Views from the West – A blog about public relations & social media in the Rocky Mountains

Two events this week shed a fascinating light on how Denver newspapers are adjusting to the tectonic shifts in the media landscape driven by the Internet and new technologies. Below are anecdotes from JohnstonWells staff who attended.

Newspaper Battles 2007

The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post have battled each other for years and the joint operating agreement combining business operations under the Denver Newspaper Agency hasn’t seemed to have calmed the waters.

John Temple, editor, president and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, and Greg Moore, editor of The Denver Post, sat down together to discuss issues impacting their business and reporting and how they are responding to today’s competitive environment amidst layoffs, reorganization and demanding online news requirements. Highlights:

• Focus on local news – If people want international and even national news they are likely to turn to the Internet and the websites of national papers such as the New York Times or the Washington Post. The Denver papers are increasingly focusing locally.
• Unlimited bandwidth – The ability to post news online gives the papers unlimited room for news.
• The Democratic National Convention – Both papers will cover the DNC ad nauseam.
• Use of multimedia – While both papers are expanding use of audio and video online, Temple suggested the bigger question is whether Denver can continue to support five TV news stations.
• Changing times – Being a newspaper editor is a completely different job than it was 10 years ago.

Meet the Editor

The Denver Business Journal and The Loews Denver Hotel hosted Neil Westergaard, editor of the Denver Business Journal, for a lively discussion about business and politics, the economy, what readers of the DBJ think is important in business today, and how the DBJ’s approach to business news differs from the daily newspapers. Highlights:

• Local breaking news online – While the DBJ is a weekly newspaper, its online content and daily e-mail of the stories has put it in the business of local breaking biz news.
• Two publications in one – Westergaard views the online section almost as a separate publication from the print version because one is daily, the other weekly.
• Reaching younger audiences - Westergaard is concerned that the average age of the print version’s readers is 51. He’s looking to the DBJ’s online offering to expand readership among younger readers.

We hope all three papers can adapt to the changes technology keeps throwing at them and to thrive, so that they can continue to offer news with depth and objectivity.