Journalists at Rocky launch Web site in effort to save paper

By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 15, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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December 15, 2008

2:04 a.m.

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p_myers661 writes:

I have been a reader of the Rocky for over fifty years. In that time I have also taught three nephews, a step son and now a granddaughter how to enjoy a paper.

Were the Rocky to exhibit real journalism where the news is reported instead of being bent to shade its meanings to match what a particular reporter wants to tell the world, I would be sad to see it die.

It's already dead. The DNA killed it years ago and Craig's List wrote the eulogy before refusing to pay for the funeral.

Perhaps Rupert would be interested in trying to revive the genre and innovate the newspaper business with a better advertising model. That is why the paper is dead. Ad revenue is down.

The lack of any real journalism, and there are few good journalists still in the business nationwide today, means that we have almost no chance to save the paper.

Check out the classifieds before the final edition. Those journalists who offer something people find of value will survive and grow. Independent newsletters are quite popular. The rest...I hear telemarketing firms are still hiring.
December 15, 2008

8:18 a.m.

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teblackman writes:

The day the two Denver papers 'merged', I cancelled my home subscription. I haven't renewed it since. They killed the Sunday edition and this is probably the biggest factor in the continued decline in the paper. Why would you get a paper during the week, only to switch to the other for the Sunday edition?
I liked the Rocky and use the online version but apparently the Denver area can't afford two papers. Anyways, the internet is a far superior way to get news plus I don't have to figure out how to recycle the paper. I am somewhat sad since the Post has a more distinct liberal slant.
Scripps screwed up anyways. Why would you run a money losing operation and not try to fix it? They didn't even try to reduce staff and cut costs. They couldn't compete with the Post on ads or subscription rates because of the 'merger' of operations. The only way to compete was content and internal costs. They didn't even try to compete. They are merely pretending to try to sell it before they close it down.
December 15, 2008

8:31 a.m.

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Dub writes:

How many of the RMN employees are unionized? Perhaps that is a big part of the answer. Another part is the fact that "reporters" weren't reporting, and doing background work,They were doing opinion pieces and people like me were insulted by their infantile attempts at shaping the "news" to fit their political and social views.
December 15, 2008

8:41 a.m.

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oofda writes:

amazing, all of you noted the problem i have with paying for a newspaper that doesnt respect it readers. Instead of trying to be the news you should be reporting it factually. your liberal leaning does not speak to the majority either. try a real novelty in the reporting world and become conservative. I will return to a subscription then.
December 15, 2008

8:55 a.m.

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Marshdale writes:

Quit blamming unions. Those of you who hate unions will rue the day that they are gone. They are the driving force that keeps bennefits in place even for non union workers. You union haters need to understand that their lobby in Washington also fights for you as well.
December 15, 2008

9:06 a.m.

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timeandagain writes:

Maybe Trina Griego will be forced to get a real job...?
December 15, 2008

9:15 a.m.

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Oh_Wise_One writes:

I have no sympathy for Mike Littwin. Good luck finding a real job.
December 15, 2008

9:38 a.m.

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cterryr2 writes:

Let it die! Make the way for new better change!
December 15, 2008

10:15 a.m.

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Scott writes:

I am vehemently anti-union, but in the RMN's case it is lousy writing, biased journalism and outrageous rates for classified ads that killed it. NOT THE UNIONS this time.

That's right I used the past tense, killed. The body is still flopping around not yet aware that the brain is dead. I too hope that someone like Rupert comes in and raises the RMN from the dead.

Maybe Tina Griego, Ed Stein and Mike Littwin can get jobs as propaganda ministers for the Daily Commie, err I mean Camera. ;-)

Scott
December 15, 2008

10:55 a.m.

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SteveM writes:

All newspapers are in trouble as people move to getting their news instantaneously, reading only pages they want, not flipping through pages of ads, and so on, on the Internet.

The RMN has vastly improved since it's original days and KKK marred historical founding.

The thing to remember is what is says about the economy of our town. Great cities have more than one big newspaper. To lose the dueling voices is a sign that our city is shrinking in relevancy. This happened not that long ago in Detroit when its two dailies merged.

