RIP Rocky Mountain News

I sit here with a blank mind as tear after salty tear runs down my face.

When I first heard that the Rocky Mountain News CLOSED, I thought I heard wrong. Is it for REAL? Seriously? Like, the Final Edition. Obituary Time.

There's just such a strange sense of emptiness when I think about this ... in fact, it's difficult to wrap my mind around this.

Ok, given the economic climate, it's not shocking to hear of a business closing. And let's face it people, a newspaper (despite duties to the community) is, after all, a business.

But .... I guess I think of small-town, po-dunk newspapers closing down. And that's not shocking. But here's the rub: In the last decade alone, this paper was awarded FOUR Pulitzer Prizes. FOUR.

This is an award-winning newspaper.

I still remember the photos produced by staff photographers after the Columbine shootings.

And it's closing.

Oh, did I mention it's almost 150 years old?

How is this possible?

But it is.

Oh, and not to neglect sports ... according to a story on the former paper's Web site, this week, the sports section was named one of the 10 best in the country.

I'm ill.

Let's take a video break .... it's about 20 minutes, so if you wanna watch, get comfy.


Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

But ... I think this is sweet. It's a site called IwantMyRocky.com.

There are so many reasons things fall apart. But one thing I found interesting was some of the reporters commented people are getting their news from blogs, not necessarily going to a news source. REALLY? Seriously peeps?

But I guess I shouldn't be shocked. I've lived with people who don't know the difference between a column on the editorial page and a news story. And readers ... we'd get calls in the newsroom from people looking for a "story" in the paper .... after I went through all the local and wire stories, I dug through the editorial page. Still no luck. Know what they were talking about? AN ADVERTISEMENT!!!!!!! *sigh* But do people really not know the difference between an unbiased source that has to verify sources and is accountable?

Think about it.

Newspapers are chronicles of history. If Denver were a one-paper town, who would be around to document history? Who would keep local officials accountable?

Sad.

And other papers, such as the Tucson Citizen, a paper that's been around 138 years could close, too?

To think, just 7 months ago, I was a reporter. I'd spent my entire high school and college career training to be a photojournalist and even learning to write "just in case." ... this field is one I've put so many years and such effort into ... and it's shriveling up.

I can't imagine how people who have been doing this for decades upon decades must feel.

And ... while I hated being known as "there's the newspaper lady" .... I very much WAS "the photographer" or "the reporter." It became an integral part of who I was and am. And I left willingly .... how would it be if I was told my newspaper became the news. Ugh.

Mike LIttwin so pointedly writes:

"The guys in suits - and I say that as someone who doesn't own one - don't understand what it means to be in a newsroom, or if they once did, they forgot.

They're businessmen, who talk in terms of quarters. We talk in terms of stories. The Rocky lived. It breathed. It told stories that annoyed and ones that thrilled. I love both.

I signed up - and stayed signed up - because there isn't a job where you could possibly have more fun."

Ok, I think that column sums it up best. I have to say it is a more accurate description of my thoughts than I've expressed here in my ramblings. To read it all, CLICK HERE



On a positive note, strawberries and grapes were on sale tonight at the supermarket.