The Albuquerque Tribune

The Albuquerque Tribune
The July 27, 2005 front page of
The Albuquerque Tribune
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
OwnerE. W. Scripps Company
FounderCarl Magee
Founded1922
Ceased publication
February 23, 2008[1]
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters7777 Jefferson NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109  United States
Circulation10,000 (when closure was announced)[1]
ISSN1097-2048
Websiteabqtrib.com

The Albuquerque Tribune was an afternoon newspaper in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 1922 by Carlton Cole Magee as Magee's Independent.[2] It was published in the afternoon and evening Monday through Saturday until closing in 2008.

History

Origins

On June 22, 1922, Carlton Cole Magee, former owner and editor of the Albuquerque Journal, founded a new weekly paper in Albuquerque called Magee's Independent.[3] While the paper remained unprofitable after nine months, Magee sought investors for a daily edition.[4] In April 1923, Magee established a daily called the New Mexico State Tribune.[5] In September 1923, Scripps-Howard acquired the Tribune from Magee, who stayed on as editor.[6][7]

JOA

On February 20, 1933, in response to the Great Depression, the Tribune and Journal formed the nation's first joint operating agreement. The Albuquerque Publishing Company would operate both papers and be jointly owned by the paper's owners. The two printing and business departments were merged, but the editorial teams remained separate. The Journal published six days a week in the morning, and the Tribune published six days a week in the evening.[8][9][10]

Closure

In 1988, circulation peaked at 42,000, but continued to decline over the decades.[11] In summer 2007, E. W. Scripps Company, the paper's owner, announced the Tribune would if a buyer was not found.[12] D.W. Turner, a local public relations and advertising firm, entered negotiations,[13] but their offer was later withdrawn.[14] After a seven-month search, no deals emerged.[11] The Tribune ceased on February 23, 2008.[11][15] By then circulation had fallen to 10,000, while the Albuquerque Journal stood at 106,000.[11] Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico declared the paper's last day "Albuquerque Tribune Day" in his state, to "celebrate the Tribune's long and proud history and its honorable service to the state."[16][17]

Although the JOA ended when Scripps shut down the newspaper, Scripps retained its stake (about 40%) in Albuquerque Publishing Company, giving Scripps a corresponding share in any future Albuquerque Journal profits.[18] Scripps had not offered to sell its share in the JOA when it attempted to sell the paper, something that Editor & Publisher noted was another factor in Scripps' inability to find a buyer for the Tribune.[18]

Pulitzer

Eileen Welsome of The Albuquerque Tribune won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 1994 for her series entitled "The Plutonium Experiment", a series about human radiation experiments that took place at the Walter E. Fernald State School of Massachusetts, among other locations.[19]

The paper's logo and the logo of the entire Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, depicting a lighthouse, was inspired by founder Magee's original slogan: "Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way";[1] the slogan had been adopted from Dante.

References

  1. ^ a b c Albuquerque Tribune to cease publication Archived February 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine from the E. W. Scripps website
  2. ^ McElroy, Jack (2024). Citizen Carl: The Editor Who Cracked Teapot Dome, Shot a Judge and Invented the Parking Meter. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 81–90. ISBN 978-0826365767.
  3. ^ "Plans To Go On Cleaning-Up". The Deming Headlight. June 16, 1922. p. 2.
  4. ^ "The Newspaper Business". Alamogordo Daily News. March 29, 1923. p. 3.
  5. ^ "New Mexico Progress In The Past Week". The Santa Fe New Mexican. April 11, 1923. p. 4.
  6. ^ "Tribune Taken Over by Scripps-Howard People but Editor Remains". The Santa Fe New Mexican. September 23, 1923. p. 4.
  7. ^ "State Tribune Sold To Eastern News Syndicate". Alamogordo Daily News. October 4, 1923. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Two Albuquerque Newspapers Will Be Consolidated". Las Vegas Daily Optic. Associated Press. February 18, 1933. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Pepperday To Be Manager Of Tribune". The Santa Fe New Mexican. February 18, 1933. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Widespread Approval Expressed of Journal and Tribune Publishing Arrangement". Albuquerque Journal. February 19, 1933. p. 1.
  11. ^ a b c d Stautberg, Tim (February 20, 2008). "The Albuquerque Tribune Will Cease Publication". The E.W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  12. ^ "Today's News Briefing | 'Albuquerque Tribune' For Sale". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. August 29, 2007. p. 2.
  13. ^ "Sale Of 'Albuquerque Tribune' Reported Close". Editor & Publisher. December 19, 2007. Archived from the original on October 15, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  14. ^ "Offer to Buy Albuquerque Tribune is withdrawn". El Paso Times. February 2, 2008. p. 20.
  15. ^ Mygatt, Matt (February 23, 2008). "Albuquerque's 'Tribune' bids farewell". Santa Fe New Mexican. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Andersen, Shea (February 25, 2008). "The West loses a scrappy daily paper". High Country News. Paonia, Colorado. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  17. ^ Governor Richardson Proclaims Albuquerque Tribune Day, a press release from the Office of New Mexico's Governor
  18. ^ a b Tribune Is Gone — But Scripps Still Sharing Profits In Albuquerque Archived June 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, a February 25, 2008 article from Editor & Publisher
  19. ^ Herrera, Pete (April 13, 1994). "Tribune wins Pulitzer". The Deming Headlight. Associated Press. p. 2.
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