Colorado's oldest newspaper Rocky Mountain News folds up

27 February 2009

It has taken 150 years since William Byers hauled his printing press from Omaha, Nebraska by oxcart during the start of the Colorado gold rush and bought out the first issue of Rocky Mountain News on 23 April 1859 till the recession of 2009 and online news to bring dwn the curtains down on Colorado's oldest newspaper.

Along the way of its 150 years of history it brought out editions from the attic of "Uncle" Dick Wooten's saloon located on the banks of the Cherry Creek, bagged four Pulitzer Prizes,  and became one of the leading newspapers in the US and an integral part of the lives of Coloradans.

EW Scripps, who bought the newspaper in 1926, announced yesterday that it will be publishing its last edition today, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday, after failing to find a buyer since the last three months as dwindling ad revenue has made the paper lose $50 million in 2008 and is likely to lose more this year.

Scripps said in a statement that the newspaper became "a victim of changing times in our industry and huge economic challenges. The Rocky is one of America's very best examples of what local news organizations need to be in the future. Unfortunately, the partnership's business model is locked in the past."

The Rocky Mountain News had tied up with its bitter rival and only other newspaper in Colorado, the Denver Post, where it agreed on a joint operating agreement (JOA) that combined advertising, circulation and production departments while still having two independent newsrooms.