First potential Rocky Mountain News buyer not exactly a media powerhouse

Today's Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post both feature articles about Shawn White Wolf, a Montana entrepreneur who issued a press release last Friday announcing his potential interest in purchasing the Rocky. (Read those pieces here and here.) But White Wolf doesn't go into any detail about how he could possibly raise the funds to make a credible run at the property, particularly in light of the all-but-frozen credit market and the bankruptcy filing of the Tribune Co., which demonstrates the dangers of highly leveraged, debt-laden media ownership organizations. Moreover, a visit to his website, Native-View.com, suggests that White Wolf's operation, featuring Montana-based radio and TV operations, doesn't have a lot of its own resources. The image above, for instance, boasts production values on par with high school AV classes. Given that Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group has the right of first refusal when it comes to a new partner in the Denver-based joint-operating agreement, I'd say this particular dream of White Wolf's is mega-unlikely to come true.

Then again, if the dailies are so desperate to make it seem as if the Rocky has suitors, allow me to lend a hand: I'm thinking about buying the paper. Sure, my 401K has lost some value over the past few months, but I've got pretty good credit, and I'm always polite to the tellers over at my neighborhood 1st Bank. So give me a shout, business reporters. I'm ready for my close-up. -- Michael Roberts