Colorado has lost its oldest friend.
The Rocky Mountain News, the state’s oldest newspaper, published its final edition today, just weeks shy of its 150th birthday.
Even though the Rocky was our fiercest competitor from our earliest days in the late 19th century, there is no joy at The Denver Post today.
And even though this was one of the country’s last, great newspaper wars, there is no victory to celebrate.
It’s a sad day for Denver, for Colorado, for newspapers and for democracy. We’re sorry to see our old friends go.
It’s no secret that newspapers are struggling these days, given the hyper-fast speed in which technology has changed our business model and the way many of you get your news. Coupled with a deep recession that has hit our advertisers and our readers, it’s no longer possible to have two vibrant newspapers in Denver.
And we’re all the worse for it.
The newspaper war waged in these streets, from Denver’s dusty pioneer beginnings alongside Cherry Creek to the high-tech boom of the late 1990s, created two must-read newspapers — two of the country’s finest.
For decades, readers have relied on two newspapers in Denver to keep politicians honest, and two inquisitive newspaper staffs to uncover abuse and corruption.
Denver’s newspapers also have brought our diverse communities together. We have celebrated with readers the triumphs of Super Bowls and Stanley Cups, and have chronicled the moments that shaped our city and state, from gold rushes to the opening of interstate highways to the Democratic National Convention.
We’ve had two newspapers to cry with through painful times, such as Columbine, and two newspapers to laugh with and engage with, through columnists like Woody Paige, John Coit and Gene Amole.
And we’ve had two newspapers to stoke a healthy public debate on the issues of our times.
The joint operating agreement, enacted in 2001 to merge business operations, allowed the two newspapers to survive for nearly all of this decade and preserved two distinct voices and two very competitive newsrooms.
Now, with one of those voices silenced, we will do our best to pick up the torch and carry it.
Even as we struggle with this economic downturn and an ever-changing business model, it’s our hope The Denver Post not only will continue to echo as the voice of the Rocky Mountain empire, but also that we might take on some of the better characteristics of our one-time rival: the Rocky’s scrappiness, their edge, their personality, their humor.
The Rocky has served its readers, and our state, well.
The paper’s owners, E.W. Scripps Co., may be headquartered in Cincinnati, but they’ve been good corporate citizens here. And the Rocky’s staff — from its energetic editor, John Temple, to its intrepid reporters — has been fierce competition.
We will miss the days when we worked a story ’til dawn, fearing the Rocky would beat us. The Rocky made us a better newspaper, and we’re thankful for that.
We know many of the Rocky’s readers considered their newspaper “their Rocky.” To those readers, we can only hope you will give us a chance to become your newspaper.
To our loyal readers, we thank you for welcoming us into your homes each day over the years — and for some, over the decades.
We hope you will continue to rely on us to give you the news you need, when you need it, and to walk with us as we navigate the unsteady but exciting days ahead of us.
