tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60232069868557887082024-03-18T01:50:38.239-10:00TEMPLE TALKAn editor on journalism and the mediaJohn Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-2829852147410399412011-04-27T22:19:00.005-10:002011-04-27T22:27:52.631-10:00Barb Page: An Editor Who Did It For Love<script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><p class="p1"><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">She never had the title or a corner office.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">She wouldn't have wanted one.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">But Barb Page was an editor who had what matters most: the respect and love of her colleagues.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">We lost Barb Wednesday morning in Albuquerque, N.M., where I met her for the first time some 27 years ago. Journalism didn't just lose a great editor, it lost a teacher whose love of the craft inspired those around her.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">She was the afternoon city editor at The Albuquerque Tribune, a scrappy afternoon newspaper. I was a new reporter, fresh out of Northwestern, hungry to tell stories.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Most of them came back to me pulled apart and filled with "notes," questions and suggestions from Barb that made me wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?" Over time, her voice — and laugh — were planted in my brain. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I was one of the lucky ones. At the start of my career, I had met someone who could help show me the way. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">We started as colleagues. But we soon became friends, as was the case for so many who worked with Barb. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">In the days since she decided to end dialysis and accept the consequences, I've read similar stories on Facebook from countless people I've never met, stories of affection for someone who had changed their lives.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Barb was in the E.W. Scripps Co.'s Hall of Fame for her headline writing. When she wrote what may have been her most famous, I was on my first day as city editor, in charge of the story of a helicopter prison escape from the penitentiary in Santa Fe.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">"Chopper woman: I did it for love."</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Barb got to the point. She cut to the quick, with a dash of wit.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">That's a reminder for all of us still doing the work.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Now she's gone. But she hasn't left me.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Today, as I edit side by side with another generation of reporters, I think of her.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">And I know this to be true: She did it for love.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com768tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-75465035201172858742011-03-13T10:01:00.010-10:002011-03-13T10:15:01.692-10:00Colorado Public Radio Does Segment on Rocky Journalists Two Years Later<script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><br />Ryan Warner of the Colorado Matters show on Colorado Public Radio did a segment this week on <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/rocky-mountain-news-journalists-two.html">my survey</a> of former Rocky Mountain News journalists two years after the paper closed.<div><br /></div><div>I thought it was worth sharing. He did a really nice job.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's <a href="http://www.cpr.org/article/Rocky_Journalists_Two_Years_Later">a link to the interview</a>.</div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com461tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-64278239775111710842011-02-25T04:00:00.003-10:002011-02-25T07:15:19.024-10:00Rocky Mountain News Journalists Two Years After the Newspaper Closed<script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><p class="p1">What's the impact of a single day when a business is closed and all its employees are let go?<span class="s1"></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span></p><p class="p1">That's a question we might have pursued at my former newspaper, the <a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/">Rocky Mountain News</a> — if we had still been publishing today. </p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">It was on Feb. 27, 2009, when Colorado's oldest newspaper printed its <a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/news/rocky-mountain-news-history/">final edition</a> and itself became part of the story of the destruction of the Great Recession and the demise of the newspaper industry.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Two years later, I surveyed the 194* full and part-time members of the staff who were there on its last day to learn how their lives had changed. </span> Of that group, 146, or 75 percent, responded to a <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/coming-soon-survey-of-rocky-mountain.html">questionnaire</a> I sent them. (You can read my account of what happened to those of us at the Rocky on its last day at<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/02/life-after-death-two-years-since-the-demise-of-my-newspaper/71686/"> TheAtlantic.com</a>. Read what staff who are still working as journalists <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff_24.html">told me.</a> Read what those who've left the profession <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff.html">wrote</a>. And read about <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stock-price-of-rocky-mountain-news.html">what happened</a> to the Denver paper's owner.)</p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Perhaps the most depressing finding is that 98 out of 146 respondents, or 67 percent, said they were earning less today than they made at the Rocky. Fifty-six of those 98, or 57 percent, said their income was "much less." Only 27, or 18 percent of the people who responded, said they were making more, and those people were more likely to have left journalism.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Perhaps the most surprising finding was that despite the general decline in income, roughly the same amount of people reported that their life was better today than that it was worse. In fact, of those who responded to the question, more said it was much better (12) than much worse (5).</span></p> <p class="p2">Of course, it should be noted that my findings don't reflect a random sample of the staff. Those who responded may not be typical of the total population. For example, those who are depressed about their current position may be less inclined to answer — we don't know unless we ask them, and I've tried without success. It should also be noted that those who did respond were answering their former boss, which could have affected their responses. (I was editor, president and publisher of the Rocky.)</p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Here's a summary of what those who did respond told me:</span></p> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">92, or 63 percent, are working as journalists</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">53, or 36 percent, have left the profession </span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">1 declined to say</span></li></ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">Of the 92 working as journalists</span></li> </ul> <ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">44 said they are at newspapers (Some who said they were at newspapers were working solely on their websites, but they identified their employer as a newspaper.)</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">2 are at wire services</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">17 are at websites </span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">17 are freelancers</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">10 indicated "other," such as at a TV station</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">2 did not specifiy</span></li></ul></ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">Of those who said they had left journalism</span></li> </ul> <ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">6 said they had retired</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">4 were unemployed</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">4 were students. (Some journalists also said they were students, but they identified first as journalists and cited a journalism job as their primary activity.)</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">34 had a full-time job</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">8 had a part-time job or jobs.</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">(The total is higher than the number of respondents in this category, 53, because some said they were working and students.</span></li></ul></ul> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">(To put these numbers into context, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/01/business/economy/01hires.html?_r=2&hp">a study</a> of Americans who were unemployed in August 2009 and re-interviewed twice about their job status over the next 15 months found that about one-third had found replacement jobs. The percentage of respondents from the Rocky who are working is 92, and even if none of the other former employees had found a job, the percentage wouldn't drop below 70.)</span></p> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">Of the 92 who said they were still working as journalists: </span></li> </ul> <ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">2 reported they were earning much more</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">13 earn somewhat more</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">9 make the same</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">34 earn somewhat less</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">30 make much less</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">4 did not say</span></li></ul></ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">Of the 52 who said they had left journalism</span></li> </ul> <ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">4 reported earning much more</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">8, earn somewhat more</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">4 make the same</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">8 earn somewhat less</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">26 make much less</span></li> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">2 did not say</span></li></ul></ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">Money is a factor in how people feel about their life today, but there are plenty of people who are making less money who said their lives are better than when they were with the paper. Twenty-seven people said they make more money now than before the Rocky closed. Of those, 10, or 37 percent, said their lives are better. Three, or 11 percent, said their lives are worse. Ninety-eight people said they're earning less. Of those, 27, or 28 percent, said their lives are better, while 30, or 31 percent, said worse.</span></li></ul> <ul> <li class="li2"><span class="s1">43, or 30 percent of respondents, left the Denver metropolitan area, nearly all to find work</span></li></ul> <ul> <li class="li5"><span class="s3">In response to the question, "</span><span class="s1">How would you describe your life today versus before the Rocky closed?</span></li> </ul> <ul> <ul> <li class="li5"><span class="s3"></span><span class="s1">12 said much better</span></li> <li class="li5"><span class="s3"></span><span class="s1">32 said somewhat better</span></li> <li class="li5"><span class="s3"></span><span class="s1">46 said the same</span></li> <li class="li5"><span class="s3"></span><span class="s1">30 said somewhat worse</span></li> <li class="li5"><span class="s3"></span><span class="s1">5 said much worse</span></li> <li class="li5"><span class="s3"></span><span class="s1">21 did not answer the question</span></li></ul></ul> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">In addition to the survey, I also asked people to share anything else about their experience they wished. A few themes emerged. Those are explored in related stories.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">* The <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff_24.html">stories</a> of Rocky journalists still working as journalists.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">* The <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff.html">stories</a> of Rocky journalists who left the profession.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">It's also worth noting what happened to the finances of the company that shuttered the Rocky to help it survive the recession. Today the stock value of the E.W. Scripps Co. (SSP) is roughly eight times higher than when it closed the paper.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Read <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stock-price-of-rocky-mountain-news.html">story</a> about the two Denver newspaper owners two years later. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">In a strange twist, part of the paper and its website lives on, in a ghostlike <a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/">domain</a>. In the <a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/about-us/">about us</a> section, one paragraph still reads, "The News lives because of its refusal to die."</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Perhaps that's still the case.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">The paper, or its spirit, lives on in many of us who were associated with it, as you'll see from the stories its former journalists shared.</span></p> <p class="p1">------------------------------------------<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I want to thank my colleague at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">Honolulu Civil Beat</a> Michael Levine for his assistance with the research for this set of articles.</span></p><p class="p2">* I did not survey seasonal sports clerks or regular freelance contributors.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com911tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-90266178581697027302011-02-24T23:00:00.008-10:002011-02-25T09:22:34.561-10:00Stories of Rocky Mountain News Staff Who Are Still Working as Journalists<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">They're in Denver and D.C., Grand Junction and Ghana.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">People who were on the editorial staff of the Rocky Mountain News on its last day are working as journalists across the country and across the globe.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In Cincinnati, Nairobi, Los Angeles, Gilroy, Colorado Springs, Raleigh, Chicago, Louisville, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, Corpus Christi, Toronto, Pueblo, Las Vegas, New York, Salt Lake, Lincoln, Australia, Korea and Guadalupe County, N.M., too.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Of the 146 former staff members who responded to a survey about their lives two years after the paper closed, 92 said they're still working as journalists. (Read the <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/rocky-mountain-news-journalists-two.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">main story</span></a> about the survey on this blog and a related story at <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/02/life-after-death-two-years-since-the-demise-of-my-newspaper/71686/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">TheAtlantic</span></a>). (Read <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">the stories</span></a> of staff who left journalism. Read about <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stock-price-of-rocky-mountain-news.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">what happened</span></a> to the owners of the two papers.)</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here are a few themes that emerged in their reflections on life after the Rocky.</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Financial Worries. "There have been very few days and nights and middle of the nights during the past two years when I have not worried about money," wrote Dean Krakel, former director of photography now working as a photo editor at The Denver Post.</span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Worries about age. "This might seem venal, but as one enters fully into middle age you realize that you have fewer and fewer earning years before you. As hard as this recession is on young people trying to launch careers, it may be even tougher on older workers, who are seeing what ought to be some of the prime earning years of their lives frittered away," wrote Hank Schultz, former presentation editor now working as managing editor of Functional Ingredients magazine.</span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Determination. "In short, while the closure of the Rocky has not made my life easier, nor more comfortable, it has allowed me to put all my accumulated skills to use FOR MYSELF (as a sole proprietor) and for A GREATER GOOD (a community's survival). In short, I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, where I am supposed to be doing it at a time that is critical for our community. Oh, and I am finding that even in perhaps the worst economy in generations and in one of the hardest-hit places at that, newspapering is still a profitable business -- more profitable by the week. Public service pays. Who knew?" This from M.E. Sprengelmeyer, former Washington, D.C., correspondent now owner of the Guadalupe County Communicator, a weekly newspaper in New Mexico.</span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Loss. "I definitely miss the Rocky. It's somewhat depressing to think that I'll probably never work with such an amazing, dynamic cast of characters at any point in my future. I hear stories other peoples' work experiences and nothing comes close to comparing. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to see," Matthew Roberts, multimedia producer who's studying computer science.</span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Anger. "I grew up and worked in newspapers for 20-some years. And it's depressing to see the "product" the other paper in town puts out and know that we had the vast superior quality of product. Hell, you could still click on the Rocky website and it's superior to that of the other publication. And that's been evident each and every day the past two years, from their print product to their website," a Rocky staffer who wrote on the condition of anonymity.</span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Appreciation of a job in a newsroom. "When I sometimes hear the normal everyday grumbling of my new colleagues, I wonder if they realize how fortunate they are to be working for a great organization making good money in the profession that we all love and how quickly that can be taken away if we are not mindful," wrote John Sopinski, a graphic artist now working for Globe and Mail in Toronto.</span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#242324;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Appreciation of newfound freedom. "</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have grown to love the freedom of time to develop skills and invest in myself. That time has been invaluable. Working for the RMN was very demanding and would not have allowed the time I needed to grow," wrote Barry Gutierrez, a staff photographer now working as a freelancer.</span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Appreciation of what the Rocky gave many of us. "</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I still miss the work we did and the community we were at the Rocky. I’m privileged and thankful to have been a part of that. It's the foundation from which I am moving forward," wrote Kathy Bogan, former presentation director now working as group design director for Nation Media Group in Nairobi, Kenya.</span></span></li></ul> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here they are, in their own words</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">*****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Barry Forbis</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sports editor, now sports editor at Cincinnati Enquirer</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life a lot worse now</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Put our house on the market shortly after the Rocky closed, sold it in Aug. 2009, bought a house in Orlando in Nov. 2009, thinking the real estate market in Florida had bottomed out. It hadn't, as I learned in Nov. 2010, when I took a big loss on that house. We're renting in Cincinnati while we regroup financially. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Professionally, it's not much worse, but when I had to leave Colorado, I had to leave behind my two older children, who live with their mother. We see each other now on holidays or when school is out. Also, we left behind a lot of friends and family in Colorado (my wife is a Colorado native) and now are in our second location in less than two years. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tess Furey</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wire editor, now working part-time as a columnist at Grand Junction Daily Sentinel</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Couldn't quantify how life has changed</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hard to quantify because it doesn't fit into a category. Better because we are so close to the beautiful outdoors here on the Western Slope... warmer winters, stunning views and geological formations. Better because I'm writing again now, dusting off my rusty skills and having fun with it. Worse, because I am only working part-time with the fear that newspaper economic forces might change our situation again, the sword hanging above my head. And, I miss my newspaper family.