MediaNews Group Inc., which owns the Denver Post, says it will buy the Denver Newspaper Agency and only publish The Post, even if E.W. Scripps is able to sell the Rocky Mountain News. This would lead to a printing, distribution and marketing problem for the Rocky, which has shared those operations with the Post under a joint operating agreement through the DNA, the Denver Business Journal reported Thursday.

Scripps announced it will close down the Rocky if a buyer cannot be found.

"Scripps has announced it will sell or close the Rocky Mountain News, and has told The Denver Post that will happen very soon. In either case, Denver Newspaper Agency will end," an unsigned letter posted by the Denver Post Corp. stated, according to the Business Journal.

According to the Rocky, the Post statement also said that: "If the Rocky Mountain News is sold, The Denver Post intends to exercise its options to buy all of Denver Newspaper Agency, and Denver Newspaper Agency and The Denver Post will be consolidated. "In either case, The Denver Post and the Denver Newspaper Agency will become one organization and will publish only The Denver Post. At that time, the intercompany balances between The Denver Post and the Denver Newspaper Agency will offset, and the combined company will be recapitalized with a plan to successfully move The Denver Post into the future."

The Rocky contends that Scripps accused The Post of "violating their joint operating agreement by using agency loans to pay for The Post's payroll" and owes the agency $13 million by the end of November. The Post stated it has not violated the agreement, and that anything it owes the agency will be cancelled when it takes over the DNA, according to the Rocky.