The R.I.P. column just got one name longer.
The Rocky Mountain News, a Denver institution for 150 years, will publish its last issue tomorrow. A three-month long effort to sell the property yielded only one nibble, and the prospective buyer backed away quickly after learning that it would cost about $100 million "just to stay in the game," said Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of E.W. Scripps Co. "The industry is in serious, serious trouble," he told staffers assembled in the Rocky's newsroom (above, Rocky Mountain News photo).
The news came as no particular surprise, given that the deadline set by Scripps in December was drawing near and no buyers had announced their intentions. In a Web 2.0 twist, staffers live blogged the meeting. Staffers will be paid through April 28. The newspaper had 220 newsroom employees as of early December. No word yet on how many will lose their jobs. Meanwhile, tomorrow's issue will no doubt be a collectors item.
More as the analysis and eulogies rush in. (Thanks to Robert Alexander for the tip)
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