"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over."

The paper's owner, E.W. Scripps Co., made the announcement to the newsroom at noon Thursday, ending three months of speculation and drama over its fate. The News had been put up for sale in December.

Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, told employees that the newspaper was the victim of a terrible economy, an upheaval in the newspaper industry and multimillion-dollar annual losses.

"Denver can't support two newspapers any longer," Boehne said. "It's certainly not good news for you, and it's certainly not good news for Denver."

The News has been in a joint operating agreement with The Denver Post since 2001, which combined the papers' business operations in an effort to save money but left the editorial departments separate.