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mike Littwin</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Columnist, now doing the same job for The Denver Post</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I still miss the Rocky every day. But I am very fortunate to have been able to stay in Denver and replicate, for the most part, the job I had at the Rocky (although I don’t get nearly as much help coming up with my closer).</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You can use my name, my age, my height, my weight and anything else you need</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kathy Bogan</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation director, now Group Design Editor for Nation Media Group in Nairobi, Kenya</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I was tempted to say my life now is “much better” but that would be comparing it to the 17 months before I started full-time work again, not before the Rocky closed.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The transition from Feb. 27, after my initial exhilaration at new possibilities, became this: a sense of worthlessness that grew as I sent out more than a hundred resumes, coupled with viral uncertainty about the future. Platitudes like “everything happens for a reason” and “look for the positive in it” and “you’ll be a better person for it” were fodder for cynical laughter.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I reminded myself that it could be worse – I did not lose a home, still eked out the college tuition payments for my sons, we had our health, my spouse was working. I could see colleagues whose lives seemed to crumble. But I think many if not most of us went through times when the loss ripped us open.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I cobbled together an assortment of part-time gigs – teaching, photo research, the occasional design project – and in between took web design classes, worked out religiously, climbed mountains, had leisurely lunches with friends, made some art, tried my best to make the most of what was happening NOW as opposed to mourning the past, but looking back, it felt like a waiting room, flipping through out-of-date copies of People magazine, anticipating a diagnosis that never came. Limbo.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then I stumbled across a cryptic posting on a job board (“Design editor needed in foreign country; apply here”) and said what the hell. Anything anywhere was better than tossing resumes into the ozone for jobs I didn’t really want in the first place. Almost a year after the Rocky closed, I was ready to ditch every expectation; in some ways it felt like I already had.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">When I got the contract, excitement surpassed relief. We were headed to Africa.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I am fortunate to be working full time, to be working in a newsroom again, in a place that is challenging and full of surprises -- refreshing, aggravating, intriguing -- in the office and in everyday life. Here hawkers tout at least four dailies in the traffic jams all day, there’s a news stand on every sidewalk, the news seems to be part of the daily diet, and print still dominates. After all, dozens of people can share the pages, and do, at 40 shillings (about 50 cents) a pop.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mobile is the future. Virtually everyone has a cell phone; it’s how they keep in touch, how they do their banking, how they get their news and entertainment. My news group has just begun to assert itself on that platform.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, I have again journalistic challenges, the opportunity to change lives through information, and a window on culture like we had in Denver. It’s better because it’s new; because it requires global perspective.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To say life’s “much better,” fulfilling though it is, would go too far. I still miss the w</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ork we did and the community we were at the Rocky. I’m privileged and thankful to have been a part of that. It's the foundation from which I am moving forward.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kevin Huhn</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Deputy sports editor, now working at copy chief for FOXSports.com in Los Angeles</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I was given an amazing opportunity by FOXSports.com to learn valuable web skills that I hadn't previously acquired. I'm also being given the opportunity to create, from scratch, a copy desk. I have to laugh because an entity in the web industry that continues to hurt newspapers approached me about helping "build a traditional style newspaper copy desk." Really? What's wrong with this picture? Anyway, professionally I have no complaints because I've been given an opportunity in which I'm being paid to learn skills I desperately need. Personally, I miss Denver a lot, which is why I say my life is somewhat worse. But I fully anticipate my current job helping me reposition myself to someday return to Denver in a professional situation that more closely resembles what I had at the Rocky than what I had in the year before I was given my new opportunity.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Burt Hubbard</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Computer assisted reporter at the Rocky, now working as editorial director of the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I traded the camaraderie of the News and its feistiness for the chance to be part of a start-up, nonprofit approach to investigative/analytical stories as part of a new era in journalism.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Lesley Kennedy</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Deputy features editor, now News Editor, AOL ParentDish.com and Contributor, AOL StyleList.com</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life about the same</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I loved my newspaper job, and still miss it a lot -- like, a lot! -- but, as the mother of two young girls, it's been great to work fewer hours from home, make more money and be able to pick the kids up from school and spend so much time with them. Working from home has been a serious adjustment I'm still not fully used to, but it certainly has its advantages. And, thankfully, I have found work that is still fun, creative and fulfilling. Knock on wood.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">B.G. Brooks</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">CU beat reporter, now contributing editor of a website about CU sports</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life about the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While my income is less, so is the daily pressure. I'm looking at that as somewhat of a fair trade-off, although we've cut back a bit on expenditures and have done some financial compensating. We're not scrimping by any means, but our disposable income isn't what it was. However, I'm very fortunate in that I found employment with benefits (a huge factor) fairly fast, was able to continue writing (with a few in-house restrictions, of course) and was able to remain in Colorado. Patti and I were at a point in our lives where neither of us -- having firm roots here that include grand-kids -- wanted to leave the state. I miss the Rocky and 30-plus years of friendships, but thus far things have worked out well for us. I won't complain.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Matthew Roberts</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Multimedia producer, now working freelance</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">....included photo of family and another of his son</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It's important to note that my life would probably still qualify as "Somewhat Better" if the Rocky were still around though. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While I've been enjoying freelance journalism work since the Rocky closed, this comes with a bit of a caveat.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I decided to go back to school and get another undergraduate degree in Computer Science. I'll be finishing that up at Metro this Spring, at which point I'll be starting a Computer Science Systems Engineering graduate program at DU. The more I've gotten into programming and development, the more I've found that I absolutely love it. This will mean a career change, and I've already made started to make that adjustment. I've taken down my freelance site so that no one else will contact me via the Web, and I have enough projects lined up to see me through the end of Spring. I won't be accepting any additional freelance work at this point.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life after the Rocky has been great. Financially, there has been some worry from time to time, but we've been able to thrive nonetheless. About a year after the Rocky closed, my son, Holland David Roberts, was born. Freelance and school have allowed me to spend much more time at home with Holland than I would have if I'd had full-time employment somewhere.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I've attached a portrait of Amanda, Holland and myself I shot this past summer and a more recent one of Holland. Family is definitely the most important thing in my life and I can't imagine a better place to grow up than Denver surrounded by the wonderful state of Colorado. I've turned down some excellent job offers with great organizations because it would mean moving to another state. If a radical career change is what it takes to stay in Denver, that's not a problem. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I definitely miss the Rocky. It's somewhat depressing to think that I'll probably never work with such an amazing, dynamic cast of characters at any point in my future. I hear stories other peoples' work experiences and nothing comes close to comparing. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to see.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jon Perez</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor, now city editor/online editor the Gilroy Dispatch</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Working at the Rocky was great professionally and personally. While I didn’t always agree with the direction my career was going, I was able to provide for my family and live the life I always wanted with an emphasis on family life. The Rocky was a means and a career where I felt I was at one of the best papers and was one of the better page designers in my field. As a journalist, I wish for the days of a newsroom of having top journalists in every capacity as its No. 1 resource to make its news organization great. Sadly, I don’t see the Rocky newsroom culture happening again at a newspaper until we figure out how to be profitable in the new media environment.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">--------</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">John Ensslin</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">General assignment reporter, now legal affairs reporter at Gazette in Colorado Springs</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I feel like I'm doing some of the best work I've done in years. I'm especially pleased at the way I've been able to reinvent the beat through live blogging and a court blog I've developed called the Sidebar.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I also feel that I've "doubled-down" on my commitment to journalism. Earlier this year I was elected national secretary-treasurer of the Society of Professional Journalist, an outfit whose mission I strongly believe in. SPJ continues to do important work in supporting journalists around the country and improving the craft under adverse economic circumstances.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'll be running for President-elect in October at our national convention in New Orleans. If the delegates see fit, I'll be national president in two years. Wish me luck.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">M.E. Sprengelmeyer</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Washington correspondent, now publisher and reporter at The Communicator in Guadalupe County, N.M. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is much better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My work as a small-town newspaper publisher is more fulfilling to me than anything I did in my previous life as a journalist. I work many times harder, and much longer hours to accomplish this, but in a small town environment I get far more feedback from readers than at any time during my 22 years as a reporter for other people's newspapers. The county that constitutes my coverage area is among the poorest in the nation (in terms of poverty rate, 79th out of 3,000-plus counties), and so the stories that we do highlighting the situation, calling attention to needed economic development and government reforms, holding public officials accountable for their action or inaction, etc., all are critical. We are providing scrutiny that has never been here before at this level, fulfilling a role that would be lost entirely if we were not here. It cannot be duplicated by any other medium, especially not the Internet. We are building a real connection to our community, gradually increasing the sort of "tough love" journalism that this community needs in order to get through a very, very difficult economic period -- one that threatens to turn the community into a ghost town. In short, while the closure of the Rocky has not made my life easier, nor more comfortable, it has allowed me to put all my accumulated skills to use FOR MYSELF (as a sole proprietor) and for A GREATER GOOD (a community's survival). In short, I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, where I am supposed to be doing it at a time that is critical for our community. Oh, and I am finding that even in perhaps the worst economy in generations and in one of the hardest-hit places at that, newspapering is still a profitable business -- more profitable by the week. Public service pays. Who knew? Watch for our expansion by the end of 2011.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Rick Henderson</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Editorial writer, now managing editor of Carolina Journal</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life much better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I was an editorial writer at the Rocky. I'm the managing editor of Carolina Journal. I assign and edit stories, post articles on the website, write news stories, editorials, and columns, shoot and modify photographs for print and the Web, and serve as traffic cop. I also appear on talk radio with some frequency, and make public speaking appearances.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I hesitate saying "much better," because my time at the Rocky had been the most rewarding professional experience I had enjoyed. Until now. But I landed on my feet. I was able to return to my home state and take charge of a publication that was making the transition from monthly print to near-daily print and online. The staff has roughly doubled since I arrived, so I'm supervising four full-time writers (including one video reporter) and a dozen freelancers. Our goal is to produce three news stories daily. In 2010, the paper saw five years of investigative reporting pay off, as North Carolina's former governor, Mike Easley, pleaded guilty to a felony charge for campaign finance violations we reported before the mainstream dailies. Gov. Bev Perdue also is under investigation by state prosecutors for campaign violations of her own. Carolina Journal does much more than investigative/scandal stories, and my time here has been both a whirlwind and a delight. I do miss the access and the clout we enjoyed at the Rocky. But we're getting a lot more respect as time goes by. And there's a good deal more stability with my current work than I had in Denver.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Moreover, I'm close to family, my wife (a 30-year Colorado resident) loves North Carolina, and we're really at home here.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">-----</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Katie McCrimmon</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Part-time reporter, now working as a reporter, blogger, photographer, content producer for HealthPolicySolutions.org</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is about the same.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Professionally, I am doing quite well. I love telling great stories and I have that opportunity again. In the new world of nonprofit online journalism, I am learning an array of skills including photography (ha!) and simple web design. My brain is stretched every day. I miss the banter among funny, talented people in our newsroom along with the Rocky's excellent photographers. But, I feel privileged to continue to work as a journalist in Denver covering critical health issues.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ed Sealover</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Reporter, now reporting for the Denver Business Journal</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Life about the same.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"About the same" doesn't really answer the question, but I can't say life is better or worse.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I miss working at the Rocky and having that mammoth audience of readers. But at the same time, I like the challenge of helping to increase the readership here at the DBJ - something we have done since the Rocky closed.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">At times during the past election season, I missed the thrill of jumping in my car and following a candidate halfway across the state (we covered only events in the Denver metro area at the DBJ). At the same time, I liked an election season where I actually got to go home and see my wife every once in a while, and I know she liked that too.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I love the kindness of my fellow staffers here, but I sometimes miss the buzz of the big newsroom, where 20 things were happening at once and you knew you were bound to get swept up in it.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I don't so much miss 14-hour days, which come a lot more rarely when we have a narrower focus on business issues and don't have to cover every nine-hour legislative committee hearing on the death penalty. One of the great things about having more personal time is that I can engage in more personal projects. For example, my first book, a guide to Colorado breweries, is set to come out in July, and I'm not sure if I could have found the time to research and write it while working at the Rocky.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I miss telling people that I work at the Rocky and hear them reply how it's their favorite paper and how they've read it since they were a little kid. But I also love telling people that I work at the Denver Business Journal and hearing them explain how much they've come to appreciate our paper, especially since the Rocky closed.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, there's good, there's bad. I really do love what I'm doing now. But I do miss the Rocky. Take what you will from that. Overall, though, I'm just glad I had the experience I did at the Rocky, even if it was only for its last 7-1/2 months.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">John Moore</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor, now copy editor at The (Louisville) Courier-Journal</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life about the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After nearly a year in Louisville, I'm still loving the city and being back in a newsroom. I miss the mountains of Colorado, but I love the South and how green Kentucky gets in the spring and summer.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Barry Gutierrez</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Photographer, now working freelance for AP and others</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#242324;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I miss the fast pace of being staff photojournalist, as well as the camaraderie, banter and deadline pressure that comes with a newsroom. However, I have grown to love the freedom of time to develop skills and invest in myself. That time has been invaluable. Working for the RMN was very demanding and would not have allowed the time I needed to grow. Teaching and giving back to students has been a great expression of my heart. It has given my time and experience at the RMN value. It has given me a chance to reflect and absorb what I have leaned as a staff Photojournalist. Working as a freelance photojournalist and commercial photographer has been very rewarding, but not always fulfilling. I have found that sometimes working for clients can be quite restricting and at times unchallenging artistically. I miss the documentary style photography on a daily basis and am in the process of reinstating this passion into my daily life. One of my outlets has been freelancing for the Associated Press on a regular basis. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#242324;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#242324;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">These past two years have been very difficult both personally and professionally, but I have never been overcome by challenges. I welcome them. I learned from my father a long time ago that you judge a man's character, not when he is up and doing well, but when he is down and struggling. Along with the strength of my wife we have shown great character through these last two years. I am proud of our progress. I hope that our family will become more of a light to others as our journey continues. And with the addition of our first child Sol Sebastian Gutierrez, the focus of our life has never been more certain. Parenthood has been awesome. To all of our dear RMN colleagues Fairlight and I send our Love. May 2011 be more about progress than survival. