Stock Price of Rocky Mountain News Owner 8 Times Higher Than When Paper Closed

The decision to close the Rocky Mountain News in February 2009 was always presented as a financial one — for the owner.

The E.W. Scripps Co. 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.

On Feb. 27, 2009, the day the paper published its final edition, Scripps stock closed 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.

So from a financial perspective, it's clear that the company is in a much stronger position today than it was two years ago.

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.

Meanwhile, at The Denver Post, 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.

And there are reports of a possible merger between MediaNews and Freedom Communications Inc., owner of the Gazette of Colorado Springs.

Martin Langeveld, a former MediaNews publisher, who writes on media economics at Nieman Journalism Lab, summarized developments at the company this way recently:

"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."

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.

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Other stories in this report: Read the main article about the results of my survey of the editorial staff of the Rocky Mountain News on its last day, and a related article at The Atlantic. You can also read what those still working as journalists told me and what those who have left the profession told me.

Coming Soon: Survey of Rocky Mountain News Staff Two Years After Paper's Closure

I've been gone from this blog for a while. I'm writing at civilbeat.com, the Honolulu news service where I'm editor.

But it's been almost two years since the Rocky Mountain News published its final edition, on Feb. 27, 2009, and to mark the occasion, I sent a survey to my former colleagues at the paper.

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.

Here's 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.

Greetings from Hawaii!

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.

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.

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 sixth month mark after the paper closed, I'd like to ask your help with a quick survey. I'll share the results on my blog www.johntemple.net.

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 wish you all the best. Let's keep in touch.

J

Questions:

1. Are you working as a journalist today?

Yes __

No __

2. If you answered yes, please answer questions 2-5. If you answered no, please jump to question 6.

Where?

At a newspaper __

Wire service __

Web site __

Freelance __

Other __

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.

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?

5. Income. Are you making

Much more __

Somewhat more __

The same __

Somewhat less __

Much less __

Please jump to question 9. Those who no longer work in journalism, please answer questions 6-10.

6. For those of you no longer working as a journalist, are you:

Retired __

Unemployed __

A student __

Working full time __

Working part time __

7. 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.

8. Income compared with what you made at the Rocky.

Are you making

Much more __

Somewhat more __

The same __

Somewhat less __

Much less __

9. Have you lost your house, gone bankrupt or had to leave Denver to find work since the closure of the Rocky?

Lost house __

Bankruptcy __

Had to move __

10. How would you describe your life today versus before the Rocky closed?

Much Better __

Somewhat Better __

About the same __

Somewhat worse __

A lot worse __

Please explain your answer to question 10. Feel free to write as much as you'd like or to share photos, videos or audio.

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?

Yes __

No __

Civil Beat: Internet Press Vulnerable After WikiLeaks

We published an editorial on the WikiLeaks case today at Civil Beat that I hope you'll check out.

The point: "The 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."

Civil Beat Free Through Thursday

If you haven't had a chance to check out what we're doing at Civil Beat, 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 Daily Archive tab and you'll go to list of stories, posts, etc. You can view by month.

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.

Civil Beat Launches New Look

Civil Beat went live with a new look today, one that responds to reader feedback and better reflects what we're doing on the site.

It's hard to believe that we've been publishing for just four months.

The Implications of Being a One-Newspaper Town

I saw what happened in Denver. Now I'm seeing what's happening in Honolulu, when one newspaper — in this case, the new Honolulu Star-Advertiser — is the last daily standing in a city.

Being a one-newspaper town has implications for journalism, the commercial vitality of a city and for its public life.

In a free article 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.

Here's the top of that article. To read the rest, go to Civil Beat.

I'm getting used to the fact that Honolulu is a one-newspaper town. Just like I did in Denver, after the Rocky Mountain News closed.

And I can't say I like it anymore here than I did in Denver.

That's not to say that the good folks at the Star-Advertiserhaven'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.

Let me give you a small example from Thursday's paper.

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."

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."

Civil Beat Publishes Anonymous Source Policy, Will Link to it Every Time

We published our anonymous source policy on Civil Beat today, concurrently with the use of an anonymous source in an article on the impact of the recession on a Honolulu neighborhood.

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.

Here's some key language from the policy:

"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.

"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."