The problem is that competition (which the Republicans stress is pure capitalism at its best) is costly. The purpose of it, as they will admit, is to drive the weaker entities out of business, which, ironically, ends competition. And the end of competition, is always followed with a drastic rise in profit and, therefore, profitability. But this is the way of the Darwinian Capitalists which emphasize the survival of the fittest. Sadly, we now know that, biologically speaking, "survival of the fittest" was way over-emphasized by Darwin. Instead, we now know that it is the co-operation and interdependency of organisms that rules their survival chances. The sooner our political and economic ideologies catch up with our biological knowledge the better because we are now witnessing the aftermath on a grandiose scale of "survival of the fittest" ideology run amok.
December 15, 2008

11:37 a.m.

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MereMortal writes:

The charade we have endured since the merger is coming to an end. Newspapers are dying off because they are outmoded. I feel sorry for the printers and delivery people and other staff. The writers still have opportunities, but they will have to adjust to the new world of news dissemination. This is change you can believe in! Heh.
December 15, 2008

11:39 a.m.

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taylor777 writes:

The Post won the newspaper wars and not my business. I tried the Rocky during the week and Post on the weekend but it wasn't working for me. Liked the Rocky best and canceled the whole paper as I strongly disagree with the editorial front page writings of the Post; as if its news? Have loved the Rocky Mtn News since 1983. If it is good-bye, at least I will not have to read another Littwin piece. Newspapers all over are in trouble and will be forced to go online for news or read the Post...OK, will go on-line.
December 15, 2008

11:46 a.m.

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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:

Try posting a comment that is anti-Littwin or anti-Stein over at this news website called Iwantmyrocky - it is never posted.
December 15, 2008

11:53 a.m.

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Scott writes:

Slouching,

I went over to it and read some of the posting. That site is a lib love fest. And Littwin, Stein, et al, wonder why the RMN died.

Scott
December 15, 2008

12:02 p.m.

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Deckert writes:

I'm sorry to see the Rocky go. However, I too never renewed my subscription after the JOA... I do not like the Post nor it's broadsheet format. Like others, I detest the the left wing bias of the Rocky's opinion writers... Griego and Litwin are, frankly, terrible. I know they will deny any bias and feel self-justified... fine, but how's that workin' for ya at the back of the unemployment line there sport? If the Post picks up these jokers, it will likely hasten their own demise.

I used to be a newspaper junkie and read at least three everyday, but the world's changed and the Rocky hasn't changed with it. Perhaps no newspaper could. But does it "deserve" to live? No, no more than GM or any other business that fails to change with the times.

Universally, journalists at all levels and in all media (re:local TV news... cripes what a lot of self-promoting, egotistical assholes!) have failed to place the needs of their readers before their own egos and are now reaping the harvest of what they have sown... people abandoning them in droves. Personally, I am bone tired of being scloded by these self-appointed divas. I want news, not lectures or manipulation in the guise of unbiased facts.

"Save the Rocky"!? For what? We might as well save buggywhip makers and horse-drawn trolleys. For the love of all that is holy, have the decency to die with dignity.
December 15, 2008

12:14 p.m.

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Ofearghail writes:

When I saw the headline, my first thought was, "The RMN has journalists? Who knew?"

Let's face it... there are NO journalists anymore. Just partisan hacks who get into the newspaper business, 95 percent of whom are leftist.

When I was in journalism school (CSU, 1980s), we used to joke that PR flacks were those who were not good enough to be real journalists. But now you can't tell the difference. They're all just flacks and hacks now.

No wonder the RMN and other papers are going under: "journalism" died a long time ago.
December 15, 2008

12:14 p.m.

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ofcourse writes:

Funny how the argument was that advertising rates wouldn't go up to get approval of the JOA. But, just like politicans, they'll tell you what you want to hear to get your approval, vote and money. Then, well we all know that story.

Well, what happed to advertising rates? Yep, through the roof. Jake (American Furniture Warehouse) pulled all his advertising.....both papers whinned and gave in...to him. For me the little guy. Screwed!!! Well the RMN and Post now don't get my money at home or in the office and I've found other place to spend my ad budget.

Good Luck RMN staffers. Your managers managed you out of a job.
December 15, 2008

12:21 p.m.

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kalonblake writes:

It is remarkable how many postings are from people that abandoned this paper years ago and have no use for it. How can that be? Did some computer virus divert them here when they were really trying to get to FOX News or Rush Limbaugh?

And, apparently the RMN would be alright if it had a conservative bias? As long as it's your bias, it's OK? Didn't this last election cycle show that conservatism is not as embedded in the national DNA as some would have us all beleive?
December 15, 2008

12:24 p.m.