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#242324;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#242324;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#242324;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ed Stein</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Editorial cartoonist, now doing a strip for United Features Syndicate</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is much different</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While I enjoy not having to get up and go to the office every day, and don't miss the stress of daily deadlines (and of the constant uncertainty of the last years at the Rocky), I do find working at home isolating; I miss the collegiality and stimulation of the newsroom, especially when there's breaking news. The first election night not in a newsroom in more than 30 years was disconcerting. I very much miss working on local stories, and the connection with readers. Even though the Post runs both my editorial cartoons and the comic strip, there's no direct contact with readers and local sources. In other ways, life goes on in new directions; I spend more time with my wife and friends, my schedule is my own, and drawing a nationally-syndicated comic strip and creating my own blog/website both present new and interesting challenges.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Read "</span><a href="http://comics.com/freshly_squeezed"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">Freshly Squeezed"</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> .</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mark Humbert</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor, now working as editor-publisher Local Color (monthly) magazine, The Daily Post (online news sheet) and, since July 30, 2009, The Banner (weekly newspaper)</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I work very hard, writing, editing, taking photos, dealing in some ways with every aspect of publishing ... it seems like every week I quit or fire myself and think about getting a "real job" and then come back and do it all over. I love the work — or most of it, but have to struggle to make sure we are the best publications in Brighton every day, week, month. The hardest part is keeping the Banner Web site up to date.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And it's amazing we are holding our own without a real ad rep.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bruce Leaf</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor, now a reporter for Longmont Ledger and Examiner.com, as well as teaching</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Besides working as a reporter, I tutor students at Front Range Community College in Longmont in writing and journalism. Also, a producer hired me to rewrite a screenplay slated for production, which I’m doing right now.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My income doesn’t compare to what I made at the Rocky, but the gratitude I receive from the Front Range students when they understand how to write a good sentence or a complete paragraph is wonderful. I have written two screenplays and rewritten four others. One of them took first place in the drama category of the 2010 Page International Screenwriting Awards. That honor led to the producer hiring me to rewrite a script that has financial backing and is set for production. This is the proverbial “foot in the door” in Hollywood, which I hope will lead to options, sales and additional rewrites. Only time will tell. The demise of the Rocky gave me more time to work on my scripts and allowed me to gain this foothold in the movie business.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Judy DeHaas</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Photographer, now director of photography at San Francisco Chronicle</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life much different</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My title at the Rocky was really whatever I wanted it to be, thanks to Janet Reeves and John Temple, who encouraged me to not only shoot photos, but to expand my skills into multimedia, production, editing, coaching and mentoring. It was a situation that I know was rare, as managers usually like to keep people within a boundary. I was hired at the Denver Post as a staff photographer, because that is the only opening they had at the time. So when I was approached to apply for the Director of Photography position at the San Francisco Chronicle, I was very interested in taking my work into yet another realm, this time as a manager – or hopefully more of an inspiration conduit!<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(I made 25% less then I did at the Rocky at the Denver Post, if that matters or not.)</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I feel that the closure of the Rocky Mountain News combined with having to start a new job the next day at the Denver Post was very traumatizing for me. I wished I had had some time to process that situation. I remember when I told you that I had a job at the Post and someone actually caught it on film. I was so conflicted. I was also the last person hired, which was in and of itself, traumatic. I could go into much more detail but feel that it would be best to just be thankful that I had a job, considering I was the main breadwinner for a family of four, I had a two year old and my husband was in graduate school. My marriage did end, a year after the Rocky’s closure, and I am sure the trauma of that experience contributed to its demise but was not the sole reason. I am thrilled to be starting this job as the director of photography at the Chronicle and taking everything that I learned at the Rocky and expanding upon those skills!</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tracy Ringolsby</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Baseball reporter, now baseball analyst</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I am under contract to do the pre- and post-game shows on 135 Rockies telecast, write two columns week for FOXSports.com, writely a twice monthly column for Baseball America and remain on a monthly retainer for the MLB Network.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">'d say I am enjoying what I am doing more than I did at the Rocky because the business had changed so much and the emphasis has become being first not factual. The challenge is I am gone from home more than I had been and to be honest, at this age, my hope was to spend more time at home.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">John Rebchook</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Real estate editor, now has his own real estate blog and freelances</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life much better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px "><a href="http://InsideRealEstateNews.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">InsideRealEstateNews.com</span></span></a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. My blog is currently sponsored by Universal Lending, Land Title Guarantee, 8z Real Estate, and the Denver Post. I also pick up a little revenue from Google Ads. I also write a monthly newsletter for a real estate company. I've also written several freelance pieces and I will be launching several freelance projects in 2011. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> My title is somewhat irrelevant, as I am not part of a corporate structure. I consider myself a content provider. I am also a freelancer and a free agent.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I like being my own boss, working from home, learning about the field of blogging, and generally being more entrepreneurial. I also like having the freedom to invest in the stocks of local companies. Professionally, I miss having copy editors. Also, my health insurance costs have skyrocketed. I miss having paid vacations, too. Although I do not make as much money as I did at the Rocky, hopefully that will change in 2011. I do miss the people at the Rocky, though. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sandra Fish</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Part-time presentation editor, now contributing to politicisdaily.com and continuing to teach at University of Colorado</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I loved working at the Rocky, even on a part-time basis. When the Fourmile Canyon Fire happened on Labor Day, the absence of a cutting-edge news organization was keenly felt. The Rocky would have been all over the fire from the get-go and would have done more than simply update stories on web sites every hour or so, but when there's a media monopoly, there's a lack of creativity and plenty of complacency. So i took to Twitter the first day to update folks on what officials were saying about the fire via scanner traffic. But the rest of the week was frustrating. The Post and the Camera both used a google map - created and crowdsourced by someone else. At one point, the Post had a map that was a JPG of the print map. I know the Rocky would have had a great interactive map and a ton more depth and breadth in their coverage. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So for me, the biggest loss is as a news consumer. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Rob Reuteman</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Business editor, now freelancing for CNBC.com and FoxBusiness.com</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I enjoy the flexible schedule, enjoy being able to travel at will. I </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">enjoy writing and reporting. The more I thought about it, when I got out of college, I hoped to make a living as a writer. I got sidetracked into editing and managing for nearly 30 years, but feel</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">like I have come full circle, in a way. Thanks to technology, it is </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">amazing what I can accomplish from my living room couch, where I am right now.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Through a sort of accident of history, I am also president this year </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, a</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3,200-member organization of financial journalists. Freelancing allows </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">me the flexibility to commandeer the organization, spend time on it whenever there is a need.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Andy Piper</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor, now editor and publisher of his own webzine</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life the same, different a better way of putting it</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#2700d3;"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.coloradoseen.com/</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is a tough one - my life is different in many ways but not significantly better or worse overall. I consider myself very, very lucky that the circumstances and timing of the Rocky's closing left me and my wife with constrained but not desperate finances. Emphasize "lucky!" That has given me a cushion to pursue my job searches, and at the same time polish my journalistic skills as a photographer, writer and artist (in addition to my Rocky experience as copy-editor and designer) and develop a track record and make myself more marketable.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Put a different way - I don't know that I miss my "job" at the Rocky as such, because I've been able to find a creative substitute and broaden my experience and horizons. But I do miss the hell out of the people, the newsroom, and the product we made - and always will.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Julie Poppen</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Part-time reporter, now editor of EdNews Parent (</span><a href="http://www.ednewsparent.org/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">www.ednewsparent.org</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">)</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I am missing the sense of camaraderie and structure I had while working at the Rocky. I miss some of the journalism, too, not the death and destruction daily news stories - but the more in-depth stories (such as that massive case of mortgage fraud story I wrote just before the end) that could really open people's eyes and make an impact. I also really miss my colleagues and being in the newsroom. Working at home is tough. I am very productive - but it is tempting to work in your PJs or your workout clothes or whatever and it's a lot harder to draw a clear line between work and the rest of your life. It all smears together, which can cause stress. My husband's job situation changed, too, and he's working at home, so the impact is compounded. And we share the same financial worries that a lot of people have right now. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Janet Reeves</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Senior Editor for photo and multimedia, now AME/Photo and multimedia/Minneapolis StarTribune</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life different</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My life is very different in that I work in one city and my family lives in another. I enjoy the adventure, exploration and challenge of a new town and organization....but it does take its toll living dual lives. Verdict still out on this and how you adapt. Eternally optimistic!!</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mark Holm</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Assistant photo editor, now working as a freelance photographer</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I am much happier on a personal level, being with my wife and in my home of 25 years than I was being apart when I lived in Denver (and New Hampshire, briefly, before that). Having already been through one newspaper closure, I was not interested in looking for another newspaper staff job. I just wanted to regroup with my family and figure out a new path. I knew freelancing would be unfamiliar territory, but it's been working out OK - not great.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The best part, professionally, has been my association with former Rocky D.C. correspondent, M.E. Sprengelmeyer at the weekly Guadalupe County Communicator, which he purchased after the Rocky closed. The experience takes me back to my very first newspaper job, where I was also the first trained photojournalist on the staff, only this time I have the benefit of some (decades) of experience to draw from. The positive response from the community along with the success of a print product during this earthquake in the newspaper world has been rewarding and encouraging.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And it feels good to be shooting again. In eight years as a photo editor, having the privilege of working with such an incredible collection of talented photographers, editors and designers, I'm quite sure I received more than I gave. And I like to think that those associations inform the way I see these days. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Another positive in all of this has been the continuing bond among those of us who went through the closing of the Albuquerque Tribune, exactly a year before the Rocky. Although I wasn't in Denver long enough to make as strong a connection, I see evidence of that bond (on Facebook) among Rocky staffers, too. I think it's been important and therapeutic.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The downside, of course, is that the income and benefits changed dramatically when I became my own boss, which is affecting more people than just me. In short, the view of my career at this end is pretty different than it was at the front end.</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But it's been inspiring to watch so many of my former colleagues rise to the occasion and reinvent -- or "re-pot" themselves, as my friend Jim Belshaw said his old buddy, the late Tony Hillerman, used to say.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hank Schultz</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor and web editor, now managing editor at Functional Ingredients magazine, published by </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">New Hope Natural Media</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">At a large organization one's role naturally tends to be more constrained. In my present job I have more responsibility than I used to have and I work harder for less pay. But I get to do some things I was unable to do at my old job, namely write for publication, and I've found that I'm very good at it. I have more pride of ownership now than I did, and I have gotten excellent feedback from my peers and from my contacts within the dietary supplements and natural foods industry. And I have been very fortunate to have found a great bunch of people to work with.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The big factor that balances this out is the level of pay, which is significantly less than what the Rocky used to pay. This might seem venal, but as one enters fully into middle age you realize that you have fewer and fewer earning years before you. As hard as this recession is on young people trying to launch careers, it may be even tougher on older workers, who are seeing what ought to be some of the prime earning years of their lives frittered away. Another, somewhat lesser negative factor is that I have a very long commute (from near Park Meadows to Boulder). This, too, might seem a venal concern, but all those hours in the car add up after a while. And the real estate market is such that I can't justify taking a big hit on real estate just to spend a little less time in the car. </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">All this being said, I feel very fortunate and grateful. I am able to broaden my skills, experience and contacts, which is all good. And I'm having fun!</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Taylor Osieczanek</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sports presentation editor, now in same job at Boulder Daily Camera</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">More than anything the Rocky closing helped give me perspective on life in general, but especially the role work playing into that. I just started working at the Camera less than two months ago and my job before that was not at all fulfilling and the pay was terrible. So now, even though I'm making less money than I did at the Rocky, I'm a happier person.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">George Tanner</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Assistant News Editor, now senior news editor at Scripps Central Desk-West in Corpus Christi, Texas</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I live in Texas, and my family still lives in Colorado. We lived conservatively (even remaining in Greeley while I worked at the RMN), and that's what is helping us get through this. Maintaining two households is a drain, but my income and benefits at my new job are invaluable, and I am very pleased to be working in the newspaper industry again. I had to give up my website and my teaching gig at Metropolitan State College of Denver, but the full-time job outweighed the schizophrenic combination of three jobs I held in 2009 (working for Associated Content and Metro State and building ColoradoSoccerNow.com from scratch).</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">John Sopinski</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Graphic artist, now graphic artist at Toronto Globe and Mail</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Like all of my former colleagues at The Rocky, my life has gone through a few changes since I left Denver at the end of April 2009. Luckily, my wife had a good job in Italy so I was able to have a nice place to go with health insurance to boot. It was definitely a plus to be able to get closer to my nieces and nephew and have many new and challenging experiences away from the hustle and bustle of the newsroom; I would have never had that opportunity had The Rocky not closed. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">However, at some point real life comes calling and bills must be paid. As there was no gainful employment for me in Italy, I feel very fortunate to have found a great job with Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, in Toronto after more than 15 months in the Beautiful Country. It's not The Rocky but it is about as close as anyone could come to recreating their old job in Denver. My former Rocky family is never far away as I keep pictures of The Rocky building, the iconic image of The Final Salute and the final A1 cover pinned to my desk in the Globe newsroom. When I sometimes hear the normal everyday grumbling of my new colleagues, I wonder if they realize how fortunate they are to be working for a great organization making good money in the profession that we all love and how quickly that can be taken away if we are not mindful.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dean Krakel</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Director of photography, now features/sports photo editor at The Denver Post</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Answer to whether life is better or worse too complicated</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is hard to describe. My life has had so many changes since the Rocky closed. I've had a great life, it's been a true adventure both personally and professionally. I've been to one of the most primitive and remote parts of Ethiopia, finished the novel I was writing (now being handled by an agent) and done all kinds of other work, contract editing, writing and photography. I've worked for magazines, worked for wedding photographers as an editor, I've worked for some of our former staff photographers as an assistant, I've developed a business of using large photographs for corporate decoration. