John Temple: We didn't wish death upon Dean Singleton

John Temple.

It didn't take former Rocky Mountain News editor, publisher and president John Temple long to react to a startling assertion in 5280's intriguing account of the Rocky's death -- that execs at E.W. Scripps, the tabloid's owner, thought the paper might survive if MediaNews Group CEO and Denver Post publisher Dean Singleton, who has multiple sclerosis, happened to die in a timely manner. In "Another Example of the Dangers of Using a Single Anonymous Source," an awkwardly headlined item on his JohnTemple.net website, he writes about being "stunned" by the claim. He notes that "I was at the helm of the Rocky Mountain News for 11 years and never heard any such sentiment expressed. And I spoke with top Scripps executives and board members repeatedly over the years about the situation in Denver." He adds that "to let someone anonymously ascribe such a desire to a team of executives is journalistically irresponsible. It gives a totally false impression of the dynamic."

Whatever the case, Singleton remains at the helm of MediaNews and the Post, and as indicated by a recent Q&A, he's looking toward the future, not the past. He's not in the grave; the Rocky is.