By: E&P Staff A special page at the Web site of the Rocky Mountain News this afternoon chronicled, minute-by-minute, the announcement of the daily's closing, staff reaction and questions they posed to Scripps executives.
The "live" blogging is at:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/26/live-coverage-official-announcement-rocky/
Here are some excerpts.
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Noon
Precisely at noon, dozens of editors and reporters gather around the interactive desk, buzzing about an announcement. Two top Scripps executives have arrived from Cinninnati, perhaps bringing crucial new information about the future of the Rocky Mountain News, which was put up for sale in early December.
12:05 p.m.
Staffers have heard so many bad rumors about the demise of the paper that they have stopped believing any. But there?s something different about today ?
12:06 p.m.
Editor John Temple introduces Rich Boehne and Mark Contreras; CEO and senior VP of newspapers
Rich Boehne: tomorrow will be the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News.
Certainly not good news for any of you; or for Denver, he says.
12:07 p.m.
While you were out doing your part the business model changed and you became a victim....
12:13 p.m.
Q: Public trust. Did you try to have discussions on a different model to sustain the rocky mountain news?
Boehne: I honestly don?t know. Can only work within the restraints that you have. Might have been a nice alternative to do something different with it.
12:16 p.m.
Faces are glum all around the newsroom as Contreras says Denver isn?t the only market going through these mechanisms as newspapers struggle to survive. We spent a lot of time looking at different ways for this to end, he said.
12:17 p.m.
Mark: ?our intentions are good? to take care of our employees.
Boehne: ?We are going in with good intentions, and that would include severance.?
[Editor] John Temple says: ?Our labor lawyer is talking to union officials right now about this.
Union members are told to contact officials about this.
12:19 p.m.
This is nothing like any experience any of us have ever had.
12:23 p.m.
The mood in the room is getting nastier and bitter, reporters wondering if the execs tried hard enough to save the paper or put pressure on the Rocky Mountain News.
Boehne: John?s direction is to go out and find jobs.
12:25 p.m.
Temple: Friday is the last day we?ll have access to the computer system....Another meeting today at 4:30 p.m. Won?t have to deal with ADP (new payroll system) after tomorrow. That evokes loud applause.
Today we will produce an amazing newspaper (for tomorrow), Temple says. He hopes by tomorrow "we can tell you about a big party Saturday night."
12:27 p.m.
Boehne ? We will retain the Rocky?s intellectual property, masthead, rights to rockymountainnews.com, etc.
Temple: Plan for the website; it would not need to be upgraded; it will allow people to come and hear the story of rocky mountain news.
Boehne: our goal is the archives to be open to everybody.
12:31 p.m.
Question: You didn?t try very hard. Other markets have tried harder.
Boehne ? There is no other place like Denver that had two completely different newsrooms competing for revenue.
12:32 p.m.
Q: The Denver Post seems in worst shape than us. They need to borrow money to meet payroll. Why didn?t they close?
Boehne: That?s up to Dean (Singleton). We knew that this market wasn?t viable for us.
12:33 p.m.
Boehne says nothing was certain until this week.
You go back five days, I didn?t know how this was going to turn out.
Other markets have sought protection from courts.
12:35 p.m.
Quick question: Why didn?t you?
Boehne: We are a partnership, it takes two. That?s a good question for ? the Denver Post.
Mark: There?s a third partner here, a wild card, the Justice Department:
He said that made it more complicated.
Boehne said nobody stepped up in the community to help save the Rocky.
12:37 p.m.
Temple: Rocky?s email system will stay open only through Friday
Q: Reporters said they?ve been working hard all week on Saturday stories: Can we have one more day?
A: No.
12:39 p.m.
Boehne: I could say really stupid things like I know how your feel. I don?t. All I can say is that I?m deeply sorry.
Temple: This is a really sad end to a beautiful thing. You guys have done a fantastic job between December 4 and today; people outside could not tell from looking at it the personal struggles.
We have one last shot at producing a great newspaper. Let?s do it.
It?s like being given the chance to play the music at your own funeral.
We'll be wrapping the paper with a 52-page section about the Rocky Mountain News.
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