The Rocky Mountain News, a 150-year-old daily newspaper in Denver, will shut down operations and cease printing after tomorrow’s edition.

The paper has tried since December to find a buyer, but after that failed, owner EW Scripps decided it was time to bid farewell.

The long run

The Rocky Mountain News has been around longer than the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. It was established in 1859, before Colorado was even a state. Scripps has owned the paper since 1926.

The paper won several Pulitzer prizes and has had a “colorful” circulation war with the Denver Post for a century.

Hey, must be the money

The 255,000 circulation tabloid-format newspaper lost $16 million in 2008. RMN told employees about the closure this morning, but said they will continue to pay salaries through the end of April 28.

Scripps is still trying to sell the paper’s name, web site, archives and masthead.

No room for rivals

We may soon see a similar story coming out of Seattle. After a lengthy competition with The Seattle Times for readership, Hearst Corp. put the Seattle Post-Intelligencer up for sale in January.

The company said it would cease printing if the paper didn’t sell in 60 days. With the deadline fast approaching and no deal in sight, it appears Seattle is about to become a one-paper town. The Post-Intelligencer held a meeting yesterday to teach employees how to file for unemployment.

More hurt for Hearst

Hearst said it may shut down San Francisco’s main newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, unless it can push through more job cuts. It has offered voluntary buyouts to many of its 1,500 employees.

The Chronicle has the second largest circulation on the West Coast and the 12th biggest in the country with a circulation of about 375,000. According to Wikipedia, the publication lost more than $50 million in 2008.