I don’t have much to say, really. Not so much because there isn’t much to say, because I should be able to fill volumes, but because I don’t know how to say it.

I came to the Rocky Mountain News only 4 years ago expecting to make the best of it until something better came along. That’s the thing about the Rocky, something better was always coming along within that very paper. I didn’t make it to collect my 5 year pin (or was it a 5 year pen?) but given the opportunity, I would have. I’ve never heard of or met a more dedicated staff.

If Scripps CEO Rich Boehne knew how much unaccounted for overtime everyone worked in that newsroom he would keel over from a heart attack. Were everyone to come forward claiming their OT, Scripps’ finances would be left in worse shape than Media News Group. And that will be the last snarky punch I throw at the Denver Post.

Marie Griffin, Mike Noe and myself holding an award for best news website.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and me at the Rocky Mountain News farewell party. It was good of him to show up and see us off.

Jaime Aguilar and me at the Rocky Mountain News farewell party. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that's an award for best multimedia.

Sonya Doctorian, John Temple and me at the Rocky Mountain News farewell party.

This is what our server diagram looked like on the last day of the Rocky Mountain News.

And this is what the first day without a Rocky looked like. The Denver Post started publishing a Saturday copy as soon as we closed.

So long Rocky, and thanks.

Online journalism final edition, journalism, Rocky Mountain News

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I arrived to work this morning to find everyone gathered around the news desk. Rich Boehne, President and CEO or Scripps, was hanging out and everyone had their frowny faces on.

As I quickly learned, yes, Scripps has put The Rocky Mountain News up for sale. That’s not to say that the Denver newspaper has been sold or will be sold, but it’s out there for any potential buyers.

I don’t know who these potential buyers might be, none really come to mind. What I do know is that the closure of The Rocky Mountain News would be devastating to news environment in Denver. The city relies on the balance that two major newspapers provide.

The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post have a Joint Operating Agreement facilitated through The Denver Newspaper Agency. Unfortunately, there have been a number of very poor decisions made by the agency that I believe have helped bring us to this point. It doesn’t seem likely that anyone would purchase the paper and knowingly enter a JOA.

I can’t help but feel that we’ve been sailing down this path for a while.

Online journalism, Uncategorized Denver, fail, newspaper, Rocky Mountain News