The Denver Post is starting to look evil if you’re a fan of the Rocky Mountain News. As you probably know, the Rocky could be shut down if its parent company, E.W. Scripps Co., fails to find a buyer for it. A day after the Rocky reported on a controversial letter in which Scripps accused Post execs of dipping into a joint Post-Rocky account to pay Post news employees, the Rocky writes that any new owner would find it tough to put out a paper.

Post owners accused the Rocky of crappy journalism, saying a story that claimed the Post violated its joint-operating agreement was rife with “inaccuracies.” The Rocky stands by the story, but a Post article raises questions about the authenticity of the letter, upon which the Rocky’s initial story was based.

The Post’s owners say if the Rocky is sold, they will grab control of the joint Denver Newspaper Agency, which runs both papers’ business, and publish just the Post. And the Post would “exercise its options” to buy the agency. ColoradoPols is monitoring the meltdown and wagging the finger of shame at the Post.