In the early 90's I fully expected and hoped I would be working at one of our two papers. I admit I was partial to The Denver Post, but that probably has something to do with the fact they kept me semi-employed through the summers for a while. I had my small, insignificant part in the city's infamous newspaper wars, and I treasure that to this day.
Of course, I am also symptomatic of the troubles our two city papers have gone through. A lifelong newspaper addict, I let my subscription lapse years ago when I hit that magical pivot point where you realize you've already read most of what's in the fine print, online the night before. The newspapers were piling up -- filler for that old purple recycling bin I had to lug out back every few weeks.
I get why the two papers were forced into bed for a while, but wonder if we wouldn't have been better served by one stronger paper instead of two facades duplicating themselves as they shrank both in size, content and, most importantly, advertising revenue.
My hope is the death of a Denver institution serves to breathe life into the remaining outlets in town. Maybe now that the war has ended with a whimper, The Denver Post will finally start figuring out life after newsprint. Who knows, maybe Gannett has bigger plans now for the 9News website?
I hope so.
Despite my own retreat from the journalistic ranks, I think society is well served by the hard work reporters put into finding out the things others would prefer go unnoticed.
Here's a toast to the future and the past. We were lucky to have had two great papers in town for as long as we did.
I know I'll be buying one last copy of the Rocky Mountain News tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I can choose to randomly remove comments on here at will, with no explanation.