The Rocky Mountain News ceased publication today.
I sit, almost in shock. I am a retired newspaper editor. So I know the pressure to both evolve and survive is eating away at the foundation of my business. Papers will close, reorganize, lose a lot of money and readers. I know that. Over the next year, the landscape will change dramatically.
But in my gut, I know newspapers will survive.
Some bigs ones will survive. And some little ones will survive.
We will have geographic cornerstones of big newspapers in this country
to herald the changes, both political and financial. Our small
community weeklies will survive, too, because, frankly, they lack the
arrogance of mid-sized dailies. I see the mid-sized dailies as the big
losers. They are the ones that will go down.
If my assessment is right, how can it be that The Rocky Mountain News
is gone? It's a cornerstone. And now it's gone.
Does this mean newspapers will really be gone someday soon?
I have a friend who has worked at The Rocky for years. I sent her my
condolences. She sent me a reality check:
"All is good," she wrote. "Today feels like a good start to .... something else."
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2 comments:
All I can think is, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." I think all of us journalists are waiting and worrying.
I'm think the PS will survive. It'll change dramatically, perhaps go to a tab. Combine Saturday and Sunday editions. I don't think Syracuse will go paperless.
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