Climbing the Mountain Again

In the media world, the idea of ever-changing is as common as driving to work or school on a daily basis. Most journalists, I assume, would not have imagined having to use Twitter as an outlet for their daily jobs. Having to make transitions in any business can be a tough thing to do, especially when it comes to a job loss.

As a media student, I cringe when I see newspapers not being able to withstand the digital flow. Newspapers are one of the major types of medium that has been around since the 1800’s and now to see it start to fade is troubling for one who enjoys writing this much.

“Goodbye, Colorado.”

This was the headline that stood out on a February 2009 morning in Denver which froze many newspaper people to the core. The first major newspaper in America had died. Many believed that others, such as the San Francisco Chronicle and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, would follow suit and crumble. They did not.

The reason for the fall is money. As Time magazine pointed out in a March 2009 article, Scripps Co. were the ones who were responsible for the avalanche of one Denver newspaper. Even though the paper was seeing an increase in circulation and advertising, those in charge in Cincinnati assumed that "it was the business model's fault."

So what are the journalists who got ran out of the Rocky Mountain News doing now?

Blogger John Temple of Temple Talk called around and asked how others were getting along since the Rocky's fall. Guess what he used to do? Own the paper himself under Scripps's supervision.

In a nutshell, those who are calling somewhere else other than Denver home are doing fine. In fact, most of them are doing well. Some of the emotions ex-Rockies are facing nowadays are appreciation of a job, newfound freedom, determination, and of course, anger and loss looking back.

Media will always be here for us. Granted, some companies may have to wither away now and then, but as long as news succumbs society, there will be a job somewhere, someway waiting for us students to grasp once we receive our diplomas.

Photo Credit: Ed Kohler via Flickr via Creative Commons