Final Edition
by Krishna Andavolu
FEBRUARY 27, 2009 TAGS:
The Rocky Mountain News published its last edition today, Friday, February 27, 2009, closing after 149 years in the business and 139 years of daily publication. The EW Scripps Company, owner of the Rocky, put the newspaper up for sale in December. There were no buyers, so management decided to stop the presses for good.
The paper faced crippling losses from dwindling advertising revenue and an unmanageable debt burden. It is the first major daily American newspaper to shutter during a time that many observers are calling the end days of print edition newspapers.
Though revenue was scarce and the climate inhospitable to major dailies, some Denver area residents feel that Scripps walked away from a paper that it could have salvaged (the paper operated at a $16 Million loss last year). Or, at least, that is what the Rocky Mountain News is reporting on its elegiac, thorough and somewhat bitter Web site, titled Final Edition.
It is not hard to see how the life of an American city can be changed without a daily newspaper. Of course, the Denver Post is still the city’s broadsheet, but compared to the local reporting, street-level feature writing and tabloid format of the Rocky, the Post is a different kind of paper.
What made the Rocky unique was that it published smart writing in an accessible format. The paper also embraced the multimedia capabilities of the Web early and with great effect. The irony of the Rocky’s demise is that the paper had a nimble and focused newsroom that reacted well to changes in the industry. While the history of the paper reached far into Denver's past (it was Colorado's longest continuously operating business), the Rocky was tooled and oriented for the future of journalism.
The arch of history seems clear at this moment. Picture a great iron press being carted over the foothills of the Rockies to Denver in mid-1850s. Hear the cacophony of a bustling and smoky newsroom: men in suspenders and paper collars, the clickity clacking of typewriters, the heat from hot type rising to the ceiling.
Now witness the shock of a room full of reporters hearing that their paper is closing: plastic name cards around their necks, grim expressions on their faces, but still taking notes and recording the all-staff meeting with digital camcorders.
The haunting effect of this scene is that it might replicate itself in cities across the country this year. The Hearst Company is threatening to close two major dailies, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The list of major newspapers that have filed for bankruptcy keeps growing, with the Philadelphia Inquirer recently filing to restructure its debt.
Though dailies live and breathe by the news of the hour, the Rocky can still be enjoyed through its archives. The paper has won four Pulitzer Prizes this decade, quite a feat for a relatively small paper. One winner, Jim Sheeler, was a former obituary writer whose winning series of feature stories, “Final Salute,” followed the corps of marines charged with informing families of their loved one’s death. It is beautiful and sensitive writing.
Saying goodbye to the Rocky will be difficult for those who have come to rely on its coverage. Let's hope we won't be mourning the loss of another great American paper anytime soon. Though a look at the horizon, or a balance sheet, suggests otherwise.
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Related Stories
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An Elegy for Us
by Julia M. Klein
A veteran newspaper journalist ponders the demise of her profession.
Lives that Tell a Story
by Steve Goldstein
Anyone can write an obituary about a famous person. Jim Sheeler has made an art form of finding the poetry in ordinary lives. An interview with the author.
Krishna Andavolu is managing editor of Obit.
The paper faced crippling losses from dwindling advertising revenue and an unmanageable debt burden. It is the first major daily American newspaper to shutter during a time that many observers are calling the end days of print edition newspapers.
Though revenue was scarce and the climate inhospitable to major dailies, some Denver area residents feel that Scripps walked away from a paper that it could have salvaged (the paper operated at a $16 Million loss last year). Or, at least, that is what the Rocky Mountain News is reporting on its elegiac, thorough and somewhat bitter Web site, titled Final Edition.
It is not hard to see how the life of an American city can be changed without a daily newspaper. Of course, the Denver Post is still the city’s broadsheet, but compared to the local reporting, street-level feature writing and tabloid format of the Rocky, the Post is a different kind of paper.
What made the Rocky unique was that it published smart writing in an accessible format. The paper also embraced the multimedia capabilities of the Web early and with great effect. The irony of the Rocky’s demise is that the paper had a nimble and focused newsroom that reacted well to changes in the industry. While the history of the paper reached far into Denver's past (it was Colorado's longest continuously operating business), the Rocky was tooled and oriented for the future of journalism.
The arch of history seems clear at this moment. Picture a great iron press being carted over the foothills of the Rockies to Denver in mid-1850s. Hear the cacophony of a bustling and smoky newsroom: men in suspenders and paper collars, the clickity clacking of typewriters, the heat from hot type rising to the ceiling.
Now witness the shock of a room full of reporters hearing that their paper is closing: plastic name cards around their necks, grim expressions on their faces, but still taking notes and recording the all-staff meeting with digital camcorders.The haunting effect of this scene is that it might replicate itself in cities across the country this year. The Hearst Company is threatening to close two major dailies, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The list of major newspapers that have filed for bankruptcy keeps growing, with the Philadelphia Inquirer recently filing to restructure its debt.
Though dailies live and breathe by the news of the hour, the Rocky can still be enjoyed through its archives. The paper has won four Pulitzer Prizes this decade, quite a feat for a relatively small paper. One winner, Jim Sheeler, was a former obituary writer whose winning series of feature stories, “Final Salute,” followed the corps of marines charged with informing families of their loved one’s death. It is beautiful and sensitive writing.
Saying goodbye to the Rocky will be difficult for those who have come to rely on its coverage. Let's hope we won't be mourning the loss of another great American paper anytime soon. Though a look at the horizon, or a balance sheet, suggests otherwise.
--
Related Stories
An Elegy for Usby Julia M. Klein
A veteran newspaper journalist ponders the demise of her profession.
Lives that Tell a Storyby Steve Goldstein
Anyone can write an obituary about a famous person. Jim Sheeler has made an art form of finding the poetry in ordinary lives. An interview with the author.
Krishna Andavolu is managing editor of Obit.
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