'Rocky' Finance Editor Lands One Last Scoop on the Way Out

By: Mark Fitzgerald Rocky Mountain News Finance Editor David Milstead -- who created a sensation last July with a column urging Denver to "admit that we can no longer be a two-newspaper town" -- scored one last scoop in the Rocky's final edition Friday.

Milstead identified the lone bidder who expressed some interest to owner E.W. Scripps Co. in buying the Rocky as Texas private-equity investor Brian Ferguson, who said the deal foundered on his inability to "adequately mitigate the risks involved in an acquisition" complicated by the joint operating agreement (JOA) with MediaNews Group's The Denver Post and other issues.

Milstead had the mostly thankless job of reporting on the business-side angles of the uncertain last days of the Rocky. Ironically, he returned to the newsroom from a long family leave in late December, a few weeks after Scripps put the newspaper up for sale.

But it was earlier this year, in a July 1 column, that Milstead sparked a public debate about the future of Denver as a two-newspaper city.

"It's been a wonderful run, Denver," the column began, "but it's time to admit that we can no longer be a two-newspaper town.

After eight years in a JOA, the Post and Rocky were never able to make "significant" price increases in advertising or circulation rates, and he correctly reported that the papers "are in all likelihood losing money."

"In essence, all the financial promise of the JOA is gone," Milstead wrote. "The best way to make Denver a profitable market for the two companies is to close one of the newspapers."

As a result of his reporting, Milstead may have been the least surprised journalist in the Rocky's newsroom about its folding.

"I think there was some segment of the newsroom that wanted to believe that something else would happen," he said from the Rocky on its last night. "It was hard to believe that Colorado's oldest newspaper would just go out of business."

Much of the newsroom believed that the Rocky's closure was "the most likely scenario, but not he only scenario," he said. Some glimmer of hope arose when Scripps' bid deadline in mid-January passed with no news from the company.

"Everybody knew we were losing money quarter after quarter, and that that was not a good situation, but a lot of people didn't think of that as the defining characteristic" of the Rocky's situation, Milstead.

Friday's folding also confirmed another story that Milstead broke a few weeks ago, reporting that the Post had prepared a letter for advertisers that said on March 1, it would be the only paper publishing in Denver. The Denver Newspaper Agency pooh-poohed the story, saying the date was just a "placeholder," signifying nothing.

"But miraculously, it turned out to be the correct date, more or less," Milstead said.

As for his own future, Milstead said he is likely leaving journalism. He wants to stay in Denver, and was not among the handful of Rocky writers hired by the Post. Even as he was reporting the travails of newspapers in Denver and the industry generally, Milstead was earning certification as a chartered financial assistant level 1.

"In all likelihood I'll try to find work in the financial sector," he said. "Someone joked to me that you're going to a (sector) that's as bad as newspapers. And I said, 'Yes, but when the economy turns around, so will the financial sector.'"