Today, we are a little less aware, informed, and poorer as a city and state

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I have subscribed to both of the major area newspapers the entire time I have grown up and lived here in Colorado. My parents subscribed to both also. Like them, I did it mostly because I enjoyed columnists from each paper as they have come and gone, admired the work of the photographers, and yes, even because there were comics in both papers that I liked.

Last Friday the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News came out, and ended a tradition of superior journalism, excellent photography, and Pulitzer prize winning stories. The Rocky was a victim of the downturn in the economy, and the changing face of the news industry. I will miss it a lot.


Go to www.rockymountainnews.com and at the bottom of the screen there are two sections that I consider must reading. Final Salute and Columbine Shootings.


Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

Comments

  1. Candy's daily Dandy10:51 AM

    kinda makes you wonder about the future of print journalism. And make you wax senimental...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Red11:02 AM

    I find this troubling, even though I've never read the Rocky Mountain News. Isn't it, like, older than the state of Colorado? Very sad, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chris the Hippie1:10 PM

    When I was in high school and college I thought often of working at a newspaper, and I did for about a year, year and a half once I graduated. Sadly, though I had worked every job the college paper had to offer, from darkroom guy all the way to editor-in-chief, my job after college was as a typesetter. I wanted to be a reporter, but it just wasn't to be...

    Oddly enough, even though journalism was one of my passions for a lot of years, I only subscribed to one newspaper for one year in my entire life. In 1991 I received the Sioux City Journal (which has now cut back to being almost a newsletter instead of a paper) for about ten months. As cheap as newspapers are (and they DO give a good bang for your buck -- how much does it cost to purchase a similar number of words in novel form?) I still couldn't afford the expense.

    A bit later when I could afford to get newspapers I found that all the papers around here made FOX News look liberal, so I opted not to invest my money that direction.

    But it makes me sad nonetheless. I remember getting two dailies at the farm when I was a kid, doing the crosswords, reading the comics, seeing which one of my classmates was busted for underage drinking the night before, etc...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:13 PM

    I'm always sad to hear another newspaper shut down.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:28 PM

    I feel sad to see a newspaper shut down, but at the same time I'm guilty of helping them along. I no longer subscribe to any actual paper because I get all my news (including local) online. Guess that's just a sign of the times, for better or worse.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cormac Brown5:24 PM

    I feel for you, seriously. We're on the verge of losing the San Francisco Chronicle and I don't know what I'll do after that, because the San Jose Mercury News has turned into a rag, when it merged with the Oakland Tribune/Contra Costa Times crap con-glum-er-rat.

    There are not enough advertisers though to sustain newspapers anymore. The Chronicle has gone from the ads of national chains and corporations, to local computer repair shops and third-rate carpet and flooring places.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SkylersDad8:01 PM

    Thanks all, it is quite sad. You are correct Red, it was a newspaper before we were a state, still part of the "Utah Territory". Cormac, the Chronicle was mentioned in the story of another paper in trouble.

    It is a tough time indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  8. rachaelgking11:17 AM

    I really wonder, will the day come when it's nearly impossible to sit down on a Sunday with an actual PAPER in your hands? Where does it stop?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks7:40 PM

    The Cleveland Press had a similar history, running from 1878 until 1982; my parents subscribed to it and all of NE Ohio mourned it's passing. I count myself lucky to have done my undergrad at Cleveland State where the archives are.

    I feel for ya, bud...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous2:24 PM

    I work in journalism and was sad to hear about the RMN. RIP.

    ReplyDelete

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