DENVER -- The Rocky Mountain News, Colorado's oldest newspaper, was offered for sale on Thursday after owner E.W. Scripps Co. said it lost about $11 million on the operation in the first nine months of the year.

Cincinnati-based Scripps said in a news release that if no acceptable offers emerge by mid-January, it will "examine its other options." The president of chief executive officer of Scripps, Rich Boehne, said if there is no buyer for the newspaper, it could shut down as soon as early 2009.

"The economic difficulties have been accelerating in recent months. I think we have the view that through this recession, that we're probably not even fully into yet, that the operating environment is going to be very difficult and that those losses could definitely persist," Boehne said.

Scripps has owned the News since 1926. Since 2001, the newspaper has been in a joint operating agreement with The Denver Post, owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group.

Boehne said the company's 50 percent share of the joint operating agreement cash flow "is no longer enough to support the Rocky, leaving us with no choice but to seek an exit."

Scripps said the joint operating agreement, known as the Denver Newspaper Agency, has about $130 million in long-term debt from a recently completed consolidation of production facilities with new printing presses and other upgraded equipment.

"The decision to seek a buyer for the Rocky would have been unthinkable until very recently," Boehne said in the news release. "But the operating conditions have become increasingly difficult in Denver, as is the case in all major metropolitan newspaper markets."

"Some will be tempted to immediately write the obituary of The Rocky, but we're hoping this step will open the way for a creative solution to the financial challenges faced by Denver's great newspapers," Boehne said. "The loyal readers and advertisers of Denver deserve the best and we'll work hard to find a solution that benefits this great city."

"It's a question of whether you can try to manage the revenues, try to come up with new revenue sources. Which clearly has been difficult to do for the traditional newspaper owners and do something to reduce the costs to make the profits come about," said Dr. Mac Clouse, finance professor at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. "It would almost have to be bought by a larger firm that could use some scale economies by having a number of newspapers."

Dr. Clouse says investors may not find America's first form of media a worthwhile gamble.

"I think it's a tough buy right now. I would say no," Dr. Clouse said.

Scripps will continue to support The Rocky financially while a buyer is being sought. It said no changes are anticipated in the daily paper or its digital service, rockymountainnews.com.

The News has 232 editorial employees, according to Lee Rose, corporate communications manager with Scripps. The employees found out Thursday morning.

The News was founded in 1859 and is Colorado's oldest newspaper and continuously operated business. The Scripps' announcement that the property is for sale came amid a series marking the paper's upcoming 150th anniversary.

The 2001 JOA ended a long and heated newspaper war with The Post. The News said its daily circulation reached more than 400,000 in the final years of the battle.

Circulation is currently 210,000 daily and 457,000 on Saturday.

The News publishes Monday through Saturday and The Post publishes Sunday through Friday.

The Rocky Mountain News has won four Pulitzer Prizes since 2000.

Prairie Mountain Publishing -- another partnership between Scripps and MediaNews Group entities involving newspapers elsewhere in Colorado -- and YourHub.com, a print and online initiative of the Denver Newspaper Agency providing hyperlocal news content for communities in Colorado and elsewhere, are unaffected by Thursday's announcement, a news release stated.

EditorandPublisher.com reported that The Rocky Mountain News is one of several large newspapers currently up for sale. The Web site said the The San Diego Union-Tribune is for sale and Cox Newspapers is also trying to sell several newspapers, including the Grand Junction Sentinel. The Virginia-Pilot in Norfolk was for sale but was pulled off the market on Wednesday, by Landmark Communications, due to problems with buyers lining up financing.

"It's a very bad time to sell newspapers, especially those in large cities," industry analyst John Morton said. Advertising revenues have been falling with competition from online classified ad sites like Craigslist and weakness in real estate, the job market and the auto industry.

"There are a lot of newspapers for sale and nobody leaping forward to buy them as of yet," Morton said. "It speaks both to the uncertainty of the future and, of those that have received offers, they were so low the sellers didn't want to accept them."

Scripps operates newspapers in 15 markets and has 10 TV stations. It also operates United Media, which distributes the Peanuts and Dilbert comic strips and 150 other features.

Scripps shares were down 3 cents to $2.30 in afternoon trading.