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After leaving management I began shooting pictures and writing again. Who knows why I put that on the sidelines. So the quality of my life has been really wonderful, but the financial part has been worrisome. I've decimated my retirement, believing that it's better to invest in myself then save for those golden years. But two years is a long time not to have a steady income. Last winter was really lean. This winter has been better but I've always had the feeling that time & money was like watching sand run through an hour glass. At some point the sand was going to run out and then what? I figured when the money started getting really low that's when I'd book it for the Fiji Islands or pile into my sea kayak and take off for Argentina.....when things get tough that's when the tough take a hike. I've actually been going after some freelance work and getting it. Freelancing is challenging to say the least. Every day you wake up and have got to be a hunter gatherer and it better be a mammoth you gather and not a rabbit. There have been very few days and nights and middle of the nights during the past two years when I have not worried about money. I guess one of the worst things has been not being able to help my boys financially, but then again, they've learned that no one is going to bail them out of a jam. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My story is unusual in that I was actually on the eve of going to bankruptcy court when I was offered a job at the Denver Post. Pretty incredible. In the past two years I divorced, lost my job, lost my house and declared bankruptcy. My landlord was hoping we wouldn't have to have an eviction discussion (because the bankruptcy notice freaked him out) and I was waiting for my car to be repo'd. No shit. Now just how much lower can a person go. Ohhh pretty low. One thing I've learned is that things can always get worse. And they can always get better. We, all of us, walk the razor's edge.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I feel very fortunate and am excited to be working at a newspaper again, working with images and photographers. My time away has given me great perspective and a great appreciation for journalism. I really missed it. When I walked into our old building and interviewed at the Post I felt right at home. Not comfortably so, but in an electric kind of way, like, yeah baby let's roll, lets get after it. There are great stories to be told and great photographs to be taken. It was incredible feeling all that energy, the collective talent of a team working together. I feel refreshed, inspired and ready to go to work.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If that hadn't happened then I would have gone to work on plan B. and C. and D. One thing I've learned is that I'm a survivor. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What I would tell to others is that things work out. Usually. It's all part of the journey.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Scott Gilbert</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor, now reporter at MetroNorth Newspapers</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life about the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I work much longer hours now, but I feel fortunate that I've been able to stay in journalism. I enjoy having a license to call anyone and ask any question, and it's nice to write stories the way I want. I like being in community journalism, where I know that many of the stories I cover would otherwise go unreported.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Phil McPeck</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor and back-up wire editor, now weekend editor and relief news editor at The Chieftain in Pueblo, Colo.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My job satisfaction is considerably poorer, and it's not simply — to be honest — doing more work for less pay. I've run into significant frustrations in my two post-Rocky positions in terms of commitment to quality, and in fact, the ability or willingness of co-workers to even recognize that something is lacking and remedy it. One thing that was instilled in me at the Rocky was to think reader first and strive to be reader friendly. I find it very strange and disheartening that that is not the norm, whether in writing, headlines or design.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Outside of work, the quality of life and city is poor compared with the Denver metro area and Tulsa, which, contrary to what is public perception, is a fine and vibrant city. I spend my days off in Denver or elsewhere. In six months in Pueblo, I've stayed in town probably two "weekends."</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Naturally, the physical distance from Denver has taken a toll on my relationships and friendships. Pueblo is preferable to Tulsa in that regard. I keep in touch with some Rocky peers through Facebook, and have the occasional lunch with a few. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The bottom line is that I'm actively looking for the right combination of a job, compensation and location. I have yet to find it and, literally, I have to stop and remind myself that it may not be fair to compare other newspapers — the product and the staff — to what was. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ellen Jaskol</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Photographer, now working freelance</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I love being my own boss, having my own clients, and being in charge of my own business. I think I might work the same or more hours, but the hours are more flexible, so no one owns my time. I love that. I still have great feelings about the Rocky and the staff's professionalism. So many smart people worked there. The biggest opportunity came to me from the Central Asia Institute, started by Greg Mortenson, who wrote the books, "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones into Schools." In 2010, they sent me to Afghanistan and Pakistan to photograph their schools and their communities, and I plan to go back in 2011. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kevin Graves</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Software developer, now doing the same at Las Vegas Sun</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life about the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While my physical location has changed my life from a day-to-day perspective hasn't changed much. But working elsewhere just isn't as special as working at the Rocky was. There was something special and unique about that place. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sonya Doctorian</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Multimedia journalist/coach, now deputy director of photography at Washington Post</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I moved from Washington, DC in 2003 to Colorado for a photo editor position at the Rocky. I'll always be grateful I had a chance to work for the Roc</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ky. I carry its mission forward in my daily journalistic work.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I think the burglary of my house on a fine day in September 2010 woke me up to a willingness to look outside Colorado for a staff to join. I was an independent video journalist for nearly two years, so always trusted something good would appear </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">for my next assignment. And it always did. But then 5 burglars stole my $20,000 worth of video camera and computer equipment in 15 minutes. Alas, I learned my Macs were underinsured (what a lame stereotype). Within a month, I sent my portfolio to the Washington Post.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Duncan Taylor</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Assistant Internet producer, now copy editor/designer at Boulder Daily Camera</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat worse</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I work just as hard and I'm building plenty of skills. I feel I'm growing </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">personally, but perhaps I'm stagnating economically. I'm learning management and editorial skills, but I'm spending my days handcuffed to print. There are pros and cons. But I was excited when I woke up at 4:20 each morning to head to the Rocky, and that's not exactly the case these days.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jeff Smith</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Business reporter, now working as a freelance journalist and journalism trainer in Southeast Asia and West Africa</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> We decided the best option would be to move overseas , and wait out the recession. My wife is with a Colorado-based nonprofit (International Development Enterprises) that works with farmers in developing countries. She took the opportunity to help start a project in West Africa. She has become the primary wage earner in our family, while I am the “trailing spouse” who picks up the children from school, cooks, keeps the generator running, and does freelance journalism.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It is has been a challenge living in Ghana and we miss the United States, especially family and friends, the mountains, parks and trails, clean air, and comforts like stable electricity. We don’t miss the consumerism, the political polarization, or popular culture.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">These are clichés, but I do think change is good and living overseas broadens one’s world view. I’ve enjoyed learning about development issues in Africa as a journalist and media trainer. And I have the flexibility to do some short-term journalism consulting jobs in Southeast Asia.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The big challenge is whether I can stay in journalism if we decide that I should become the primary wage earner so my wife can spend more time with the children. I would like to stay in journalism but there’s also the reality of supporting two children through college. (currently our daughters are in 2</span></span><span style="font: 8.0px Georgia; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">nd</span></sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and 10</span></span><span style="font: 8.0px Georgia; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">th</span></sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> grade – the experience has been mixed for them. Our second grader would rather be in the U.S., while our 10</span></span><span style="font: 8.0px Georgia; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">th</span></sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> grader wants to finish high school in Ghana).</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Aaron Lopez</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sports reporter, now a communications specialist with Nuggets.com</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life about the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Other than having to work in an office as opposed to out of my home, life hasn't changed a whole lot. I cover games on nights, weekends and holidays, which is the life of a sports writer. My job description requires me to crop photos, take and edit videos, and write captions and headlines, which I never had to do at the Rocky.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Outside of work, my family is still in the same house with similar challenges of managing a budget and keeping a schedule.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Armando Arrieta</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Night city editor, now working as associate editor in the syndicate and news service division of The New York Times</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I spent years building a life in Denver, only to have to leave it all and move East to where there were jobs. But I remain in the industry and work as an editor, so it’s hard to complain. Still, if the Rocky had not closed I feel I would still be there.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Greg McElvain</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Presentation editor, now working as a copy editor/designer at the Salt Lake Tribune</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is somewhat better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I've broadened my horizons by working for different managers and taking on new duties. Worked in two great cities -- Colorado Springs and Salt Lake. Have made new friends and colleagues.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Brian Lehmann</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Photo intern, now working as a freelance photographer in Lincoln, Neb.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is somewhat worse..</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I’ve created the ideal life for a journalist here in Lincoln, Nebraska. I read as much as possible, listen to friends and strangers and when something perks my interest I go searching for the story. I allow myself as much time as necessary to work on them. That could be a few hours, a week or months, then try to publish it in the local newspaper or nationally. My funding comes from the lawn mowing business I started at 13. It isn’t glamorous. I can only afford to shoot what I dig up in my own backyard.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What’s interesting is my images are some of the best I’ve captured, mostly thanks to what I learned at the Rocky, yet I really long for the camaraderie. The late night photo conversations with Mark Holm that changed the way I look at journalism. I miss Janet (Reeves) patrolling the newsroom and catching hints of how she thinks. The fifth floor view of the mountains is a far cry from my current stale view of a cornfield on the plains. Out here I'm on my own, without the buzz of a newsroom, where the daily highs no longer come from impressing an editor or sitting courtside at a Nuggets game. They come from working on stories I’m passionate about, spending all week to get one picture just right or developing a lasting relationship with photo subjects.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My time at the Rocky was an amazing experience I hope to find again someday. It made my transition back to Lincoln difficult. It’s still difficult. In Denver I produced photos for a living and skied in my free time. Now I'm so concerned with not producing that I’m pushing myself harder then ever before. It’s stressful. My goals are set high and time will tell how they work out. One thing is for sure though, I’m addicted to sitting on the sidelines of people’s lives and capturing their story.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">****</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kevin Vaughan</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Reporter, now doing the same at The Denver Post</span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 20px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is the same</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 15.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I counted myself extremely lucky that The Denver Post offered me a job when the Rocky closed. I remain thankful that I was able to continue my journalism career in Denver, and I work with a lot of great people. I've been fortunate to do work that I've been proud of at the Post. The journalism — the gathering of documents, the tracking down of people, and the writing of stories — is the same thrill every time, and tremendously satisfying. Still, when I think about the closing of the Rocky I am filled with sadness. I miss the people I worked with there. I saw oneof my Rocky friends a couple of weeks ago for the first time since the paper closed — that's astonishing, considering that we worked together in the same newsroom for more than a decade. I could go on and on with stories like that, but that's what I miss — the people.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-615982753150502082011-02-24T23:00:00.003-10:002011-02-25T05:46:22.310-10:00Stories of Rocky Mountain News Staff Who Left Journalism After the Paper Closed<script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><div>They're working in construction and in restaurants, at universities and ad agencies. Some are retired. Others are students. And a few are unemployed.</div><div> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">A greater percentage of this group who responded to a survey about life two years after the Rocky Mountain News closed said it was better now than when they were at the paper than did those still in the profession. But one theme emerged in this group's personal stories more strongly, a sense of loss.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Fifty-two of the 146 respondents said they were no longer in journalism </span>Of that group, 22, or 42 percent, said life was better. Of the people still working as journalists, 24 percent said the same thing.</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">(To learn more about the survey, please read the <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/rocky-mountain-news-journalists-two.html">main story</a> and a related article at <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/02/life-after-death-two-years-since-the-demise-of-my-newspaper/71686/">The Atlantic</a>. You can also read <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff_24.html">the stories</a> of former Rocky staff still in journalism, and learn <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stock-price-of-rocky-mountain-news.html">what happened</a> to the paper's owner, too.)</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span>Of course, the sample wasn't scientific, so it's possible that those depressed about life outside journalism after the Rocky closed were less inclined to respond. I just don't know. But I do know that many of this group who did respond shared a longing for the camaraderie they had experienced at the paper.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Here are a few themes that emerged in their reflections on life after the newspaper closed:</span></p> <ul> <li class="li1"><span class="s1">Missing the 'family" and common goal. "I really miss the Rocky, and journalism in general," wrote Julie Lovell, a former presentation editor who's now unemployed. "I especially miss my co-workers (who were like family) and the feeling of pride when such a talented team of people come together working toward a common goal. I don't think there's been any other job outside of a newsroom where I have felt that. I hope that one day I will have it again."</span></li><li class="li1">Miss the people. "As I'm sure you will hear from just about everyone who responds: I think about the Rocky everyday and still miss it and the people I worked with very much," wrote Gerry Valerio, former assistant sports editor/preps, now working a couple of part-time jobs</li><li class="li1">Can't replace the camaraderie and satisfaction. "I also miss the camaraderie at the newspaper and the satisfaction that resulted from the work we did. Nobody I've talked to, working or not, has been able to replace that," wrote Tim Burroughs, a former presentation editor who's also unemployed.</li><li class="li1">Mourning what's happened to journalism. "No matter where my career takes me, I will always mourn the closure of the Rocky and what has happened to the industry of journalism. In my heart, part of me will always be a journalist. But I've decided to move toward doing service work in my community rather than writing about what other people do," wrote Myung Oak Kim, who went on to work in communications for the governor of Colorado.</li></ul> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">We had a strict standard on anonymous sources at the Rocky. But we also used them. Sometimes people can be most truthful when they can speak without their name being known. I think the following is one of those cases:</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">"There are many facets to this question. While we once lived a reasonably carefree lifestyle when it came to money -- meaning that money wasn't necessarily overflowing, but we could generally afford the things we needed -- we are now often worried about unexpected expenses cropping up.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">"In many ways, though, what's worse is the loss of work I enjoyed and felt passionate about, a sense of purpose, a daily routine, and the company of smart, interesting and fun colleagues. The loss of a "family" of co-workers can be acute from day to day. It's as if you lost a roomful of friends overnight. Even more dispiriting is the sense that skills you have worked decades to build are no longer valued in the marketplace. Employers who once might have hired journalists are now looking for social networking and various computer skills -- and the younger people who know these things instinctively. It is utterly demoralizing to have decades of writing and editing experience and not even get an interview for a job you would barely have considered straight out of college.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">"All of these things combined, I've found these past two years some of the most difficult of my life. That said, though, I can see that I am making good progress at finding a new way and might even feel, one day, that losing my job was actually the best thing that ever happened to me. The jury is still out on how it will look to me 10 years from now.