Comments on TEMPLE TALK: My thoughts on 5280's article on the Rocky Mountai...

I am New To Blogging And Found this Article really...

2009-11-12T18:45:48.923-10:00

I am New To Blogging And Found this Article really Worthy. I Visit many pages of your Blog. And learn many things from these Article. thanks for this Great Article.

r4i

See my blog (www.bigmedia.org) for my response to ...

2009-06-10T08:03:39.096-10:00

See my blog (www.bigmedia.org) for my response to John's post.

Jason Salzman

Look at the size of Temple's paragraphs! Well, now...

2009-06-01T17:14:53.820-10:00

Look at the size of Temple's paragraphs! Well, now we know the truth about Temple unedited. He can't freakin' write.

Temple's reaction is so very typical of his egoman...

2009-06-01T02:30:39.267-10:00

Temple's reaction is so very typical of his egomanical style. Rather than be satisfied with what was essentially a puff piece, Temple nit picks it to death, in his usual stupifying style.

Facts are facts. Temple repeatedly killed stories unfavorable to Scripps. He was, and always will be, corporate goon. The last great editor at the Rocky was Michael Howard, and he did while battling a massive coke problem. Figure that one out.

We met once a decade or so ago, although as a long...

2009-05-31T05:57:05.445-10:00

We met once a decade or so ago, although as a longtime resident, I am sure you erased it from your memory. I also remember quite fondly the days of Ralph Looney, when against all odds he personally chased the L.A. Times out of town and turned the Rocky into Denver's leading newspaper. Your regime reversed that legacy with some of the most quirky editing decisions I have ever seen in a modern newspaper. I will cite just one: a 34-part series on a 50 year old traffic accident that was written in stupifyingly turgid prose and apparently designed soley to win a Pulitzer. I don't recall it even got an honorable mention in the statewide journalism contest where hometowners are favored. I believe that under a different editor and someone of Looney's inclination towards local NEWS, the story of the Rocky would have been much, much different. To allow someone like Billy Dean Singleton to win this battle speaks volumes to the troubles at the Rocky.

Thank you for your note, John. I appreciate the ki...

2009-05-31T04:52:59.696-10:00

Thank you for your note, John. I appreciate the kind words. To those who don't know John, he was the copy editor on many important projects for the Rocky, including Final Salute, a Pulitzer winner for feature writing and feature photography. John came up with the name for the story.

As for Edward Allen, you don't know what you're talking about, and if that's your real name you couldn't be in a position to know anything about what you're writing about. And if it's not, why don't you use your real name? Yes, the vice president's job was contingent on remaining the editor of the Rocky. I made it clear to my colleagues at the Rocky that I was not going to be with the company no matter the outcome of the sale process. You're just flat wrong about that whole part of the story. The only people who know the truth about it are Mark Contreras, my boss, Rich Boehne, his boss, and me. And we'd all tell you the same thing. As for the potential conflict stemming from my dual titles, I spoke about that extensively with Max Potter. You call editing "suppressing." That suggests a lack of understanding of how you uphold standards at a newspaper. All stories need to meet certain standards. There's nothing unusual about a reporter being asked to do more reporting before a story is published.

In both this column and a previous post you made t...

2009-05-30T14:19:10.898-10:00

In both this column and a previous post you made this week, you avoid one of the central points in the 5280 report: that your role at the Rocky was conflicted because you were both editor of the paper, and separately a vice president of Scripps. The vice president's job was not contingent on continuing to be Rocky editor, and you had already launched efforts with other papers in your corporate role to improve writing and editing. To say "The first I ever heard that Scripps would have a job for me was at the press conference" is very misleading since you knew you held the vice president's position.
I also find the whole argument about the $70 million tax writeoff specious. Of course, we will not know the full value to Scripps of closing the Rocky until next year's annual report. If this tax writeoff was available to the corporation, I can see no reason why it would not take it. In supressing this story, and others, the 5280 story suggests you put your post as Scripps v.p. ahead of your position as editor of the Rocky. Enough of the dissembling: true or false?

John, I just want to say thank you for your leader...

2009-05-30T10:28:38.701-10:00

John, I just want to say thank you for your leadership and dedication to the people of Colorado and all of us who worked at the Rocky. You have vision, and you were never afraid to take chances to do what you thought was best for our readers and the paper. Because of that, you honored the true spirit and tradition of the other great leaders in the Rocky's history.

Vision and courage. I can't think of any traits more appropriate for the job of overseeing what turned out to be the final chapter in the Rocky's amazing story. Your leadership is a tribute to all of those who have worked there over the years, and an inspiration to those of us who served during your tenure.

I don't know yet whether I will wind up teaching journalism, stepping into management myself or working at an online newspaper. But wherever I land, I plan to help spread the Rocky vision -- your vision. Journalism and our democracy need it, now more than ever.

Thank you again, and God bless you and your family.

John Moore, former Rocky copy editor

Edward Allen is not a name I recognize from the pe...

2009-05-30T07:10:57.756-10:00

Edward Allen is not a name I recognize from the period when the JOA was announced or any other time at the Rocky. It would have been hard for you to witness this alleged event first-hand even if you had been there, though, because it never happened. Was I unhappy when the JOA was announced. Darn right. But if you had ever been in our old newsroom you would know that it would be hard to kick a wastecan for any distance given the clutter of desks. It never happened. But maybe it's a good legend. And at least you signed some name, so it's possible to know whether you know what you're talking about.

A good editor is not trying to win a popularity co...

2009-05-30T06:44:53.355-10:00

A good editor is not trying to win a popularity contest.

Yes, and who kicked the wastecan across the newsro...

2009-05-30T03:49:50.367-10:00

Yes, and who kicked the wastecan across the newsroom when the JOA was announced? Your temper is legendary.

A second comment from RLW was deleted. If you want...

2009-05-30T03:49:13.417-10:00

A second comment from RLW was deleted. If you want to express your opinion attacking me personally, that's fine - as long as you sign your comment with your real name. If you worked with me at the Rocky, as you said you did, you know that our policy was that we did not allow anonymous sources in stories to attack others personally. If they were willing to put their names behind their words, that was different.

I suspect Potter's story would be much different h...

2009-05-29T13:50:01.297-10:00

I suspect Potter's story would be much different had the Rocky been the only newspaper shuttered in recent years. But it wasn't, and the malaise of newspapers is unfortunately a story I can read at almost any time. I only discovered the story because of the sensationalist angle that someone had Twittered.

No one can understand the surreal existence of a media company during its last days, and the extraordinary emotional toll that it exacts from employees and executives alike. I've seen profiteers stage phony events and threaten to tank businesses without a care for the employees. Some even live in Denver. I've never met Mr Temple, but I suggest Mr Potter should get out a little bit more before characterizing Temple as such.

Journalists like Potter need to decide how far they want to elevate their factfinding and storytelling skills beyond that of the casual blogger, and how much process and integrity they will bring to the table, even when it's not fashionable. The answer strikes to the heart of the future of news organizations, everywhere.