Byers didn’t witness history – he grabbed it by the horns, wrestled it to the ground and branded it with his own initials
William Newton Byers, that paragon of pioneer pluck, didn’t just move to Denver in 1859 – he stormed into that tent city, armed with nothing but a printing press and more chutzpah than a snake oil salesman at a hypochondriac convention!
This man, with nary a lick of journalistic experience, had the audacity to launch the Rocky Mountain News just days after arriving! How, you ask? By penning tall tales about Denver while still in Nebraska, proving that fake news isn’t just a modern invention.
In a race that would make the Pony Express look like a three-legged mule, Byers beat a competitor to the punch by a measly 20 minutes. This wasn’t just publishing – it was the Wild West equivalent of a photo finish.
Byers hyped Denver like a carnival barker on steroids. He painted the “Queen City of the Rockies” as a veritable Eden, complete with river traffic on the South Platte – a waterway so shallow you could wade across it without getting your knees wet!
Not content with merely shaping public opinion, Byers decided to control the flow of information itself. He campaigned for a Denver post office with all the subtlety of a stampeding buffalo, and lo and behold, found himself appointed postmaster in 1864. Talk about controlling the narrative!
Byers managed to snag a second term as postmaster in 1879. Because apparently, once wasn’t enough for this frontier P.T. Barnum! Around this time, he sold the Rocky Mountain News. Because Byers didn’t just dabble in newspapers and real estate and post offices – oh no!
Chronology of The Rocky Mountain News?
April 23, 1859, First issue of William Byers’ newspaper, the Rocky Mountain News, comes off the press, beating a rival, the “Cherry Creek Pioneer,” by 20 minutes.
September – December 1859 The Rocky Mountain News headquarters moves twice, from the attic of Uncle Dick Wooten’s saloon at 1413-15 11th Street to a log cabin at 14th and Market Streets, and then to 13th and Walnut.
August 1860 The Rocky Mountain News converts from a weekly to a daily newspaper. It moves to a building elevated on stilts in the middle of Cherry Creek, near 13th and Market.
May 1864 The Rocky Mountain News’ building near 13th and Market is swept away by a flash flood.
1866 After multiple moves, the Rocky Mountain News settles into a brick building called the “News Block” near 16th and Larimer Streets where it stays until 1887.
July 1870 The Rocky Mountain News changes from an evening to a morning newspaper.
1878 Byers sells the newspaper to Colorado railroad magnate W.A.H. Loveland, who modernizes with telephones, typesetting machines and wire services.
1887 Under new owners, the paper moves to the southwest corner of 17th and Curtis Streets.1898First photographs are reproduced in the Rocky Mountain News.
1901 First red ink headlines appear in the Rocky Mountain News and were used until 1933.The paper’s headquarters moves to 1720 Welton Street.
November 1926 Scripps Howard Company purchases the Rocky.
April 1942 The Rocky Mountain News changes its format from a broadsheet to a tabloid, under command of the new editor, Jack Foster. The move helps revive the paper, which had been on struggling during the early 1940s.
June 1952 The Rocky Mountain News’ offices move from Welton Street to 400 West Colfax Avenue.
March 1993 The Rocky Mountain News premieres a newly designed, full color newspaper
April 2000 The paper wins its first Pulitzer Prize in photography for its coverage of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings.
May 2000 The Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post agree to a joint operating agreement that combined advertising, circulation and production departments while preserving two independent newsrooms.
April 1, 2001 The Rocky Mountain News publishes its last Sunday edition. Under the agreement with the Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News published a Saturday edition, and the Denver Post published a Sunday edition.
April 2003 The Rocky Mountain News wins a Pulitzer in breaking-news photography for its pictures of Colorado’s 2002 wildfire season.
March 2006 The paper’s daily circulation stands at 255,427.
April 2006 Rocky Mountain News reporter Jim Sheeler and photographer Todd Heisler are awarded Pulitzers for “Final Salute,” a report on a Marine major who notifies loved ones of military deaths in the line of duty.
January 23, 2007 The Rocky Mountain News is redesigned to a smaller, magazine format, with a re-designed masthead and more color photographs. The redesign was the result of new printing presses, which were able to operate about 25% faster.
December 4, 2008 Scripps announces plans to seek a buyer for the Rocky Mountain News.
January 29, 2009 Rocky Mountain News staff and community supporters hold a candlelight vigil to show their support for the newspaper.
February 27, 2009 The Rocky Mountain News publishes its final edition.
