Spring Break
Denver Post reaches out to ex-rival's customers
The Associated Press
Issue date: 3/2/09 Section: News
DENVER - In a front-page note to readers Sunday, the publisher and editor of The Denver Post pledged to serve both readers and advertisers in these "challenging economic times."
The Post became Denver's only major daily newspaper after the Rocky Mountain News printed its final edition Friday. The E.W. Scripps Co., which owns the News, lost $16 million on the newspaper last year and was seeking a viable buyer, but none emerged.
"For 117 years, The Denver Post has risen to the challenge of serving as The Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire. Going forward, we will continue to meet that high standard," Post Chairman and Publisher William Dean Singleton and Editor Gregory L. Moore said in a column printed Sunday under the headline, "Our pledge to you."
The Denver newspapers competed for decades before combining business operations under a joint operating agreement approved in 2001. Their newsrooms remained separate. Under the JOA, the News handled the Saturday edition and The Post put out the Sunday edition.
Going forward, The Post will publish seven days a week, and News subscribers will get The Post for the length of their subscriptions.
"After 150 years, the Rocky Mountain News is no more," Singleton and Moore wrote. "It is a sad day for journalism and Colorado. More than just a witness to history, the Rocky was part of the fabric of the community. Loyal Rocky readers may feel they've lost a friend."
The Post has hired 10 News staffers and is picking up features and comics that had appeared in the News.
On Sunday, the head shot of former News columnist Mike Littwin appeared on page 2 of The Post. Next to his photo and under his name was a new title: Denver Post Columnist.
"As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted...," Littwin wrote.
"This is one of the strangest days of my life," he wrote. "As I'm writing what will be my first column in The Post, I'm a few hours away from going to the last official Rocky party/wake.
"It's like going to your own funeral and bris on the same day. Call it The Curious Case of Your Humble Correspondent - except that, in this case, our protagonist doesn't look anything like Brad Pitt," Littwin wrote.
Singleton is hoping to retain all News subscribers.
"Never before has the role of a newspaper been more vital," Singleton and Moore wrote. "News delivery methods are changing, but the demand for information is stronger than ever. Whether you find us on your doorstep, online or on your cellphone, we will uphold the grand newspaper heritage of righting wrongs, demanding accountability and helping readers make sense of an increasingly complex world.
"These are turbulent times, but our commitment to these principles - and to you, our readers - will not waver," they wrote.
The Post became Denver's only major daily newspaper after the Rocky Mountain News printed its final edition Friday. The E.W. Scripps Co., which owns the News, lost $16 million on the newspaper last year and was seeking a viable buyer, but none emerged.
"For 117 years, The Denver Post has risen to the challenge of serving as The Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire. Going forward, we will continue to meet that high standard," Post Chairman and Publisher William Dean Singleton and Editor Gregory L. Moore said in a column printed Sunday under the headline, "Our pledge to you."
The Denver newspapers competed for decades before combining business operations under a joint operating agreement approved in 2001. Their newsrooms remained separate. Under the JOA, the News handled the Saturday edition and The Post put out the Sunday edition.
Going forward, The Post will publish seven days a week, and News subscribers will get The Post for the length of their subscriptions.
"After 150 years, the Rocky Mountain News is no more," Singleton and Moore wrote. "It is a sad day for journalism and Colorado. More than just a witness to history, the Rocky was part of the fabric of the community. Loyal Rocky readers may feel they've lost a friend."
The Post has hired 10 News staffers and is picking up features and comics that had appeared in the News.
On Sunday, the head shot of former News columnist Mike Littwin appeared on page 2 of The Post. Next to his photo and under his name was a new title: Denver Post Columnist.
"As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted...," Littwin wrote.
"This is one of the strangest days of my life," he wrote. "As I'm writing what will be my first column in The Post, I'm a few hours away from going to the last official Rocky party/wake.
"It's like going to your own funeral and bris on the same day. Call it The Curious Case of Your Humble Correspondent - except that, in this case, our protagonist doesn't look anything like Brad Pitt," Littwin wrote.
Singleton is hoping to retain all News subscribers.
"Never before has the role of a newspaper been more vital," Singleton and Moore wrote. "News delivery methods are changing, but the demand for information is stronger than ever. Whether you find us on your doorstep, online or on your cellphone, we will uphold the grand newspaper heritage of righting wrongs, demanding accountability and helping readers make sense of an increasingly complex world.
"These are turbulent times, but our commitment to these principles - and to you, our readers - will not waver," they wrote.
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