Scripps: No Drop-Dead Date For 'Albuquerque Tribune'

By: Mark Fitzgerald E.W. Scripps says it is still looking for a buyer for The Albuquerque Tribune, and that there is no deadline for a sale or closure of the enfeebled evening paper despite the collapse of a bid by local businessmen.

"At this point, we are still working through the process to find a buyer," Scripps spokesman Tim Stautberg said Monday. The New York investment banking firm Broadwater & Associates continues to work on the search for buyers, he added.

Scripps announced last Aug. 28 that it was putting the paper up for sale, and would close it if no buyer could be found. At the time, reports in the Tribune suggested the paper would be closed within two months if it were not sold.

Two New Mexican businessmen formed a consortium to bid on the paper. Doug Turner, CEO of the Albuquerque-based public relations and advertising firm D.W. Turner and Tom Carroll, its president, suggested in December that they were close to completing the deal.

"We have closed the investment pool, and we have raised the money," Carroll told The New Mexican of Santa Fe at the time. "We are in the final negotiation sessions ... and I believe we have a deal."

But earlier this month, the two announced they had withdrawn their offer.

"Over the past five months we have worked diligently to acquire the Albuquerque Tribune and continue operating it as a daily newspaper," Turner said in a statement. "It was our intention to create a new model of success in the newspaper industry. It was also our strong desire to save a great journalistic institution, the Tribune, for the city of Albuquerque and for the many talented reporters and editors. While we still believe this city can support two daily newspapers, we have determined that this transaction at this time is not viable

The Tribune is in the nation's oldest joint operating agreement (JOA) with Journal Publishing Co., owner of the Albuquerque Journal. But the JOA, established in 1933 and set to expire in 2022, would not be included as part of the newspaper in any sale. Scripps and Journal Publishing have said it will terminate with a change in ownership or closure of the Tribune.

While the Tribune's circulation was over 40,000 as recently as 1988, it has shrunk to below 10,000, reporting in the most recent Audit Bureau of Circulations report average sales of 9,944 copies. The Journal's weekday circulation was reported at 101,981.