Did the Internet kill
the Rocky Mountain News?
And, if it did, what can we learn from its death?
John Temple

The Twitter answer
YES and no. Internet the fundamental cause
of death. Economic collapse the final blow.
Denver could not support two general
interest newspapers.

First edition: April 23, 1859

Final edition: Feb. 27, 2009

Final home page

“You are the model of
what a great newspaper should be.
It’s a tragedy for the industry
that you disappear.”
- Rich Boehne, President of E.W. Scripps Co.

So, why did the Rocky
disappear?

“We couldn’t give up the idea that
we were newspaper companies.”
- Alan Horton, former Scripps Senior VP

You have to know
what business you’re in.
Lesson #1

Know your competition.
Lesson # 2

“We just couldn’t show that it was
having any measurable impact on
retention of print subscribers and
it wasn’t producing revenue.”
- Former A La Carte executive

TO OUR READERS
Rocky Mountain News (CO) - Thursday, February 29, 1996
Author/Byline: Bob Burdick, Editor
Edition: Regional
Section: Local
Page: 2A
I never have been much good at
saying goodbye. But that is my
task today for many loyal readers
of the Rocky Mountain News.

You have to have
a strategy and
you have to be
committed to pursuing it.
Lesson # 3

Our priority was to deliver the paper on time.

Know your goal.
Lesson # 4

Keep new ventures free
from the rules of the old.
Lesson # 5

The people running a
new venture need to be
free to do what’s best for
that business, regardless
of the potential impact
on the old.
Lesson # 6

Denver’s papers declare truce
Apply to Justice Department
for permission to enter
into Joint Operating Agreement

Bill Burleigh, Scripps Dean Singleton, MediaNews
The authors of Denver’s Joint Operating Agreement

If you want to compete
in a medium, you have to
understand it.
Lesson # 7

Measure, measure,
measure.
Lesson # 8

Without R&D, how are
local news companies
going to get out on the
edge and develop new
offerings?
Lesson # 9

Know your customers.
Lesson # 10

“We were used to telling people
what we thought they needed
and how they needed it.”
- Scripps marketing director

Newspapers should
look for opportunities to scale.

Newspapers should partner
more and explore new forms of
partnerships.

Newspapers should grow the pie
instead of trying to hold onto
their piece of it.

Newspapers should give
consumers more control.

Newspaper should stop looking
in the rear-view mirror.

Finally, the main newspaper
cannot be allowed to dictate
what the future should look like.

Lessons from the Rocky Mountain News
1. Know what business you’re in.
2. Know your customers.
3. Know your competition.
4. Know your goal.
5. Have a strategy and be committed to pursuing it.
6. Measure, measure, measure.
7. Keep new ventures free from the rules of the old.
8. Let the people running a new venture do what’s best
for their business, regardless of the potential impact
on the old.
9. To compete in a new medium, you have to
understand it.
10. Invest in R&D.

©John Temple
jtemplermn@gmail.com
www.johntemple.net
303-809-7998
835 Niagara St.
Denver, CO 80220