Colorado newspaper bought by mayor it criticized

Editor& Publisher reports that Colorado's oldest newspaper, the Weekly Register-Call has been bought by a mayor it once criticized. Black Hawk Mayor David Spellman, purchased the publication after its 93-year-old publisher died in May.

The newspaper, which is about 40 miles west of Denver, is the state's oldest after the closing of the Rocky Mountain News
The newspaper will be merged with its competitor, Gilpin County News.

Editor of the Gilpin County News, Aaron Storms, says the mayor won't have any control over editorial content of the combined newspaper.

But the Register-Call's current editor, Debra Krause has been dismissed. She says the mayor bought the newspaper to silence criticism of him.

View the story here.

Rocky Mountain News archives to go to Denver Public Library

Westword's Michael Roberts reports that the Denver Public Library and the Colorado Historical Society will preserve that Rocky Mountain News archives and artifacts.

In an announcement made this week,  Rocky's former parent company, E.W. Scripps noted that the library will assume ownership of the publication's archives, including all digital and paper newspaper clipping files, microfilm reels, digital and photographic files and marketing materials.
Negotiations between Scripps and the Colorado Historical Society for artifacts like signs, special editions and other information that documents the history of the publication are currently underway. 

From the story:

"This material is separate from the Rocky's intellectual property: the name, its web address and so forth. That material will be sold, and although Scripps hasn't officially acknowledged that it's getting serious about auctioning off these items, two major media players confirmed that the company has begun reaching out to potential bidders."

E.W. Scripps profit falls 88% in quarter

E.W. Scripps released first quarter results Monday which showed an 88% year-over-year decline in its newspaper division profits, according to Editor & Publisher.
Like most other publishers in the country, Scripps' overall newspaper ad revenue was down significantly. However, the company also posted a loss in online ad revenue:

Online revenue plummeted 26.5% to $7.3 million because of the weakness in print classified advertising, which accounts for 55% of online advertising revenue. Stripping out online ads tied to print, Scripps reported that online revenue from "pure-play" advertisers was up 30% to $3.4 million.

Much of the operating losses the company reported were one-time losses such as those related to the closing of the Rocky Mountain News. However, president and CEO Richard Boehne said that the second quarter looks like it will have results similar to those of the first quarter.
To read more, click here.