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">"I apologize if any of this sounds like whining. I just wanted to paint a realistic picture of what life is like, post-journalism, as I would hate to see a Pollyanna report that doesn't include the many trials we are all facing or have faced in the past few years. Suffice to say that it was more traumatic than I ever envisioned."</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Here are the stories of many others no longer working as journalists, in their own words:</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><b>Randall Roberts</b></p><p class="p1"><b></b>Senior editor for administration, now working as a nature photographer, Randall K. Roberts Photography. Said Life is the same or a little worse</p></div><div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I enjoy the photography-related work and meeting people at my shows, but trying to make sales and create an income stream is wearing on me.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I thought I worked hard at the Rocky, but now I'm working longer hours and more days of the week than before. Being self-employed and working at home, it's harder to leave work behind and take a break, especially with the pressure to find income, than it was when I had a salaried job outside the home.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">They say the first year of a new business is the hardest. I've survived that and a little more. Onward.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Judi Villa</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Police reporter now working as a communications specialist/911 dispatcher for Gilpin County Sheriff's Office. Said l</span>ife is somewhat better</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Before the Rocky closed, I thought I would be a journalist for life. I spent nearly 20 years in news (as a reporter and video producer) and loved every minute of it. The past two years have been a journey to reinvent myself. I have grieved and I have laughed, sometimes at the same time. Ultimately, I have found a new career where I help people on a daily basis, and I feel like I am doing something that makes a difference. As a bonus, I have a much better work/life balance and more quality time to spend with family and friends. The Rocky closing forced me to explore opportunities I might never have looked at otherwise, and I have been pleasantly surprised to find that there is life after news. And that life, although very different, is very good. I still miss news some times, but I chose not to go back, and I am happy with where I am now.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Luke Clarke</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Assistant city editor now working as a communications specialist for Kaiser Permanente. Said l</span>ife is somewhat better</p> <p class="p4"><span class="s1">My career change has meant a lot of learning – a new industry, new organizations and a new professional culture. One of the things I liked most about journalism was the almost daily opportunity to learn. Seemingly dry topics like public finance can be intriguing from a journalist's perspective of needing to acquire enough knowledge to explain to a large audience how it affects their lives.</span></p> <p class="p4"><span class="s1">I consider myself still in the exploratory phase of career change and am looking for opportunities to tell stories. I’m sharing a link to a video I made to tell the story of losing my father the day after losing my job at the Rocky as an illustration of where my exploration was about a year ago:</span></p> <p class="p4"><span class="s2"><a href="http://vimeo.com/9168234">http://vimeo.com/9168234</a></span></p> <p class="p4"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p4"><span class="s1"><b>Julie Lovell</b></span></p> <p class="p4"><span class="s1">Presentation editor now unemployed. Said l</span>ife is somewhat worse</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Initially after the closure of the Rocky I was very sad but also, in a way, relieved. Life initially was good and relatively stress-free! I was happy to spend more time at home and with family, etc. and I was looking forward to exploring new opportunities and career choices. </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Things took a turn quickly when I contracted something called Human Parvovirus B19. I thought only dogs could get Parvo but apparently this is totally different. </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">I can't even describe how this virus completely changed my life. If you're interested, there is some information online and a couple of youtube videos... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X09KrFsx8HA"><span class="s2">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X09KrFsx8HA</span></a>. </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">The real downside is that the virus triggered my body into developing Rheumatoid Arthritis, so now I'm dealing with that. </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">I really miss the Rocky, and journalism in general. I especially miss my co-workers (who were like family) and the feeling of pride when such a talented team of people come together working toward a common goal. I don't think there's been any other job outside of a newsroom where I have felt that. I hope that one day I will have it again.</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Kimberly Humphreys </b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Presentation editor, now working as an elementary school special education teacher. Said life is about the same.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">It's complicated for me, as I'm sure it is for everyone. Many times, life has been much worse. But I had the good fortune to be selected as a <a href="http://www.denverteachingfellows.org/index.shtml"><span class="s2">Denver Teaching Fellow</span></a> in May and hired at my first-choice school in August. Now, it feels like providence. My work is deeply rewarding, and I feel like a valued part of a community (I live in the school borders, so community is real in every sense.)</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Ellis is a Title I school that serves some of Denver's most at-risk families. Thirty languages are spoken here; the school is a magnet for refugee and newcomer families (even our principal is a former refugee). As a special-ed teacher, I feel like the distance between cause and effect is just across a table. It's pretty great!</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The hard part is money. As a first-year teacher, I net less than $2,000 a month. And because mine wasn't the only income in our family lost when the Rocky closed, that amount must support Clara entirely, including her school tuition. Every penny counts, and there just aren't enough of them. In that sense, life is still a lot worse. Also, I miss the Rocky dearly — as a reader. So many stories are going untold. Projects like Laura's and Ann's are shining lights, but there just aren't enough of them, and too many corners of our city are dark. I still feel sad and discouraged about that. But, along with Laura and Ann, you, M.E. and a few others are pushing journalism through this transition, and for that, I am hopeful.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Timothy Burroughs</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Presentation editor, now unemployed. Said l</span>ife about the same</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">It's better in many ways, such as having the free time to work on personal projects, travel (we spent a month in Europe this summer), and just kick back. We miss the income, of course, which has forced us to make some adjustments to our lifestyle as well as in our planning for the future. I also miss the camaraderie at the newspaper and the satisfaction that resulted from the work we did. Nobody I've talked to, working or not, has been able to replace that.</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Amy Speer</b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Presentation editor now working as a production designer at a marketing/advertising company. Said l</span>ife is somewhat better, somewhat worse.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I said somewhat better and somewhat worse because there are many things I miss about my old job, like my co-workers, pay, the need to create something new and different every day, the ability to make a difference and the chance to plan something. I don't miss working nights and holidays. With my new job I have learned so many things, like video editing, web design and programming, branding, etc., so it's also better because I probably wouldn't have had chance to grow in the ways that I have over the last two years.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Dean Lindoerfer</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Presentation editor now retired. Said l</span>ife is much better</p> <p class="p8"><span class="s1">Retirement is much better than working even though I do miss the newsroom excitement. Now I can see and attend many sporting events at night. . .i.e. Nuggets and Rockies, and of course my Broncos on Sundays. My wife and I are raising and have adopted two grandchildren, 10 and 8 and loving every minute of it at age 65. I have taken over management of my wife's folk art business, (<a href="http://www.VicalaFolkArt.com/"><span class="s2">www.VicalaFolkArt.com</span></a>) directing upcoming shows, advertisement materials, etc. Also manage my wife and singing partner's engagements at various retirement centers and outside events. They are called 'Just the 2 of Us.' I have kept in contact with some of my fellow workers at the Rocky. . .going to lunch at times. </span></p> <p class="p9"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p10"><span class="s1"><b>Todd Burgess</b></span></p> <p class="p10"><span class="s1">Presentation editor, now studying to be a physical therapist assistant. Said life is </span>somewhat better</p> <p class="p11"><span class="s1">We have less income, but I like the direction my work/life is headed. I have former coworkers at other newspapers who have experienced layoffs and furloughs and are under the continual stress of not knowing what bad news will hit their newspaper careers next. It's nice to be out of that loop. Plus, helping people walk again and regain their function, as I'll be doing as a physical therapist assistant, makes for a rewarding career.</span></p> <p class="p11"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p11"><span class="s1"><b>Myung Oak Kim</b></span></p> <p class="p11"><span class="s1">Reporter, went on to work in communications for governor. Said life the </span>same</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">When I graduated from college, I thought I would be a newspaper journalist for the rest of my life. I loved the work because I it allows me to write, to meet people, to make a positive impact on my community and to learn about new subjects. I still miss the job, but I was able to achieve all of those goals in the Governor's office. I don't know what direction my career will take 2 weeks from now when the Governor leaves office. But I am grateful for having this opportunity and for being able to support my family and have a good quality of life. No matter where my career takes me, I will always mourn the closure of the Rocky and what has happened to the industry of journalism. In my heart, part of me will always be a journalist. But I've decided to move toward doing service work in my community rather than writing about what other people do. I believe that we all have something to contribute to society. I want to use my skills toward making positive change, which is one of the most noble goals of journalism.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Wes Pope</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Photojournalist/videographer now teaching part-time at Rochester Institute of Technology. Said life </span>somewhat better</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">I completed an M.A. in Documentary Film & History at Syracuse University in December 2010. I will be teaching a class at Rochester Institute of Technology spring semester (advanced video for photojournalists). And I am currently applying for teaching jobs around the country -- hoping to find a full-time position for Fall 2011.</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Life has been a great adventure: (occasional Rocky freelancer) Kate Szrom and I got married in a small ceremony in Colorado Springs in May of 2009. Attending graduate school had been a goal of mine throughout my career and the closing of the Rocky gave me the push to finally go do it. I recently completed my M.A. in Documentary Film & History at Syracuse University. Kate has also been able to pursue her M.A. at Syracuse, studying photography, multimedia and radio. The 1-1/2 year program has been an amazing experience for both of us. If I am fortunate, I hope to land a teaching position and work on documentary film projects during my spare time. Kate is pursuing work in public radio and public television. The job market is still pretty rough and we are expanding our job search to include almost all parts of the country.</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Karen Ziegler</b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Editorial assistant, now co-owner of a housekeeping company, SCRUBS Housekeeping, life</span> is somewhat worse</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">It has just been hard to move on and realize I will never again work for the Rocky Mountain News. :(</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><b>Brian Glass</b></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Web developer, now working as a web developer for a communications company, l</span>ife somewhat worse</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My short tenure at the Rocky was the most fun and the best job I ever had. I also miss Colorado.</span></p> <p class="p1">****</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Jaime Aguilar</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Imaging specialist, now working at the American Indian College Fund as a media and research specialist, l</span>ife somewhat worse</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My life today is much busier and a little redundant. I had the rare </span>exception in my job of traveling to incredible places in Indian country to tell student success stories. I gathered many of our student stories for <a href="http://www.collegefund.org/"><span class="s2">www.collegefund.org</span></a> and for our donor appeals.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">While on this trip to eight Indian reservations, I created this marketing </span>video to say thank you to our donors from the students directly (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1tVXh2_nI0"><span class="s2">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1tVXh2_nI0</span></a>) for my first major project. I hope I showed enough to the brass to have them send me out into the field again.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I still get to serve citizens by telling stories visually, but I </span>certainly miss the buzz of that urgency and scoop in the newsroom.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Rocky was my dream job that was paying me well and was rewarding </span>(especially when the photo I made was "run-of-press" on the cover).</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Now, I work much harder and wonder when the next step is going to </span>happen, because I don't really see where I can move up in the company. Having to wonder about the ROI for our public relations team every year as the board reviews us can be a disturbing to think about.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">THAT day could come again...(hopefully not) but as a lay-off and not </span>another closing - I don't want to go through that again.</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Josephine Trujillo</b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Sports presentation editor, now a registered massage therapist, l</span>ife somewhat better</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I'm a 2010 graduate (4.0 GPA!!) of the Denver School of Massage Therapy. I returned to school over a year after the Rocky closed (March 2010) since I failed to find a suitable job in the Denver area. Because of family dynamics (and the answer to No. 9 - the layoff allowed me to qualify for a home loan modification program, without which I likely would have lost my house. My mortgage payment was cut by almost half, 49%), I decided leaving Denver was not a good idea, so I sought a career change.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">In the two years since the Rocky closed, I have been able to spend so much time with my young son. We had several opportunities to visit friends and family, and now that I work part time, I am home more often for him. I'm making less money now, and although I struggle financially, I am a happier person than I was before. But I very much miss the newsroom and my Rocky colleagues most of all. It stings the most when I have to watch big-news days from the sidelines. I have maintained friendships with several of my former coworkers and have been touched that so many of us are back in the workforce again. Being able to experience a second career has been rewarding, and I am glad to see others doing the same. Yet I am so dang happy and proud for all of those people who were able to stay in journalism, because if I had found a way to do it, I'd be right there with you.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Bill Scanlon</b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Reporter, now working as a writer for National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo., writing science feature stories, fact sheets, overviews, etc.</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Some of my stories run in newspapers and magazines, from the London Times to Dairy monthly, so I consider myself somewhat of a journalist, still. Nothing can compare to the fun and excitement of the newsroom, but for me, at 59, the move to NREL was a perfect fit. Fewer deadlines, but the articles are just as challenging, and renewable energy is a field that I can believe in.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Jay Dedrick</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Feature writer, now working in communications at the University of Colorado president's office, l</span>ife about the same</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">There are pros and cons to having made the switch into communications/public relations. I am relying on the same skill set, and feel very fortunate to be doing so. I very much continue to miss the newsroom atmosphere. Lucky to be working having decided with my family that we would not be willing to leave the area.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Gerry Valerio</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Former assistant sports editor for high school sports, now working two part-time jobs to make a full-time job. L</span>ife is somewhat worse professionally, much better personally</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Professionally, I enjoy what I am doing now overall, but it certainly doesn't bring the same sense of accomplishment or satisfaction that working as a journalist did. I truly believe we were making an impact in the lives of our readers and that there was a significance to our efforts, especially in the area I was focused. I worked in high school sports for a little more than a year after the Rocky closed, and not a day went by that I didn't hear from someone about how much they missed RockyPreps, as well as the Rocky overall. It was nice, but hard to hear at the same time. And as I'm sure you will hear from just about everyone who responds: I think about the Rocky everyday and still miss it and the people I worked with very much.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Personally, my new endeavors are not as encompassing as before, so I do have more quality time to spend with my family. Although there is some travel, there are very few nights or weekends, and when I leave work for the day, that's pretty much it. That has been a welcome change.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Heather Pitzel</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Part-time presentation editor, now teaching English in Cairo. </span>Life somewhat better</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">With the move to Cairo, I got the personal and professional challenges I sought as well as lots of new travels around the world and amazing new friends. But I do miss having the time to keep a hand in professional journalism. And, of course, I miss family, friends, pork products, good wines and beers, and the athletic activities that abound in Colorado. Sandboarding is just not quite the same as skiing. </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Steve Foster</b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Assistant sports editor/web, now doing marketing/design/pr for Ten|10 Group. </span>Life somewhat better</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">More different than better, perhaps better suited to my work habits. While I miss the benefits and the camaraderie of the newsroom, the sports desk in my final incarnation at the Rocky in particular, my current situation has given me the flexibility to work at my own pace and on my own schedule, something I enjoy far more than anticipated. Sometimes I am slammed with work and get to feel the deadline pressure again, but other times when things are slow or I'm between projects, I can use the time to work on personal projects and do some writing. The past two years were a scary period, but we were prepared and have emerged with a scaled back life and new careers. That we are out of journalism has alone made our lives somewhat better because we no longer have the uncertainty of our jobs hanging over us wherever we go and we are able to settle in one place.