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HolierThanThou writes:

Here's how conservatives would rather have seen the Rocky Mountain News deliver unbiased conservative news reports since 2000:

-Bush and his intelligence experts foiled a terrorist plot to hijack airliners and use them as flying bombs during September 2001. The buildings came down because some liberals carelessly threw lit cigarette butts in the trash. This attracted those passenger airliners like moths to a street lamp.

-Bush caught Osama bin Laden but isn't telling anyone where he hid the guy. Those videos are just something made up by clever terrorists with a dude who just looks like Osama bin Laden.

-Wow! Saddam Hussein really did have a huge stash of hydrogen bombs and flying robots that would have been the envy of the Soviet Union.

-Osama bin Laden was caught in the same spider hole as Saddam Hussein. They were hugging each other like a pair of terrified little girls.

-Conservatives claim credit for balancing the federal budget. The reports about the deficit are merely a mistake in someone's arithmetic.

-The economy is booming because for every job sent away to Communist China, they built a new manufacturing plant here employing former union members with six digit salaries and full medical coverage.

-Homeless people freezing in Denver? What homeless people?!! They're nothing but a bunch of happy campers who enjoy a good prank.
December 15, 2008

12:28 p.m.

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bladerunner writes:

I used to read the rmn for the classifieds, the comics, and the sports page. The sportspage does not have enough local sports info, the comic pages are dead, and ebay and craigs list have replaced the classifieds. Other than local stories regarding child abuse and police using excessive force, what does the paper offer?
December 15, 2008

12:44 p.m.

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Beaveroni writes:

Keep fighting, Rocky! You are too good to lose. If you leave, we are stuck with the Post, which cannot touch you for wit, humor, inspiration and community awareness. I look forward to reading the Rocky every day, it's like a welcome friend waiting for me every morning. You have the best columnists and your point of view on most subjects is approached with fairness and with the welfare of the community in mind.

Your loss would be a severe blow to this community, the enormity of which we have not yet begun to realize. If there is any way you can save this newspaper, Denver needs you.
December 15, 2008

1:35 p.m.

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DonaldJohnson writes:

Your web site will help if it increases classified ad sales by 10 times, doubles RMN readership and convinces someone to buy the paper before it's closed.

Otherwise, use the site to sell your colleagues to new employers and stop messing around. Look for a new career, as I've advised here:

http://www.businessword.com/index.php...

As a journalist and newspaper junky, I'll be sad to see the Rocky closed. Whether we will have the Post to take it's place remains to be seen, given the huge leverage problems over at MediaNews.

The question is whether a credible web site will emerge to fill the gap when it comes to reporting local news. I don't have a good feel for what kind of traffic such a site would get in a one- or no-newspaper town.

As for journalistic professionalism and bias, I think the Rocky and Post employ reporters who are as good as you'll find in other metros of like size. Are they biased when they report on political news and write headlines for such stories? A bit. I think the bias is less evident when the reporting is about non-Denver communities and counties, more when reporting on state and national politics.

But I also think readers are more biased than journalists and read accordingly. We all have our points of view.

Good luck to RMN employees and to the readers and advertisers who have depended on the Rocky for news, entertainment, ads and incomes.
December 15, 2008

2 p.m.

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Willy writes:

SteveM - you misunderstand competition. Competition is not to drive companies out of business. It is to promote efficiencies and innovation. In this case the competition is not RMN vs. DP, but both have competition from other sources as has been noted. If the newspapers cannot be inovative and provide service better than their competition, they will go the way of the buggy whip and the whale oil lamp.
December 15, 2008

2:36 p.m.

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mytwosense writes:

Oh_Wise_One writes: "I have no sympathy for Mike Littwin. Good luck finding a real job."

Littwin is a talented writer and won't need luck to find another gig.
December 15, 2008

2:40 p.m.

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mytwosense writes:

It seems to me that when newspapers went online, they took away the incentive to buy a print version, which to at least some degree, effected ad revenue.

This may strike some as a drastic idea, but I wonder what would happen if the major newspapers took their publications back offline? Yes, there's a plethora of Internet sites where you can read the news, but most of these sites pick up their stories from publications who actually went out and did the investigative reporting to get the news.

If the major newspapers continued that role, emphasizing more local coverage, and stayed offline, they'd serve a needed purpose while assuring that more editions of their print paper are bought. Speaking for myself, anyway, I'd go back to buying the Rocky if it wasn't available online anymore for free.
December 15, 2008

2:41 p.m.

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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:

"Littwin is a talented writer and won't need luck to find another gig."

