At 11 p.m. today, a gaggle of former Rocky Mountain News staffers will take part in a press conference at which they'll announce the particulars of a venture that grew out of the website IWantMyRocky.com. But not every Rocky vet is involved. For instance, IWantMyRocky.com co-founder and onetime spokesman John Ensslin will be starting a new position at the Colorado Springs Gazette on March 30, according to the latest newsletter from the Denver Press Club. And Charley Able, a longtime reporter who took a buyout from the Rocky in 2007 prior to running (unsuccessfully) for a position on Lakewood's city council that same year, is pouring his energy into a news website of his own: LakewoodEdge.com.
"The Edge is not your father's newspaper," declares the Edge's "About Us" page. "It is different in format as well as content. We will combine content and comment, often in the same report. We will offer praise and good news. But we will report first-hand about the handful of issues that raise questions and public concern."
A prime example is today's lead story: Galen Foster and Kim Snyder, who've fought against an eminent-domain proclamation targeted at Pro-Tint, a business located at the corner of Wadsworth and W. 14th Avenue, reluctantly signed a settlement late last week, giving them until February 2010 to relocate. Both Denver dailies and numerous TV stations have covered this drama extensively over the years, but thanks to shrinking resources at mainstream news organizations, the tale's resolution has received little notice. Indeed, the only other report on the subject I was able to find in a Google search came courtesy of another online news source, Face the State.
LakewoodEdge.com's banner promises daily news on the site, and keeping that pledge won't be easy even for someone as experienced as Able, who began working at newspapers in 1967. But if he manages to do so, he may be able to help pick up some of the slack left by old-line media, albeit in a highly opinionated way.