The Rocky Mountain News Shutting Down Today

(above) Pat Rooney's last column for the Rocky Mountain News about the Pioneer hockey program appeared online today

Colorado's oldest newspaper, the Rocky Mountain News, is shutting down today, and industry analysts say it won't be the last to be pulled under by a rising tide of financial woes. E.W. Scripps announced yesterday that it is closing the 150-year-old Rocky, which has won four Pulitzer Prizes in the last decade, leaving Denver, like most American cities, a one-newspaper town.

For the past 59 years the Rocky Mountain News has been covering DU hockey and in a niche sport like college hockey, you take coverage any way you can get it. Pat Rooney covered the Pioneers in recent years and LetsGoDU has linked over 110 articles of his in the past four years.

Rooney did a fantastic job covering the team as a freelance writer. His articles were well writen and his player profiles were a joy to read. Its a sad day for Denver and we'll miss the paper and the extra Pioneer coverage.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sad day for the Rocky.

This departure moves DU (1867) into position as the oldest surviving major private entity in Denver.

Anonymous said...

I hate the Denver Post... and that's all we are left with!

Anonymous said...

I agree with achsdu.

Twister said...

Sad day for Denver and the newspaper industry. It's hard to believe that there will be no more RMN. We all lose in this case.

Anonymous said...

All the best to the employees of the paper. Unfortunately, today was foreseen once the paper went up for sale. Love it or hate it, the Post is becoming the staple just like in every other city.

vizoroo said...

Does anybody know whether Rooney will be moving to the Post?

Rocky Mountain News
1859-2009

Anonymous said...

I don't think Pat Rooney was ever a full time RMN employee. I think they used him as a stringer to cover the DU games, as his byline always had "Special to the Rocky" under his name, indicating a stringer and not a full time employee, as Mike Chambers is at the Post.

Only a tiny number (less than 10) writers of any kind will be coming to the Post from the News.

Companies run on profits, and this whole bacsic industry model is in trouble.