Yes, I've heard he's already been given an offer from The Daily Worker.
December 15, 2008

3:09 p.m.

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AC writes:

freeman2night writes: "Ill miss the Mike Rosen editorials...th's about it. The paper is slated, and doesn't support real journalism. No wonder why it isn't surviving, it's a printed version of Air America."

You're kidding, right?

Don't you ever read the editorials? Vince Carroll, editor of the editorial page, is to the right of Attila. Just because some of the news page columnists are too liberal for your liking, you're saying goodbye to the more conservative voice in your community. The News always advocates the rightie side of the issues. Always has since Scripps ran it. Your knee-jerk attitude is helping to cost my city one of our only reliable sources of what's actually happening in this town. I couldn't care less about the columnists you whine about like they actually mattered. They're commentators. I want to know what my local politicians are up to, and there's no liberal or conservative issue to reporting on how they're voting on rezonings, like a recent controversy in my neighborhood.
December 15, 2008

3:15 p.m.

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chilaili writes:

Judging from the comments posted here, I think Iwantmyrocky.com is going to seriously backfire! Seems to me that the journalists have grossly overestimated the level of support the paper "enjoys".
December 15, 2008

3:18 p.m.

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UrsusArctos writes:

My Dad worked for the Rocky in the press room for twenty years. He lost his job at the Washington Star, and bounced around Detroit and Grand Rapids for a couple years before coming to Denver. It was the best move he ever made. Denver was a diamond in the rough in those days, and it was a great place to be. I knew the day they signed the JOA docs one of Denver's papers would die. It was only a matter of time. If you want the Rocky to survive, and I do, convince the powers that be to take the opposite view of the Post, be a responsible, fact driven, right leaning paper. We don't need two liberal Denver Posts! Get back to competing with each other instead of trying to get along, like Chamberlin and Germany. Commit to excellent reporting, stop pandering to the left, charge for your on-line readers, even if it is a token amount, and compete! The Rocky is a great paper, and it can continue to be one if it stops following the herd!
December 15, 2008

3:21 p.m.

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mytwosense writes:

AC, they're not kidding. You have to understand that today's conservative is apparently so far to the right they make Nixon look like Jane Fonda. In their view, a conservative paper that includes any liberal columnists at all isn't balanced, it's biased.

Remember, we're talking about people who think protesters are terrorists, union workers are communists, non-Christians are godless heathens, blacks are affirmative action sponges, women who believe in equal rights are feminazis, and so on.

I've tried to reason with some of them about why the RMN can't possibly be a liberal paper, and it went nowhere. One poster even responded that Mike Littwin pieces were "opinion pieces masquerading as news stories." Think about that. That was the poster's description for a piece clearly located in the "opinion" section and written in a first-person opinion style.

--shakes head--
December 15, 2008

3:41 p.m.

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COLOGOLD writes:

It's ok liberal rag newspaper help save the world and turn off the lights on the way out. Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split ya.
December 15, 2008

3:43 p.m.

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Who_Me writes:

mytwosense,

I recall the post to which you are referring re: opinion writer versus news writer. I believe that person was complaining more about the opinion writers being labeled as/shown under the news section as opposed to being (more clearly or accurately) identified as opinion writers.
December 15, 2008

4:18 p.m.

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EZBakeOven writes:

It's funny - all you who criticize journalists, how many newsrooms have you worked in? Most of you are just talking out your butts...
December 15, 2008

5:02 p.m.

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mytwosense writes:

Who_Me writes: "mytwosense,

I recall the post to which you are referring re: opinion writer versus news writer. I believe that person was complaining more about the opinion writers being labeled as/shown under the news section as opposed to being (more clearly or accurately) identified as opinion writers."

If memory serves, she was referencing Mike Littwin, but I'd have to look up the post in question again.
December 15, 2008

9:21 p.m.

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Tunlrat writes:

What is everyone going to do when the rmn goes under and have nowhere to state your anonymous opinions and diatribes? I'll bet the dp will be just as good of a place for all of the "experts" to start posting. It's evolution and the rmn died, simple as that.
December 15, 2008

9:56 p.m.

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4sammie4 writes:

I for one can not imagine Denver without the
RMN. When I first came out here in 1972 my co-worker would always get the RMN from the vending machine as we walked into work. I liked the format and reporting then and still do. I hope a buyer will be found and the RMN will be able to continue publishing the paper.

Home › News › Local News

Journalists at Rocky launch Web site in effort to save paper

By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 15, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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