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Bernie Lincicome</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Sports columnist, now retired</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">John,</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"> Sorry this is tardy but I find it very hard to reminisce about the </span>Rocky. Still, I made the deadline. Never missed one.</p><p class="p1">Short answers to your questions. 1 - No. 2-5 - Moot. 6-retired. 7-Moot. 8 - 1/3 the income 9 Moved by choice, sold at a loss. No. 10. Irrelevant. That's me, not the question. The daily feeling I have is one of irrelevance. I tried blogging for a while, mostly out of habit, partly from denial. It was just calisthenics with no game to play.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"> I wrote a novel, still unpublished, and I moved back to Chicago to be </span>near our only grandchild. I am living in Glencoe, Il, 60022. I was in Hawaii in September for several days, prior to taking a cruise to Australia through Tahiti. I thought about reaching out to you but could not overcome my feeling of envy.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"> I have done some freelance work, but, to be honest, have not worked </span>very hard at finding more.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I hope you are well and that your path to retirement is as happy as was </span>mine working for you at the Rocky. Oh, crap. There I reminisced. Just an old softy after all.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Mary Chandler</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Art and architecture writer, now working for Fentress Architects as a writer/researcher. </span>Life different, not better or worse</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I have completed two books in 15 months for the firm, and have now temporarily shifted over to new business development, which includes proposal writing — pretty fascinating stuff. Life just different, not better or worse.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I still really miss the public voice I developed over the years, and am sad to see that some of the areas I covered aren’t really addressed by the remaining daily newspaper. But there’s not much I can do about it, except realize how they do NOT cover their city.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">On the other hand, I have learned so much about a a different type of writing, working in different areas with a totally diffeent group of people. I love that learning is still a big part of my life, and enjoy the new people I have met. Their commitment and smarts.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Melissa Pomponio</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Presentation editor and chairman</span><span class="s3"> </span><span class="s1">of the Newspaper Guild</span><span class="s3"> </span><span class="s1"> unit at the Rocky</span><span class="s3">,</span><span class="s1"> now studying for a master's in teaching. </span>Life is somewhat worse</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I don't think my life will ever be the same after the experience I had at the Rocky. Don't get me wrong, my family and I are doing fine. I'm excited about graduating with my master's degree and becoming a secondary English teacher. My children have reaped the benefits of having their mom at home to provide school, sports and activities support. I've been able to become more involved in parent and church groups. I answered "somewhat worse" because the rich intellectual, collaborative and caring environment I've lost since the Rocky has closed leaves a hole in my life that can never be refilled. The Rocky was my fourth paper in my 21 years in the business. In every newsroom, there has to be some level of cooperation and camaraderie to produce something worthy of being thrown on the doorsteps every single morning. The large staff at the Rocky could have led to an environment in which interactions were limited or impersonal, but it didn't. I'll always think of the staff as one big family — one that was supportive and constructive even though there were times when we would grumble at each other. You just can't duplicate the kind of energy that existed at the Rocky in any newsroom or any other place of business for that matter. The Rocky every day was the product of a uniquely talented staff driven to find new and interesting ways of presenting the news for the benefit of our readers. We will all carry the spirit of the history of the Rocky and the community we served wherever we end up.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Hereward Bradley</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Presentation editor, now working at the convention center. </span>Life better</p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">The turmoil, uncertainty, and frustration with all that went on leading up to the Rocky's closing have all since vanished. I am now 61 and enjoying life in what I call "semiretirement." I work part time for Argus, a company that helps staff the Convention Center during trade shows and various exhibits. As I mentioned in question 6, the pay is low, but the folks for the most part are very nice, and I have the option of picking the days I wish to work. And, as I have told my friends, the job helps me get out of the house. I would be remiss if I didn't say I miss the pay I received at the Rocky, but I am fortunate to have a wonderful wife who has a full-time job that allows me to be on her health benefits. We've cut back on some spending, but nothing drastic. If anything, the changes have allowed us to see our children and grandchildren more often, and to enjoy each other's company more as we head into retirement in the not-too-distant future. To sum it up: life is good.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1"><b>Michelle Quintana-Zarbock</b></span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">HR generalist and executive assistant to the editor/publisher, now working as Victory Church Office Manager. </span>Life different</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Life isn't better and it's really not the same but in all fairness I can't say life is worse either. It's definitely harder and I work harder than I ever have before. I loved my job and the people at the Rocky, and I miss it. I've learned to simplify and do with out certain things that I had before. One thing I know for sure is, I am employed now and am blessed beyond measure to have a job in this economy! Perhaps once I graduate I will find my place and with all the work experience, maybe great things will come. I have great faith and that is my hope!</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">A staffer who declined to have name made public. </span>Life somewhat worse</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">I work fewer hours, I rarely work weekends and for the past two years I've actually spent Xmas with my family - which never happened at the News. So on paper, my life should be somewhat better.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Where I feel the biggest difference, though, is in how I feel inside about my job, my co-workers, and my greater role in this community and this world. It sounds kitschy - and I recognize that I sometimes romanticize about life at the Rocky. It wasn't all fun and love, and there were days I wanted to scream (and did). But at the end of most days, I felt like we at the News played a vital role in people's lives every single day - and we did it in such a collaborative, supportive way. I don't feel as if I'm making that kind of contribution anymore. As much as I try not to define myself by my job, that single fact has greatly affected how I feel about myself. And that "somewhat worse" feeling outweighs everything else.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Liz Nayadley</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Imager, now studying echocardiography. </span>Life somewhat better</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Rocky closing really made me reconsider my career path and goals. I enjoyed working there and learned so much. The work we were doing at the paper felt important to the community and I wanted to continue in that direction after the closing. I have since gone back to school for echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart). In this field I could transfer my skills in imaging and photography to the medical field and feel like I am helping people in the community.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1"><b>Mike Noe</b></span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">Internet editor, now working as senior director of recruitment for examiner.com. Life somewhat better.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Overall, I feel I'm doing better. I own a bigger place and now have more money. I also have more time to spend with my friends and family. I certainly enjoy those aspects of my life. I also feel I've learned more and have a broader set of skills since leaving journalism. However, I recently talked with an old friend from the Rocky about how much I missed having a job that gave me a sense of purpose. Odd I know, since I spent a great deal of time dealing with the technical hurdles of getting news and information online. However, I enjoyed working with a team on stories that really had an impact on the community. Now, I spend the majority of my time analyzing spreadsheets to improve the recruitment and retention of thousands of writers across North America. I also miss the overall control I had with RockyMountainNews.com. Though I worked within the larger organization/newsroom, I had a considerable amount of discretion to develop new features and work closely with my team on the creative aspects of what we were building.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Bob Findlay</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Assistant news editor, now retired</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">My wife and I had saved aggressively for retirement, and so far there has been no drop in our lifestyle. I do worry more, however, about affording such things as travel or new ski boots. I would have preferred to build the nest egg a little longer, and am on the lookout for freelance opportunities and other ways to make a little extra spending money.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1"><b>Jay Quadracci</b></span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">Assistant photo editor, now working construction on the Eastern Plains of Colorado. </span>Life somewhat better</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Somewhat better, as in I'm not sitting in an office every day, a situation that wasn't good for my health. I've lost a lot of weight and I'm in the best shape of my life. We are living month-to-month, making ends meet while I interview with fire departments. I also have the seasonal work of being a wildland fire fighter. I did take the path less traveled for a 45-year-old, but that's another story for another time. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As Dean Krakel and I would joke on the Photo Desk on an almost daily basis, "The plane is off the runway, but we haven't cleared the trees yet. If we do, then it'll be a good flight. If not, the crash will be spectacular!"</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Brian Clark</b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Assistant presentation editor, now working as communications coordinator, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado at Boulder. </span>Life about the same</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">First of all I want to say I still have a beautiful, healthy family, so life is good.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">That said, after 18 months of piecing together income I am glad to be back at work, but the job I have now gives off a totally different vibe. I'm in academia, so I really have to create my own deadline pressures. I've always been someone who thrives on deadline, but things here move at a glacial pace. I'm still in the communications field, but more of a PR slant.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The day I realized my job was really going to be different was this summer while driving to work the day the Four Mile Fire in Boulder Canyon really kicked up. All the way up I was imagining how busy my office was going to be, given that we are an environmental institute and the fires were in our backyard. In my mind I was still in breaking news mode, but when I got to my office it was business as usual. A research institute isn't really concerned with covering breaking news.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">On an unrelated note, I don't think I have fully processed all that we lost in 2009, but I have little moments along the way. I recently watched season 5 of The Wire, which focused heavily on the newspaper industry, and I would find myself getting a little choked up during many of the newsroom scenes, especially when everyone would gather around the news desk and learn about layoffs and cutbacks.</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Lisa Bornstein</b></span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Theater critic/feature writer, now teaching fourth-grade at Denver Jewish Day school. </span>Life much better</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My current job treats people with more respect than what I saw at the Rocky. I was bored the last few years at the Rocky and in my new field I am creatively and intellectually stimulated and feel that my efforts are valued. But I miss my friends in the newsroom a lot. I also miss going to work after it was light out.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><b>Michael Mehle</b></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Assistant features editor, now working as a fifth-grade teacher. </span>Life about the same</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">To say things are "about the same" isn't quite accurate, since nothing is at all the same. But while some elements of my post-Rocky career are more challenging, demanding and stressful, other aspects are more rewarding and engaging. I'm still flexing my head, earning a paycheck and constantly tackling immediate and long-term challenges as an integral part of my job - so I'd have to say it's all about the same.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><b>Darin McGregor</b></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Photographer, now general manager of the Southern Sun Pub and Brewery. </span>Life about the same</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The answer to #10 is complicated and has been in constant flux since the day that the Rocky changed. I am sorry, but I am about to pour it out for you. I cannot sum this up. You have to hear the whole thing.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">When the Rocky closed my wife Sarah and I had a one-month-old baby, a two-year-old and were already a single income family. I knew that I had to move fast to provide for my family. I also knew that journalism was in a time of uncertainty. For those reasons I chose to completely turn my back on a career that I had pursued singlemindedly for most of my entire adult life. I had never even considered doing anything else and suddenly I found myself walking away.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">At first that decision came with a tremendous amount of shame. But I had no time for shame. My family needed me to be strong.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Within a week I had an interview with Kevin, a former employer of mine and his associates. I had worked with him managing his brew pub as I worked my way through journalism school. The interview went well and we discussed the possibility of me filling a general manager position. They did have their doubts though. It had been 10 years since I had worked in restaurants and they asked "can you be passionate about restaurants? Your passion is photography."</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">"No. I am not passionate about restaurants, but I am passionate about leadership. And no, my passion is not photography, it is and always has been people."</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">That was good enough to get me the job, not as GM, no I needed to prove myself first. A week later I started as a line cook. For two months I worked in a kitchen flipping burgers, making fries scrubbing dishes. Again the shame crept back into my heart.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Next, I was moved onto the floor of the restaurant as a server. This was easier work physically, but more tough on me in other ways. At least in the kitchen I could hide. No one saw me. Now I was out front and regularly saw friends and colleagues. Everyone could see that I had given up.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Each night I would go home late and my family would be asleep. I would kiss them all goodnight, have maybe one too many drinks and try to push past all the regret to prepare myself for the next day.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As time went on things got easier. I love people and enjoy making people's day. The job could be fun as long as I didn't think too much.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">At the same time my mind would still occasionally wander, usually late at night. I wondered why I hadn't heard anything from my friend, the restaurant owner. How long was this tryout going to last? Had he forgotten about me? Had I turned away from $400+ a week in unemployment just to toil for about that much as a lowly restaurant server? Had I made a mistake? Did they know what I had done before this? I have shaken the hands of powerful people, photographed events others only watched on tv. I had stared into the face of death and tragedy and was there to bear witness to some of the greatest moments of people's lives! Now. It was "would you like some more water?" What had I done???</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Things continued on this way until one day I got a call from Kevin. He wanted me to interview to run his largest brew pub that was located in south Boulder. By the next week I found myself driving to Boulder, my hometown, to start as the general manager of the Southern Sun Pub and Brewery.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Life as a restaurant manager isn't easy. First, I work a lot, probably 65 hours a week. Secondly, as gm there is nothing that is not your job. I hire/fire, train, wait tables, host, cook, do dishes, maintain a million dollar facility, handle all payroll, health insurance, controlling costs, unclog toilets, etc., etc. Not to mention that I have 65 employees with an average age of about 23 and they are a wondrously wild bunch.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">At first the sheer magnitude of the job was more than I could fathom. I had never done anything like it, more people, more work, more to remember. It challenged me to my outer limits.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">It felt great to be challenged.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I have been the GM for about 18 months now. The story of that time could be equally long, but unfortunately I don't have time to continue. Ultimately, I am now pretty happy, mainly because I have come to a few conclusions.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">1. I had let journalism become my identity. That was foolish. No single thing defines me.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">2. I like people and I am a natural leader in any field.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">3. I am strong. Going forward into what is almost surely to be uncertain times for this country I know that I am capable of doing anything necessary to survive and provide for my family. All of the shame I went through has finally resulted in a stronger sense of self-esteem. There's nothing I can't or won't do.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Sorry this has been so long. I am sure it is incomplete and the spelling/grammar are horrible. But it is what you get from me as I sit on my couch still in my pajamas the morning after a late night at work. It is also honest.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"></span><b>Sam Adams</b></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Sports columnist, now working as a standup comic</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My life since the Rocky closed is very unstable - which to very small extent is all right since I'm a single guy. Literally, I'm living hour-to-hour - the calendar is like a puzzle that I'm trying to complete with gigs monthly so I can pay the bills. On the flip side, as a "hustler" I answer to me. No deadlines! There was a lot of pressure to produce as a journalist. There's a lot pressure to perform as a comedian. The audiences pay expecting me to make them laugh. So far, I've been pretty good at it. I miss the steady paycheck aspect of working at the paper, and in these times, if I were to be offered some full-time media work (in Denver or maybe even elsewhere) I'd have to take a long, hard look. However, the opportunity to match my salary at the Rocky exists as long as I'm booked for 7-10 good-paying gigs a month. When that happens, I can sit at home and watch Price is Right during the day while John Elway tries to figure out how to get his beloved Broncos out of the abyss.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I will e-mail you a clip from my DVD that will be out some time in February, titled "Right to Laugh" ... It was taped last July (yeah, long time processing, I know) at Denver's Comedy Works South. The work of two sold-out shows combined into one 50-minute DVD.