Press Gazette Ceases Online News

PressGazette.co.uk will stop publishing journalism news from this weekend as its offline counterpart is to close.

Next month’s issue of the trade magazine Press Gazette will be the last and the website will no longer publish online content, according to owner Wilmington.



An announcement formally confirming the closure of the magazine and addressing the issue of the website was published on the site this week.

“During Wilmington’s stewardship there have been several positive developments. One has been the rapidly increasing traffic to the online edition of Press Gazette.

“Whilst we will no longer be able to offer the magazine’s content online, we aim to develop this site as a resource for the UK journalism community, and we plan to roll out additional functionality in the coming months.”

Wilmington managing director Les Kelly confirmed to media commentator Roy Greenslade that the site will continue, but will not feature any stories.

He said: “There will not be news coverage but we will develop the site to offer other services, such as training and freelance referrals.”

Reactions to the announcement can be found on HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk and in this Paid Content article from former PG staffer Patrick Smith.

Subscription Model Tested In Denver

Ex-staffers from the Rocky Mountain News could be back on their old beats if a venture to fund a website with subscriptions proves a success.

Three entrepreneurs are behind the attempt to create a news website – In Denver Times – to replace the gap left by the closure of the Rocky last month.

Video introduction to In Denver Times.


According to Associated Press, the site would be funded by reader subscriptions and advertising revenue.

Some 50,000 annual subscriptions costing $4.99 (£3.43) is the target figure for the investors if the website is to be up and running by May.

These subscribers would then receive extra content in the shape of mobile feeds, access to interactive features etc.

About 30 journalists and editors from the Rocky Mountain News would be hired by the website if subscription targets are met.

One of these former Rocky reporters in line to get a job with In Denver Times is Tillie Fong.

She said: “I want to be a journalist. This is ‘what I want to be when I grow up,’

“When the Rocky closed, it was traumatic, shocking. It was a hard blow. It was a death. This is sort of like a phoenix.”

If you want to know more about the creation of In Denver Times, a video is available of the press conference announcing its goals.

The first website to rise from the ashes of the Rocky Mountain News was I Want My Rocky, which features blog posts and reports from former journalists at the newspaper.

Seattle P-I Becomes Online-Only

America’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer has converted to an online-only newspaper this week.

Owner Hearst Corporation says the Seattle P-I is the biggest American daily newspaper to cease print production and become a web-only operation after it printed its final edition on Tuesday.

The New York Times reports that the move will be closely watched by other titles operating “in an industry that is fast losing revenue and is casting around for a new economic model”.

It continues: “The move shows how some newspapers, in the future, may not vanish but move the battle from print to the digital arena.”

A minority of editorial staff will be kept on to produce content for the website, which is to become more like an opinion and news aggregation site rather than a traditional news website with investigative reports.

Some people are taking an optimistic view of the change and see it as a chance to be at the forefront of news experimentation in the digital age.

“We clearly believe we are in a period of innovation and experimentation, and that’s what this new SeattlePI.com represents,” said Steven Swartz, president of the newspaper division at Hearst.

However, some ex-staffers have expressed their concern at the lack of investigative reporting that will be carried out by the new online-only SeattlePI.com.

“The thing that’s always been closest to my heart is The P-I’s coverage of the underdog, people who are invisible,” said Ruth Teichroeb, an investigative reporter for almost 12 years with the newspaper.

She added: “Those people who have the least voice in society are losing access to another part of the mainstream media.”

To see more reactions from editorial staff to the print closure, see the below video which features interviews with columnists, reporters, editors and photographers.

Laid-Off Staff Create News Site

Journalists from the now defunct Rocky Mountain News are still reporting the local news via their own website.

Created and managed by former Rocky reporters, I Want My Rocky is described by Poynter Online as a “nascent local news site” and is currently a non-profit operation.

As well as publishing news stories, it also acts as a gateway linking to a variety of blogs and websites run by the newspaper’s ex-staffers.



For example, former assistant sports editor Steve Foster is one of the site’s creators who has just launched a blog covering the state’s baseball team – Inside The Rockies – along with two other sports journalists from the Rocky.

And former transport beat reporter Kevin Flynn is publishing stories on I Want My Rocky as well as planning to launch his own blog.

Foster told Poynter that the action of ex-staff shows their belief that they have something to offer the community, with or without the newspaper brand.

He said that when the Rocky was up for sale, its workers were constantly told “that the newspaper has no value. It has negative value; it’s worth only what someone is willing to lose on it.

“I believe I have value. There’s reporters who have real value.”

Flynn added that contributing his stories to the website is providing him with something to do – even if it is unpaid at present.

He said: “I’m not necessarily a free agent forever, but for right now, in this situation, it feels good to have something to do.”

Flynn added: “I had a busy day. And when you’re suddenly unemployed, having a busy day is a good way to feel good about yourself.”

The transport reporter is also upbeat about the future of I Want My Rocky, and hopes it may be able to function in the future as an aggregator of profit-making local news blogs.


The Rocky Mountain News closed at the end of February after a buyer could not be found for it.

According to Editor & Publisher, its website attracted over three times its average page views on the final day.

Video Shows Rocky’s Last Days

The impact of the closure of a newspaper is shown in a new video capturing the final days of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News.

How this event affects the newspaper’s workers and its readers is displayed in the video - Final Edition - put together by multimedia producer Matthew Roberts and his team.

The 20-minute video features interviews with journalists, the editor and the audience about what the closure will mean to them personally and the wider implications for the community.

It also includes footage from meetings during the newspaper’s final months.

The Rocky Mountain News was the oldest newspaper in the state of Colorado and approaching its 150th anniversary when it ceased publication.

[HT – Press Gazette]