Denver online newspaper misses subscription goal
DENVER — The future of a Denver online news venture, meant to fill a void left by the closure of the Rocky Mountain News, remains uncertain after it fell short of its subscriber goal and at least some of the staff parted ways with its financial backers.
With backing from three entrepreneurs, former staffers of the News said they would launch InDenverTimes.com if they could get 50,000 paying subscribers by Thursday — what would have been the News’ 150th anniversary.
But the site attracted only 3,000 paying subscribers.
The site was to offer some news free, with advertising revenue footing part of the bill. Readers who buy subscriptions starting at $4.99 a month for a year’s commitment would get extra features, including columns, interactive features, feeds to mobile devices and customizable content.
Kevin Preblud, one of the original financial backers of InDenverTimes, said that although the investors haven’t decided on their next step, the original concept of using about 30 former staffers from the News isn’t viable with just 3,000 subscribers.
“In this economic climate, and certainly in this advertising climate, it’s more prudent to start with a leaner operation that has a much shorter if not immediate road to viability from a cash-flow standpoint,” Preblud said.
He declined to say how many staffers the backers considered viable for a startup.
David Milstead, one of the former News staffers who was contributing work to InDenverTimes.com, said some of the staffers believe they can make the original concept work and are looking for new backers.
Milstead said it would take at least 10 people and probably more than 20 to provide a comprehensive online news site with news and sports coverage.
“The head count increases with the concept of trying to replicate, to some degree, the newspaper experience online,” Milstead said.
The E.W. Scripps Co., which owned the News, closed the newspaper after its Feb. 27 edition, citing losses that reached $16 million last year. That leaves The Denver Post as the city’s only remaining major daily in print.
Elsewhere, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer also ceased print operations and became an online-only endeavor. The owners of the San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe have also threatened to shut down those newspapers unless they can deeply cut costs.
InDenverTimes was organized by former News staffers who were behind IWantMyRocky.com, a Web site to rally support for the News.
Staffers had been volunteering their time for InDenverTimes. It wasn’t clear how many would continue after Thursday’s announcement by the financial backers.
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