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Marie (requested that her last name not be used)</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Imager, now has her own photo business. </span>Life different</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My life is not better or worse, but different. As a young professional, the Rocky was my first and longest job associated with a career. It's where I came to understand the movie Office Space. I was also maturing learning about a sense of trust and community in the work place, so to speak. I made friends and shared ideas even in the smallest of ways on a daily basis. It's one thing to work in a career and branch out when things are built up and ready, it's another when your not and in hard economic times. I enjoy the freedom of working for myself and having the drive to push knowing it's just me. Sometimes, I miss the structure and the camaraderie of working with others, even if it's just the simple question of, how are you doing today. Maybe it is all because I was fortunate to work with some wonderful people and miss the small nuances of a dynamic work environment. Working for myself has made me stronger in the sense that the accountability is on me and the only thing worse then letting your team down is letting your self down.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">****</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Shirl Kasper</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Part-time presentation editor, now working part-time as a historian for National Park Service and finishing a doctorate. </span>Life somewhat worse</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I enjoy my work at the National Park Service (currently writing a travel itinerary on historic dams). The job, especially because it promises to lead to a full-time position if one becomes available, has been a godsend. However, I miss the bond with people in the newsroom and that feeling of being a part of what was going on in Denver. Life hasn't changed all that much since the Rocky closed (except for a payscale that went from $32 an hour to $20) because I have continued in the doctoral program at CU-Boulder. I'll graduate this May -- and then life really will change. What's ahead I have no idea. Might teach, might try to stay with the Park Service or another government agency, might try to start a free-lance historical writing business. What's curious is the way I go to the journalism jobs Website every now and then -- which I figure says a lot about where my heart still lies. Looking back, the best job I ever had was as a feature writer at The Kansas City Star, talking to everyone and anyone and then getting to craft it into a story.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"> </span></p></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com285tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-34369940037684002362011-02-24T19:25:00.002-10:002011-02-25T05:53:12.161-10:00Stock Price of Rocky Mountain News Owner 8 Times Higher Than When Paper Closed<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The decision to close the </span></span><a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Rocky Mountain News</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in February 2009 was always presented as a financial one — for the owner.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The </span></span><a href="http://www.scripps.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">E.W. Scripps Co.</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> said it couldn't afford the losses it projected for the paper for the foreseeable future, estimated at $25 million a year for the next five years.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On Feb. 27, 2009, the day the paper published its </span></span><a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/news/rocky-mountain-news-history/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">final edition</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, Scripps stock </span></span><a href="http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=ssp&close_date=2%2F27%2F09&x=34&y=23"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">closed</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> at $1.14. On Thursday, Feb. 24, one trading day before the two-year anniversary of the Rocky's closure, the stock closed at $9.10, eight times its price on the Rocky's last day.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So from a financial perspective, it's clear that the company is in a much stronger position today than it was two years ago.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Perhaps that's why the same people who made the decision to close Colorado's oldest newspaper and leave the Denver market are still running Scripps today.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Meanwhile, at </span></span><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Denver Post</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, owner MediaNews Group has expanded its reach in Colorado, with Prairie Mountain Publishing's purchase of Lehman Communications Corp. The deal gives MediaNews ownership of all the major daily newspapers between Colorado and Fort Collins, according to the Denver Business Journal. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And there are </span></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576090360936814594.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">reports</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> of a possible merger between MediaNews and Freedom Communications Inc., owner of the Gazette of Colorado Springs.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Martin Langeveld, a former MediaNews publisher, who writes on media economics at Nieman Journalism Lab, </span></span><a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/01/the-shakeup-at-medianews-why-it-could-be-the-leadup-to-a-massive-newspaper-consolidation/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">summarized developments</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> at the company this way recently:</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px Verdana"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"MediaNews could not outrun the ticking clock of debt accumulation; revenues plummeted; newspaper values tumbled; and lenders threatened foreclosure. Lodovic engineered a strategic and very quick bankruptcy that wiped out $765 million in debt by placing nearly all of the company’s stock in the hands of the former bondholders. Remarkably, the bankruptcy reorganization left him and Singleton in charge and with a small equity stake, plus the opportunity to earn back an equity position up to 20 percent. They also had theoretical control in the form of the power to appoint a majority of the board."</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px Verdana; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In January, leadership changes at MediaNews were announced, with Chairman and CEO Dean Singleton becoming executive chairman and president Joseph Lodovic leaving the company, which is looking for a new CEO. Singleton remains publisher of The Denver Post.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">-----------------------------------------------------------------</span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Other stories in this report: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Read the</span><a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/rocky-mountain-news-journalists-two.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> main article</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> about the results of my survey of the editorial staff of the Rocky Mountain News on its last day, and a related article at </span><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/02/life-after-death-two-years-since-the-demise-of-my-newspaper/71686/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Atlantic.</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> You can also read what those still working as journalists </span><a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff_24.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">told me</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and what those who have left the profession</span><a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2011/02/stories-of-rocky-mountain-news-staff.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> told me.</span></a></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px Verdana; color:#1d00a9;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px Verdana; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px Verdana; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com430tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-65571063388006933012011-02-21T03:00:00.002-10:002011-02-21T03:00:24.236-10:00Coming Soon: Survey of Rocky Mountain News Staff Two Years After Paper's Closure<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I've been gone from this blog for a while. I'm writing at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com">civilbeat.com</a>, the Honolulu news service where I'm editor.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">But it's been almost two years since the <a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com"> Rocky Mountain News</a> published its <a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/news/rocky-mountain-news-history/">final edition</a>, on Feb. 27, 2009, and to mark the </span>occasion, I sent a survey to my former colleagues at the paper.</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I'll publish the results here around the time of the anniversary. I think anybody who cares about what's happening to newspapers and journalism jobs will be interested in the findings.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Here's </span>the note and survey I sent. I used e-mail and Facebook to reach out, ultimately receiving responses from 146 of the 194 full and part-time editorial staff on the paper's final day. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Greetings from Hawaii!</i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>I just had to say it. Not to rub it in, or anything. But it is pretty darn nice to be able to go for a swim in the morning and a hike in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. I hope this e-mail finds you in good spirits, too.</i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>It's hard to believe that we're approaching the second anniversary of the closing of the Rocky. On that day, all our lives took new directions. I can tell you that while I can't believe my good fortune to be able to live in Hawaii, I do miss our time together. </i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>What happened to us at the Rocky happened in workplaces around the country. I'm writing, though, because I think we're in the unique position to share what the closing of a paper meant at a time of historic change in journalism. Our stories together could give a sense of the real impact of the Great Recession. So just as I did around the <a href="http://www.johntemple.net/2009/08/today-is-six-month-anniversary-of-final.html">sixth month mark </a>after the paper closed, I'd like to ask your help with a quick survey. I'll share the results on my blog </i><a href="http://www.johntemple.net/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px color:#1d00a9;"><i>www.johntemple.net</i></span></a><i>. </i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>I hope you'll participate. It should take just a few seconds. (No one should have to answer more than seven questions.) If you could respond no later than Jan. 15, I would really appreciate it. (Of course, you know me, so I can't resist telling you that the best thing to do would be to respond NOW.) I'll need time to pull together the answers given the other work I have here in Honolulu. I'll publish the results on Feb. 27, two years to the day after the last edition we produced together hit the streets. </i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>I wish you all the best. Let's keep in touch.</i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>J</i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Questions:</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span>1. Are you working as a journalist today? </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Yes __ </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">No __</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span> 2. If you answered yes, please answer questions 2-5. If you answered no, please jump to question 6.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Where?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">At a newspaper __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Wire service __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Web site __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Freelance __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Other __</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span> 3. Please name the organization where you work if you are employed as a journalist. If you work as a freelancer, please identify your most important clients.</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"> 4. What is your role/title? If it is different from your job at the Rocky, please indicate what your title at the Rocky was and what your title is today?</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"> 5. Income. Are you making </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Much more __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Somewhat more __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The same __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Somewhat less __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Much less __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Please jump to question 9. Those who no longer work in journalism, please answer questions 6-10. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> 6. </span>For those of you no longer working as a journalist, are you:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Retired __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Unemployed __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A student __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Working full time __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Working part time __</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> 7. </span>Please name the organization where you work and your job title. If you work as a freelancer, please say in what field and identify your most important clients. </p><p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><br /></p><p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "> 8. Income compared with what you made at the Rocky.</p> <p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Are you making </span></p> <p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Much more __</span></p> <p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Somewhat more __</span></p> <p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The same __</span></p> <p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Somewhat less __</span></p> <p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Much less __</span></p><p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><br /></p><p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span> 9. Have you lost your house, gone bankrupt or had to leave Denver to find work since the closure of the Rocky?</p><p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><br /></p> <p color="#333233" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Lost house __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Bankruptcy __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Had to move __</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span> 10. How would you describe your life today versus before the Rocky closed?</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Much Better __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Somewhat Better __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">About the same __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Somewhat worse __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A lot worse __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Please explain your answer to question 10. Feel free to write as much as you'd like or to share photos, videos or audio. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Thank you for completing this questionnaire. Please feel free to share anything else you think it's important for others to know. One final thing. Do you give me permission to share your response using your name?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Yes __</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">No __</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; color: #333233"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia; min-height: 15.0pxcolor:#333233;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com337tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-48083422939408525502010-12-09T05:41:00.003-10:002010-12-09T05:46:20.016-10:00Civil Beat: Internet Press Vulnerable After WikiLeaksWe published <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/posts/2010/12/09/7276-internet-press-vulnerable-after-wikileaks/">an editorial on the WikiLeaks case</a> today at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com">Civil Beat</a> that I hope you'll check out.<div><br /></div><div>The point: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">he angry words of government officials and the swirling storm over whether Assange's brand of journalism can be justified are overshadowing a potentially far more disturbing aspect of this story — the new power governments have to punish publishers."</span></span></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com160tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-16658386048250774462010-11-02T10:06:00.006-10:002010-11-02T10:14:19.957-10:00Civil Beat Free Through ThursdayIf you haven't had a chance to check out what we're doing at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">Civil Beat</a>, drop in over the next three days. It's free. You can look at the stories, posts, fact checks, etc. we've been writing and check out how we're covering election. Click the <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/daily_archive/">Daily Archive tab</a> and you'll go to list of stories, posts, etc. You can view by month.<br /><br /><div>It's a beautiful election day in Hawaii. By the time our polls close, we should know all but the closest races on the mainland. What to watch for here: Can Dems take back governor's office and can Republicans hold on to Honolulu Congressional seat they picked up in special election in May? Hawaii not like rest of country. Fifty-seven percent of likely voters feel good about direction of country, and 62 percent approve of Obama's job performance.</div><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com173tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-54850639309944045562010-08-31T05:54:00.003-10:002010-08-31T05:57:41.305-10:00Civil Beat Launches New Look<a href="http://www.civilbeat.com">Civil Beat</a> went live with a new look today, one that responds to reader feedback and better reflects what we're doing on the site. <div><br /></div><div>It's hard to believe that we've been publishing for just four months.<br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com237tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-65483805233702912322010-06-25T06:14:00.004-10:002010-06-25T06:22:13.578-10:00The Implications of Being a One-Newspaper Town<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I saw what happened in Denver. Now I'm seeing what's happening in Honolulu, when one newspaper — in this case, the new <a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/">Honolulu Star-Advertiser </a>— is the last daily standing in a city.</span><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Being a one-newspaper town has implications for journalism, the commercial vitality of a city and for its public life.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In a <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/06/25/2258-what-it-means-to-be-a-one-newspaper-town/">free article</a> on Civil Beat today, I share some reflections. We're going to hold a Beatup on Thursday where I'll talk about this issue further.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Here's the top of that article. To read the rest, <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/06/25/2258-what-it-means-to-be-a-one-newspaper-town/">go to Civil Beat</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I'm getting used to the fact that </span><a class="topic_link" href="http://www.civilbeat.com/topics/honolulu/" slug="honolulu" style="color: rgb(111, 74, 38); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Honolulu</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is a one-newspaper town. Just like I did in Denver, after the </span><a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/" class="external-link" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(111, 74, 38); text-decoration: none; background-image: url(http://media.civilbeat.com/images/icons/external_links/external.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; padding-right: 14px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Rocky Mountain News</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> closed.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And I can't say I like it anymore here than I did in Denver.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That's not to say that the good folks at the </span><a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/" class="external-link" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(111, 74, 38); text-decoration: none; background-image: url(http://media.civilbeat.com/images/icons/external_links/external.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; padding-right: 14px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Star-Advertiser</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">haven't tried to step up and produce a bigger — and better — newspaper than either of the city's two previous titles. But the new reality has disturbing implications for the city's journalism, commercial vitality and public life. There's something depressing about not being able to compare the coverage in two competing papers to try to understand what's going on in a city.