run it. And, if you hated PETA or Palin, you would then immediately be drawn into the story so you could feed your hate/anger a little by reading it.
Well, the actual statement by PETA was this: "Governor Palin has given Americans a view to a kill, showing that no matter where turkeys are killed, they fight for their lives and struggle in pain as their throats are slit and the blood drains from their bodies."
In other words - thank you Sarah Palin, whether you intentionally meant to or not, for letting clueless people in on what we've been trying to tell them for years.
No condemning of the video or Palin. But, that wouldn't make news, or at least the news outlets must not think so.
And in the case of the church article you cite above, a picture of two people calmly singing a hymn in church probably wouldn't draw as many folks into reading the article - and arguing relentlessly over it - as the more provocative photo did.
So Freda, while you may think I can't separate fact from fiction, I can assure you I can detect sensationalism for the sake of high ratings when I see it. Which means I can actually debate an article on it's real content, rather than it's accompanying photo or headline, which again, is very often misleading and meant to elicit heated debate that will artifically inflate site traffic numbers and bring in more ad revenue.
December 6, 2008
1:52 p.m.
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davehughes writes:
You say, FredaBorden "You cannot see the bias because you feel at the writer level where you are coming from that your comments are fact checked and verified."
MY comments on the HUB are not fact checked or verified. In 2 years having written 120 HUB articles of at least 1,000 words each only ONE time has what I said been blocked - and that from uttering an obscenity.
December 6, 2008
1:58 p.m.
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davehughes writes:
Yes mytwosense, the FREE internet access to the entire paper does hurt the print newspaper.
December 6, 2008
3:33 p.m.
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me2 writes:
I will be sad to see this web site go. It is one of the easiest to post on. While the Denver Post site is clunky, and they keep asking you to sign in, at least the posting is fast.
Anyone here see the actual paper in the last year? On one day our comments here took up half a page. That means the paper got lots of good comments for free.
If you need to feel good to see a newspaper die, so be it. If you realize that, as Dillon said, "The Times, they are a changing", (pun intended), then maybe I will see you on Politico.com or Huffingtonpost.com or one of the other non paper based sites.
Davehuges, what is HUB?
December 6, 2008
4:39 p.m.
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davehughes writes:
me2 - if you go to http://www.cyberjournalist.net/links/...
you will get to the Rocky Mountain News HUB based in Denver.
If you go to
http://coloradosprings.yourhub.com/Ma...
You will read a piece there I posted in March 2007 which is still there "Guess Who Invented Wi-Fi?" which has been read 2853 times - and with comments and a rating attached.
December 6, 2008
4:57 p.m.
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davehughes writes:
The Editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette telegraph and I have been going round on what the GT could do to make that 'transition' to the Internet/Cable culture. I sent him what I posted here earlier. He corrected me on the $500,000 figure I cited for their purchase of rights to the RMN Hub. He says 'lots lower than that' Maybe half the price.
But as I said, that software is poor. Done by techies who do not know how people communicate. Just machines. Its good for posting stories with graphics. But lousy in its support of commentary.
But I learned today, the Gazette - which serves about half million in El Paso County has been listening, and is moving rapidly to move everything to its own servers (the HUB servers are owned by the RMN and are in Denver), and WILL do many of the things I have been talking about - interactive reporters, opinion writers, with the public, as well as 'the news' and space for commentary or discussions by outsiders.
But as he says, 80% of their revenue STILL comes from the paper news, even though subscriptions and advertising is losing ground while the online is only ramping up slowly. They know the future. And unlike the RMN, they are still profitable, so have time to make the change to a new business model.
And for you starving for conservative news and opinion- the Gazette is quite conservative, reflecting conservative Colorado Springs. So you who are starved, maybe should buy a gazette subscription, which will be the only such voice in Denver.
December 6, 2008
7:15 p.m.
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qwerty_dave writes:
davehughes it appears that you are very active by now most people have stopped looking and blogging this issue (problem if you are an engineer or technician). Sadly most of the RMN staff will be asking not “Do you want fries with that?” but “Do you want to supersize it?” It’s a new version of a bad joke. (Mike Rosen told in the late 1980’s) At one time a reporter would act like Joe Friday just the facts, would interpret the facts and make a decision, and report the facts with little embellishment. Back to whom? Those who cared to pick up and could read the answer. Text is a version of communication and black and white is as well. Focus on realty and not speculation (hard facts intermittent). Lead, follow or lose you career (job) Sorry Dave
December 6, 2008
8:28 p.m.
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mooncuz writes:
The RMN is my favorite newspaper. If I could afford it, I'd buy it.
December 6, 2008
8:29 p.m.
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FlyingPenPress writes:
Flying Pen Press is a Denver-based book publisher in its second year of business, and it is growing. We need editors and writers (part-time, full-time, stringers), and while I would wish the staff of the Rocky Mountain News all the best with hopes for many successful years to come, I'd be remiss not to say I'd like to hear from those on the RMN staff who feel compelled to shop their resumes around.
Our website, to learn more, is www.FlyingPenPress.com. My email is Publsiher@FlyingPenPress.com.
David Rozansky
Publisher
Flying Pen Press
December 7, 2008
6:49 p.m.
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AbleGoodman writes:
It is a shame that censorship is alive and well in the comments section. I read the section to get a feel for the pulse of the general readership. Even really stupid and offensive comments are preferable to deleted comments. As a free speech absolutist, censors never impress me. And political correctness should be illegal and carry a death penalty.
The Internet is changing the news paradigm. Ultimately, that's probably more good than bad.
In the meantime, it's sad for the people who will lose their jobs.
December 7, 2008
7:26 p.m.
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DiogenesTheCynic writes:
If you nuts think the RMN is a "liberal rag," you're standing just to the right of Mussolini. But at least your lunatic insistence for a right-wing alternative to literally everything will accelerate your plunge into obscurity. I'd tell you to take Sarah Palin with you but she'll be the one conducting that bullet train to nowhere.
December 8, 2008
12:37 a.m.
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slocatch writes:
Don't know for sure but it had to be Littwin, or Tina's Border Street that did them in.
December 8, 2008
6:45 a.m.
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davehughes writes:
The RMN is not the only thing....several stories from the Wall Street Journal. One quote
"More startling over the past year has been the collapse of the New York Times (NYT). The New York Times Company has a $400 million debt payment due in five months, and management has not yet explained how it plans to meet this. The company is nearly out of cash, its operations are now burning cash, and its attempts to sell assets have, so far, been unsuccessful."
December 8, 2008
6:49 a.m.
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davehughes writes:
And....
"WASHINGTON — Media giant Tribune Co., saddled with billions in debt since it became a privately held company last year, has hired bankruptcy advisers, according to its flagship newspaper, the Chicago Tribune.
The Chicago-based company owns a coast-to-coast empire with television stations and newspapers in most of the nation's largest cities. Its holdings include the Los Angeles Times; cable-television superstation WGN in Chicago; the Baltimore Sun; and WDCW-50 in Washington, the CW affiliate. The company also owns the Chicago Cubs. "
December 8, 2008
11:01 a.m.
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Oh_Wise_One writes:
TheCaptain- I agree. But that is too much common sense for people like titancain and his closed mind to grasp.