Posted by jessdrkn on March 23, 2010
Location: Missoula, Montana 
Focus: regional online news magazine about Rocky Mountain news, issues, politics, culture; coverage area includes Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, other Western interior locations; community blogs, news roundups from national outlets, original and contributed content
Started: 2005
Staff: about 20, including publisher, editor-in-chief, contributing writers; news partners with other outlets such as DailyYonder, Crosscut, Flathead Beacon
Funding: advertising, conferences; business is New West Publishing LLC
Site: newwest.net
From About Us:
New West.Net is a nationally-award-winning, online network covering and connecting the fastest-growing region in the country with a refreshing mix of daily news, original reportage, commentary, photography, video, music and conversation. NewWest.Net includes a regional Front Page, and local sites in eight communities around the region…
Sample posts: “Western pols quick to denounce passage of health care bill”; “Conservation icon Stewart Udall dies”; “In the mountains, is modern design the right style?”; “Strategy offers hope in beetle battle”
Posted in Montana | Tagged: Colorado, Idaho, LLC, Montana, New West, regional news, Rocky Mountains, rural news, Utah | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on August 31, 2009
Location: Denver 
Focus: city and regional news; staff-generated stories/original content; staff journals; traditional newspaper features, such as sports, arts, business; multi-media components
Started: July 2009 [UPDATE 10/04/09: ORIGINAL CONTENT ENDED OCTOBER 2009, SUBSCRIBERS REIMBURSED FEES, see Westword story "Steve Foster on the death of the Rocky Mountain Independent"]
Staff/Writers: Former Rocky Mountain News daily newspaper staff started this site after the newspaper closed in February 2009; 14 names listed on staff page, mostly veteran newspeople from RMN. Rocky Mountain Independent editor and co-founder Cindy House also manages sister site iwantmyrocky.com, a site dedicated to researching the future of news in the wake of one of Denver’s major metro newspapers folding. Note, there is another independent start-up site in Denver, in response to RMN closure, see indenvertimes.com.
Funding: advertising, subscription service ($4 month, $24 year)
Site: rockymountainindependent.com
[From open letter to readers when site launched. Titled "An Independent's Day"] In so many ways, this is the worst time to do what we’re doing.
We admit it. Looking around, we see layoffs, closings and mass confusion in the news industry. No one has an answer to the future of journalism. Many have theories or snippets of ideas, and some have encouraging small-scale success, but no one has found the solution to losing a major metropolitan newspaper.
Which is why in so many more ways, this is the best time to do what we’re doing.
News coverage is shrinking at the very moment when the hunger for news is greater than ever. Technology lets us seek out the news we want in the way that we want it, but as newspapers close, contract and cut back, the focus of the journalism gets narrower and narrower. Stories are being left untold.
…The great myth of media today is that a single newspaper — should it survive — can cover a city as large and vibrant as Denver. Some of us came here a couple years ago, some of us arrived a decade ago, and some of us were here before the Broncos. But no one finds Denver to be the same now as it was when we arrived. It is changing every day, and the stories it produces are endless. No single news organization can cover them all, nor should it try.
Sample stories: From staff, “Denver’s trash trucks are auction treasures”; “Rocky-Post newspaper partnership officially ends, six months after Rocky closed”; “$38 million in Clunkers cash for Colorado”; “Denver Broncos fans offer forecast for season” a multi-media package.
Update story on start-up: http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/08/checking_in_on_the_rocky_mount.php
Posted in Colorado | Tagged: Colorado, Denver, discontinued, former Rocky Mountain News journalists, metro news, online, subscription | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on August 31, 2009
Location: Denver 
Focus: metro, community, state, and national news site; original content, aggregated news; lots of linked content to contributor blogs; “traditional newspaper” sections, e.g.: News, Opinion, Business, Sports, A&E, etc.
Started: March 2009 (one month after Rocky Mountain News daily metro newspaper closed). According to About Us page, InDenverTimes was started by 30 former RMN journalists and three Denver entrepreneurs. “The group’s goal was to sign up 50,000 subscribers before the 150th birthday of the Rocky on April 23, 2009. We didn’t reach that goal, but we’re grateful that more than 3,000 people pledged their support.” 5 management staff listings; 19 listed contributors, 8 “INsighters”; and 10 Partner Site links.
Funding: advertising, subscriptions
Site: indenvertimes.com
[from mission statement] INDenverTimes provides news, insight, perspective and information for Denver and Colorado. We publish new writers and introduce new voices to the Colorado conversation, and we’re equally fired up to give established journalists an outlet. You don’t have to have a journalism degree to tell a story, but you must have a commitment to accuracy, fairness and quality. We are part of the new media. We strive for balanced coverage and embrace all points of view. We want to tell the stories others don’t and open avenues to coverage of Colorado not otherwise easily available.
Sample stories: “Ritzy Landmark project in Greenwood Village files for bankruptcy”; “Higher ed chief Skaggs to step down over disagreement with Ritter” a report from Education News Colorado, a non-profit news source; “Denver Stiffs: Nuggets J.R. Smith suspended seven games by NBA” a story linked to DenverStiffs.com sports blog; “‘Humpday’: Will Ben and Andrew make a porno movie?” a story linked to former RMN film critic Bob Denerstein’s film blog, denertsteinunleashed.com
Posted in Colorado | Tagged: Colorado, Denver, metro news source, Rocky Mountain News closure, Rocky Mountain News staff | Leave a Comment »