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Let me give you a small example from Thursday's paper.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The black front-page above the fold headline in the Star-Advertiser said: "Veto of civil unions bill is not group's position." The italic sub-headline said, "The Business Roundtable clarifies its statement, reacting to internal dissent and other pressures." The article was on Page B3. The headline on the B3 article was fine, but the lede (the first and most important paragraph) was flat-out wrong. It read: "The Hawaii Business Roundtable clarified yesterday that it has not taken a position on a civil unions bill, responding to internal dissent and under pressure from gay rights advocates for urging Gov. Linda Lingle to veto the measure."</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Roundtable has taken a position on the civil unions bill. What it hasn't taken a position on, it now says, is the concept of civil unions. The group wants the governor to veto House Bill 444 because it believes there are "administrative challenges to the implementation of H.B. 444 in its present form."</span></p><div><br /></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com113tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-28325514010614045762010-06-25T06:06:00.004-10:002010-06-25T06:14:47.766-10:00Civil Beat Publishes Anonymous Source Policy, Will Link to it Every TimeWe <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/posts/2010/06/25/2249-read-about-civil-beats-policy-on-anonymous-sources/">published</a> our anonymous source policy on <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">Civil Beat</a> today, concurrently with the use of an anonymous source in <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/06/25/2191-recession-a-day-in-oahus-hardest-hit-neighborhood/">an article</a> on the impact of the recession on a Honolulu neighborhood. <div><br /></div><div>Every time we use an anonymous source in an article, we'll link to the policy. I'm not sure anybody else is doing that. The reader can be the judge of whether we followed our policy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's some key language from <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/topics/civil-beat-policy-on-anonymous-sources/">the policy</a>:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"At Civil Beat, we believe that anonymous sources are sometimes necessary when they're the only way we can share important information. We only use them, though, when we believe the public benefit clearly outweighs any potential downsides. Anonymous sources must be used carefully. The decision is in our sole judgment. To retain your trust, we believe we must explain why we granted anonymity. It's not enough for us that somebody might ask for anonymity.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"It's important to state: We always try to obtain information on the record. But there may be cases where that's impossible, and yet we believe we have information that is essential for the public to know. In such cases, before considering granting anonymity, we must know that the source or sources are reliable and that they have direct knowledge of the subject. We always try to confirm information by seeking multiple sources. We decide to grant anonymity because we believe the person has a justifiable reason not to speak on the record."</span></p></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com140tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-42322569856955692082010-06-16T05:41:00.002-10:002010-06-16T05:43:44.969-10:00"Free Day" at Civil BeatIf you want to see everything that's beyond the pay wall at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com">Civil Beat</a>, today is your day. The site will be free until midnight Hawaii time. <script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com93tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-41666498786839266452010-06-14T05:46:00.005-10:002010-06-14T05:57:31.172-10:00The good, bad and the ugly of Honolulu Star-Advertiser's first weekIn a <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/1941/">"Free" article</a> on Civil Beat, I explore what the Sunday edition of the new Honolulu Star-Advertiser tells us.<div><br /></div><div>I wrap up my review of the first week of the paper with a few conclusions:</div><div><ul><li>The paper doesn't care about the web.</li><li>The front page is going to be dominated by "concept" covers, rather than documentary journalism.</li><li>So far, the paper isn't asking tough questions. The lead story on Sunday, the first Sunday since the new paper debuted, was lame. Most of the front page was dedicated to a package on how food distributors were paying an extra $300 weekly for overtime for state food inspectors and how that was driving up the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables. The huge headline: "Fresh Costs: Hawaii consumers are paying more for fresh produce because of state cutbacks." Please ....</li><li>The owner is being generous with news hole. It's a bigger paper than you'd find in most other cities of comparable size, based on my experience. Too bad so much of the space is used for long wire stories.</li><li>The owner is also showing more commitment to commentary, beefing up the section — which is a great move. Three pages of commentary many days. Two at a minimum. The old Advertiser used to run 1 and 1/2, with none on Saturday.</li></ul><div>Read my series on the Star-Advertiser's full week at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com">civilbeat.com.</a></div><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-88457629335108183162010-06-11T06:44:00.005-10:002010-06-11T06:49:40.238-10:00Breaking news an afterthought at new Honolulu Star-AdvertiserIf you went to the new Honolulu Star-Advertiser's website last night or this morning, the breaking news page had nothing on it. That's pretty much indicative of the paper's approach to the web.<div><br /></div><div>The site republishes what's in the paper. But not much more.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've written more on the new Star-Advertiser in an <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/06/11/1882-days-4-5-of-the-new-star-advertiser/">all "free" article</a> on civilbeat.com.<br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com109tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-79875886673301883392010-06-09T05:53:00.003-10:002010-06-09T05:57:42.205-10:00Little advertising in new Star-AdvertiserDay 2 of the <a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/">Honolulu Star-Advertiser</a> was a Tuesday, a notoriously difficult day for newspaper advertising. Still, the lack of advertising in the new paper was noticeable. The owner kept the paper relatively fat — certainly bigger than Gannett's old Advertiser — but not with ads. The ratio was 90 percent editorial, 10 percent advertising. <div><br /></div><div>More on Day 2 of the Star-Advertiser in a <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/06/09/1806-day-2-of-the-new-star-advertiser/">free story</a> on Civil Beat.<br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com166tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-63933406388923541162010-06-08T05:48:00.005-10:002010-06-08T05:55:25.490-10:00Day 1 of the Honolulu Star-AdvertiserHonolulu became a one-newspaper town on Monday morning when the Star-Advertiser rolled onto the streets.<div><br /></div><div>I shared my thoughts in <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/06/08/1783-day-1-of-the-new-star-advertiser/">a "free" article</a> on <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">Civil Beat</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>You have to forgive hyperbole on a day of hope for a new newspaper, and the team did a nice job of creating a new design under difficult circumstances, but....</div><div><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com195tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-70927723638613533312010-06-07T00:01:00.001-10:002010-06-07T00:01:00.843-10:00Don't believe everything you read about Honolulu newspapersSunday was a sad day in Honolulu for anybody who loves newspapers.<div><br /></div><div>I've shared my reflections on that day in a <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/1718/">post on civilbeat.com</a>. Bottom line: Honolulu can't support two separate newspapers. And it's admirable that David Black has picked up 28 journalists from The Honolulu Advertiser for his new Star-Advertiser. But the claim that he has lost $100 million over past 10 years in Honolulu just doesn't seem believable. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm sure he can come up with numbers to show that's the case. But I deeply doubt that his claim represents the underlying situation here. The Star-Bulletin may have lost $100 million, depending on how expenses and revenues are allocated. But his Midweek, a weekly paper distributed to most residences on Oahu, looks to be very profitable. Why else would he have kept it out of the deal when he put the Star-Bulletin up for sale and made an offer on the Advertiser? You might be able to show that the Star-Bulletin lost $100 million, but my guess is that Oahu Publications, the parent company of the Star-Bulletin and Midweek, did far better and made up much if not most of those losses with profits from Midweek. Black put the Star-Bulletin up for sale. Not Oahu Publications.</div><div><br /></div><div>With essentially a monopoly weekly, a monopoly daily and a great press plant that can be the dominant local commercial printer, it seems like he's in a position to raise rates. Would lenders really have given him money if he had lost $100 million over the past 10 years and wanted to spend another $125 million on the Advertiser? I doubt it. I also doubt he has the kind of pockets to lose $100 million in Honolulu.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com90tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-80998474034505494742010-06-04T06:14:00.003-10:002010-06-04T06:17:43.424-10:00Free Day at CivilBeat.comToday is our first "Free Day" at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">Honolulu Civil Bea</a>t. It's been exactly a month since we formally launched and today we're opening our doors wide to give a deeper view into what we're doing. I hope people will check the site out and let me know what they think.<script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com98tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-52728313032784942822010-05-22T07:29:00.006-10:002010-05-22T07:36:45.071-10:00First Beatup at Civil Beat<div>We held our first <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/05/22/1354-first-beatup-at-civil-beat/">"Beatup" at Civil Beat</a> on Thursday evening. </div><div>I held a lot of community meetings in my former role as editor of the Rocky Mountain News. It wasn't uncommon to run into anger. What was fascinating about this meeting with members of our Honolulu news service was how much of a personal stake they already felt in the site. They were there to help, because they cared. </div><div><br /></div><div>Very cool. We'll be doing more of these public meetings going forward.</div><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com493tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-85927657119680279382010-05-16T11:47:00.009-10:002010-05-16T12:49:35.878-10:00Two interesting takes on Civil BeatI've been away from this blog for a couple of weeks, focused on work at my new job at <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">Civil Beat</a>.<br /><div>But I wanted to point out two thoughtful pieces that give a good outside perspective on what we're doing at Honolulu Civil Beat and how our effort fits into the search for a new business/editorial model for local news.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rick Edmonds, author of The Biz Blog at the <a href="http://www.poynter.org/">Poynter Institute</a>, is a seasoned and measured observer of the news business. His <a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=123&aid=183290">blog post </a>accurately captured what we've done up till now. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mark Potts, author of the savvy Recovering Journalist blog, provides <a href="http://recoveringjournalist.typepad.com/recovering_journalist/2010/05/reader-comments-hawaiistyle.html">an analysis</a> of how our discussions at Civil Beat are working and whether our approach to comments is leading to the kind of civil discourse we said we wanted to support. I loved his headline, "Reader Comments, Hawaiian-style," because it captured the spirit we hope permeates what we're doing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Both pieces provide an informed assessment of where we are at Civil Beat.</div><div><br /></div><div>One thing I would add is that I've been struck by how quickly we can change at a start-up where the software developers built the site and know its guts so well. Not even two weeks have passed since our hard launch, and the site is very different from its first day. As are our subscription offers. We still have our $19.99 full members, but have <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/info/membership/?_v=1273809434">added</a> a daily membership for $1.49 and a discussion membership for 99 cents for 30 days. </div><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com131tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-61940398631391888012010-05-04T08:44:00.006-10:002010-05-04T08:54:24.501-10:00"First Edition" of Civil BeatToday we published the "First Edition" of Honolulu <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">Civil Beat</a><div><br /></div><div>I've been involved with a few first editions. The first edition of RedBlueAmerica.com. The first edition of YourHub.com. The first edition of RockyMountainNews.com. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first edition is just that, a beginning. So much more to do.</div><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com291tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-21635762287670577252010-04-21T01:00:00.006-10:002010-04-21T01:16:39.126-10:00The day has come: We're live at Civil BeatI've been writing here for some time about my experience starting a new local news service in Honolulu.<div><br /></div><div>Well, today is the day that we're opening our doors at Civil Beat (yes, it's a new <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2010/04/20/83-why-civil-beat/">name</a> - used to be Peer News) to give people some time to look around and talk before our May 4 launch.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you'll drop <a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/">by</a>.</div><div><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><br /></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-9302883678834868182010-04-19T07:22:00.003-10:002010-04-19T07:24:14.711-10:00More on Peer News and comments: An interview with Jay RosenGiven that there's clearly some confusion over our position on comments at Peer News, I thought I'd share this excerpt from a Skype interview I did with Jay Rosen in March after the speech where I spoke publicly for the first time about Peer News. <script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script><div><br /></div><div>I hope this helps clarify our position on comments.</div><div><br /></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:19:08 PM] Jay Rosen: so it's more the anonymous you want to eliminate than that you want to be one way?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:20:16 PM] John Temple: We definitely don't want to be one way. If I gave that impression in my talk, I'm sorry. I can see how people might have read the no comments that way. But it was meant as a way to say that instead of comments, we're going to have conversation.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:20:42 PM] Jay Rosen: you have a significant misimpression to correct, then</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:20:44 PM] John Temple: we do believe that in a civic square anonymity contributes greatly to the lack of civility...</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:20:58 PM] Jay Rosen: the message was "no comments"</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:21:12 PM] Jay Rosen: which I didn't believe</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:21:16 PM] Jay Rosen: and did not repeat</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:21:55 PM] John Temple: i'll work at it...i thought I was pretty clear about the importance of community and conversation...i believe i said that the contributions of readers potentially were as important as the contributions of journalists. I appreciate that you picked up on this and sought to clarify. Thank you!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:22:24 PM] Jay Rosen: TechCrunch mangled it</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">[3/18/10 5:22:50 PM] John Temple: We've talked with her and asked her to clarify. I thought she did a great job other than that.</span></p></div>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com98tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023206986855788708.post-11315597228271352792010-04-19T06:52:00.009-10:002010-04-19T07:24:48.892-10:00Wall Street Journal column incorrect about Peer News in column on comments on news Web sitesA <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704246804575190632247184538-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwODExNDgyWj.html">column</a> by Gordon Crovitz in Monday's Wall Street Journal mischaracterizes our approach to comments at Peer News, the start-up news service in Honolulu I'm working on with eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.<div><br />As soon as I saw his column Sunday, I contacted Crovitz to ask him for a clarification. I've exchanged thoughts with him before and appreciate the work he does in his column. He was gracious and said he would pass my comments along to his editors for a possible clarification or letter to the editor. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's what I wrote him Sunday.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">Hi Gordon,<div><br /></div><div>Thanks for mentioning Peer News in your latest column, but I wish you had contacted me before you wrote that paragraph. It doesn't accurately reflect our position. I would ask that you publish a clarification. Members of our subscription-based service will be able to post their thoughts on a regular basis. But they won't be presented in the way "comments" are traditionally on news sites. We have a whole strategy for how to handle this. Our intent is actually to encourage civil dialogue and debate, not stop people from talking.</div><div><br /></div><div>You wrote:</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Peer News, a new site launching in Hawaii and funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, will not permit comments at all. Editor John Temple said anonymity had so reduced responsibility that comments sections have been dominated by "racism, hate, ugliness" and "reflect badly on news organizations that have them."</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here's the top of my blog post from March 18, with the note that I had that day or the next clarified my statement about comments.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;">This is a draft of the speech I gave at the Newsmorphosis conference in Honolulu on Thursday, March 18. My actual remarks varied from this outline. You can see my talk on <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5544919" style="color: rgb(85, 136, 170); text-decoration: none; ">ustream</a>.</span><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Updated to clarify my statement about "comments."</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, serif;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande', serif;color:#333333;"><br /></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;">Then here's what I wrote in the text to clarify:</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; font-family:'Lucida Grande', serif;font-size:medium;">Maybe now you’ll understand why we’re not going to have "comments". (I put quotes around the word comments after <a href="http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/" style="color: rgb(85, 136, 170); text-decoration: none; ">Jay Rosen</a>pointed out that it sounded like I was saying it was going to be a one-way conversation. My point was that we were going to have debate, discussions, conversations - not comments. We think we can create a more satisfying and civil environment through this approach, rather than using "comments" after an article.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></div></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">I put quotes around comments, because I was trying to differentiate how we're going to approach conversation and dialogue with the widespread approach on news sites of allowing people to post anything under a story. We will not have comments on article pages. We will tell members that if they want to discuss the topic of an article, they should go to a hosted discussion on what we're calling a beat update page, where the reporter-hosts and editors will interact with our members. We will also have ratings for the comments that members post on the beat updates pages. </span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I hope this helps. I'd be happy to discuss. But I would very much appreciate your help in clarifying this.</span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 7.5px/normal Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div></div></span></div><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=d63a723e-3c6a-4488-b426-16642508f076&type=website"></script>John Templehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09915698648746207719noreply@blogger.com78