Rocky Mountain News Closes for Good

The Rocky Mountain News is closing its doors after 150 years of publishing. The News was the first operating paper in Colorado. In 2001, they took on a joint operating agreement with the Denver Post. In December 2008, the owners of the Rocky Mountain News, the E.W. Scripps Company, was looking for a buyer the keep the news in operation.

The loss projected for the failing paper was an estimated $16 million for the 2008 year. Scripps was in negotiations with a potential buyer the plan did not go through before the deadline in mid-January. The last day the Rocky Mountain News will issue a paper today, Feb. 27. They will sell all of their assets, including the name and Web site.

I grew up in Colorado, and my mother had the paper delivered to us every day of the week. It was one of my chores in the morning to get the news and bring it inside. I was an only child and my mother was a single parent, so she delivered papers for the Rocky Mountain News for 3 years to help with bills. On Sundays, I would go with her to help. I remember the warehouse was huge and everyone was so nice. It would take four hours on Sundays to do this. Because of them I had a part-time job at 11 years old. My mother gave me $5 each week to help this was a lot of money for me back then, and I appreciated it so much at the time.

My husband and I found our real estate agent years ago with the News. We are still in our house today, raising our family. We have so many memories because of this great paper. If we would have used a different paper to find a real estate agent, there is a chance we might not have got this house.

I will always have fond memories of the Rocky Mountain News. From my first part-job as a kid to finding my first real part-time job as a teenager with Little Caesar's that lasted two years. The most important part is they helped to pave the beginning of our lives with my family in the home that we all cherish and plan on living in for years to come.

The Rocky Mountain News is a part of Colorado history, and we are very sad to see it go. My family and I will always have our thoughts of what might have not happened without the News. Back in the late '70s and early '80s, I always remember my grandpa reading the news up until his death. He would never put the paper down.

Sources:

Rocky Mountain News to close, Tim King