Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

'Denver Post' Sticks With 'Mile High'

Aired August 10, 2001 - 11:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Some good news for fans of the Denver Broncos. They're going to get a new stadium August 25th. They will open up some what are calling the New Mile High. But like with many stadiums, they have sold the rights to a company, and at least one newspaper in Denver is none too happy about that. It is fighting back.

Let's get more now from reporter Heidi Hemmat from our affiliate KUSA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI HEMMAT, KUSA REPORTER (voice-over): "The Denver Post's" decision to call the new stadium Mile High Stadium despite the official name on the sign is getting a mixed reaction on the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kind of like Mile High. I always did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mile High was the old Mile High Stadium. Invesco's the new one. That's what it should be called.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a good decision, because all the readers know it by Mile High Stadium.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they do that, that will be wrong.

HEMMAT: But "The Denver Post's" editor says the response they're getting is overwhelmingly positive. He points to the poll on their Web site as proof they're doing what the readers want, and 72 percent agree.

GENE AMOLE, COLUMNIST, "ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS": People want us to be called Mile High Stadium.

HEMMAT: Denver native Gene Amole has been a newsman for nearly 60 years. A columnist for "The Post's" rival, "The Rocky Mountain News," he believes "The Post's" motives are less than pure.

AMOLE: They're involved in a newspaper war with my paper, "The Rocky Mountain News," and any way, anything they can do to separate themselves in the public mind from United States and to diminish what we and what we do, that's what they're going to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: That was KUSA's Heidi Hemmat.

For more on this and more of "The Post's" perspective, let's bring in "The Denver Post" editor Glenn Guzzo, who's with us on the phone.

Glenn, hello.

GLENN GUZZO, EDITOR, "DENVER POST": Good morning. How are you?

KAGAN: I'm doing just fine. Boy, people are really upset about this in Denver, aren't they?

GUZZO: Well, people are pretty, pretty decisively in favor of calling the stadium Mile High and it has been a source of anger.

KAGAN: Officially it's Invesco Field at Mile High, and your paper has come to the decision you're not going to use that in your newspaper. How did you come to that decision?

GUZZO: We basically said we're going to adopt the language of the people, that the public by all accounts is at least two-thirds in favor of calling Mile High. When you're in any kind of public discussion, you will find people referring to it routinely as the New Mile High or Mile High or the new stadium. Seldom do they use the phrase Invesco Field.

In this case, we think that the public's language is familiar enough, clear enough and positive. It's not antagonistic or destructive.

KAGAN: And you're trying to reflect, it seems to me, the anger and the frustration that fans have. Like, oh, my gosh, is everything for sale, including the name of the places where we go -- go witness our sports events?

GUZZO: Well, you know, there is widespread anger about that across the country. It really came to a head with Mile High here in Denver, and we're treating it as a unique circumstance.

KAGAN: But the paper does refer to Coors Field and you do use Pepsi Center.

GUZZO: Yeah.

KAGAN: How do make -- how do you justify that?

GUZZO: Well, Mile High really is a unique circumstance. Coors Field and Pepsi Center have two different situations here, where both of those were built primarily with private money. Mile High was funded 75 percent by public taxpayer money.

The second thing is there was no public outcry for Pepsi, for Pepsi Center or Coors Field to be named anything else. There's an emotional attachment to Mile High that has everything to do with the tradition: the location, the facility and the fact that the taxpayers are paying the bill here and they don't feel like they've been heard.

KAGAN: I understand the public outcry, I understand the anger, but Glenn, is it good journalism? I mean, the name of the place is Invesco -- what is it again? -- it's Invesco Field at Mile High. As a journalist, is it not your paper's job to reflect what's out there? That's the name of the place.

GUZZO: Well, it's public language we're adopting. I think it's good journalism when you serve your public well. I think it's also good journalism to make sure that you're clear. And what we've done is explained what we're doing to folks. Also what we've done is said that we will use the phrase Invesco Field when clarity demands it: for instance, references to the signage, references to direct quotes or official documents, references to the naming rights controversy. In those situations, Invesco Field has to be used.

KAGAN: All right, we'll be tracking it. Glenn Guzzo from "The Denver Post," thanks for talking with, and we'll also be watching "The Denver Broncos" as they open their season there on -- actually preseason on August 25th as well. Thanks for joining.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com