Readers of the Denver PR Blog know that I am a fan of Westword’s Michael Roberts. His coverage and analysis of the Denver media scene is second to none, and the recent coverage of the Rocky Mountain News’ continuing near-death experience only solidified his position. So it was interesting to see a reader call out Roberts for not covering Westword’s financial situation the way he covers those of the Rocky and Denver Post.

Of course, what is lost on the reader is that part of what makes Roberts so effective at covering the Rocky and Post is that he is independent of them, a point he makes as well. Nevertheless, Roberts responds with an analysis of Westword’s situation, which concludes the both the paper and its parent company are … (drumroll please) … largely in good shape. But as much as I like Roberts, I’ll wait for David Milstead or Aldo Svaldi to write that before I believe it.