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E.W. Scripps Co., which owns the Rocky Mountain News, is entertaining bids from potential newspaper buyers through the close of business on Friday, according to The Denver Post, which reports that the company will quickly review any offers, as speculation abounds regarding whether Colorado’s oldest newspaper, which is struggling financially, will survive.
The Rocky, however, reports that “attempts to sell the newspaper could stretch beyond Friday, into at least next week.” Scripps has received interest from “a handful of parties,” according to the Post. Yet it also informed employees last month that if the paper is not sold, executives will consider other options, including shutting the paper down.
Westword’s Michael Roberts, initially critical about a dearth of stories on the Rocky’s plight, is pleased this morning to see some stories finally rolling in. Yet comments to a site started by Rocky newsies hoping to save the paper–iwantmyrocky.com–have slowed.
The problem for newspapers isn’t that people aren’t reading the news; it’s that they’re turning to the Internet, and online advertising sells for about a tenth of what it does in print, writes the Colorado Springs Gazette. Meanwhile, the Post is also dealing with financial worries, as unions mull owner Dean Singleton’s idea that they should support cuts, according to the Denver Business Journal.