Feb. 24, 2008
Albuquerque Journal
Tribune Workers Say Goodbye
By Lloyd Jojola, Journal Staff WriterThe 86-year-long run of The Albuquerque Tribune ended Saturday when 16,928 copies of the paper rolled off the presses with the front-page headline: "Good night, Albuquerque."
"Somebody asked me what's the weirdest thing that's happened this week, and the hardest thing is planning a party for a day like this. Because we have worked so hard to make sure there wasn't a day like this," Tribune Editor Phill Casaus told staffers moments before the last page was sent from the newsroom for publication.
The fate of the Pulitzer Prize-winning afternoon newspaper was known since Wednesday, when its owner, Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps Co., announced the Saturday edition would be the last.
But the writing was on the wall since August, when Scripps announced it would stop publication unless a buyer was found. Ownership flirted with at least one proposal by in-state investors, but a deal never came to be.
The scant crew that typically occupies the Tribune newsroom on Saturday mornings opened the doors to other staffers, family members and newshounds who worked for the paper previously. Even some competitors dropped in, as did others who simply felt an obligation to say goodbye.
"I've been humbled, really, by the responses that some of our readers have given us," Casaus said during an interview earlier in the morning. "I know that we weren't selling a lot of newspapers at the end, but the people that we were serving are really emotional about this, they really are. I'm grateful for their loyalty.
"I'm grateful for the loyalty of this staff— I take no credit for that. They're loyal to the newspaper. They're loyal to the readers."
'Like Army ants'
The Tribune's circulation had dropped from about 42,000 in 1988 to about 9,600. Some 38 newsroom employees were on staff in its final days.
"We didn't have the staff to tell the big story every day, we couldn't break all the news, so instead we took the time to go deeper on the subjects we thought were most important," said Erik Siemers, a Tribune reporter. "I think the public is going to miss that."
Kelly Brewer, a former Tribune editor, said: "I've never worked harder anywhere in my life than we worked here, and I think that's true for everybody who works here. They work like army ants."
Part of that is because it was an evening publication, with some staff members rolling into work at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m.
"Somebody said earlier, 'The Trib was always a troublemaker,' and that's the way it was supposed to be and that's what it intended to be," Brewer said. "But it was also a torchbearer for capital 'J' Journalism ... It never got away from its reason for being here. It was all about holding people accountable and making things better."
The Tribune closure leaves behind some industry veterans.
Michael J. Gallegos, a photojournalist, arrived for his final day at 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
His routine, quiet drive from the city's Northeast Heights, was pensive: "All the way through, I was thinking this is the last time I'm going to have to do this drive."
Gallegos had worked for the Tribune since the early 1980s and was part of an award-winning photo staff.
"But I don't even remember those," Gallegos said of the honors. "What I remember is the people I've met on the job, all the people I've met in New Mexico, people who care about your work and then when it appears in the paper they call you up or they e-mail you and they thank you. You've made their day or you've made a difference in their life."
When graphics illustrator Charlotte Hill Cobb first walked through the Tribune's doors, then-editor Ralph Looney looked at her portfolio and barked, "You don't know a dammed thing about newspapers, do you?"
"And I said, 'no,' '' she said, adding that she had a fine arts background. "Ralph took great personal pride in thinking that he could find rising stars ... So they tried me out, and here I am 30 years later."
An environment that "just keeps you constantly energized" is what Cobb said she would miss the most.
The Tribune is a place where being "different," "original," "creative" was encouraged, she said. "You were never stopped from trying something new."
The newsroom was more upbeat than one might expect Saturday— though people could be seen shedding tears, "trying to keep it together," as one person put it. Hugs, like the one copy editor Paul Maldonado and assistant city editor Joel Gay shared, were common.
"We were just saying bye, saying it was a good ride while it lasted, and we were trying not to cry," Maldonado said.
The last story was read, the pages were designed and looked over, and then entered by the 9 a.m. deadline.
Tribune wire editor Rick Hindley, who with 41 years of employment held seniority, was given the distinction of tapping the computer key that sent the final page of The Albuquerque Tribune away for printing— it was the front page of the "C" Section.
A countdown, met with "here it goes," was capped with hails of "Viva la Tribune," "Here's to you guys" and "To the spirit of the Trib— forever."
Veteran writer Ollie Reed Jr. said he was asked in recent days, as were many employees, what he would miss the most.
"It's going to be the people I've worked with," he told the crowd that gathered around the computer screen where the final page appeared. "Because there's just nobody better than newspaper people and certainly nobody better than Tribune newspaper people.
"They don't get in it for the money. They do it because they love telling stories and they hope they're going to make things better, and they just keep doing it."
The final press run rolled to a stop at 10:20 a.m.
Tribune History
1922: The Tribune began as Magee's Independent, a weekly newspaper published by Carl Magee, identified in stories as a successful lawyer formerly of Oklahoma City or a rich oilman. Magee used the paper to break the Teapot Dome scandal, which uncovered corruption in the administration of President Warren G. Harding and sent his secretary of the interior, former New Mexico Sen. Albert B. Fall, to prison.
March 23, 1923: Magee's Independent renamed The New Mexico State Tribune.
Sept. 24, 1923: The paper was purchased by the Scripps Howard newspaper chain, retaining Magee as editor and adopting his "Give Light" slogan for all of the Scripps Howard newspapers and later adding the lighthouse logo.
Feb. 20, 1933: Paper renamed again to The Albuquerque Tribune.
1933: The Tribune and the morning Albuquerque Journal, in an attempt to outlast the Great Depression, signed the first joint operating agreement between two newspapers in the nation. The two papers would be housed under the same roof but retain separate ownership and editorial staff. They would share the cost of printing, distribution and other business operations through the Albuquerque Publishing Co.
1994: Tribune wins a Pulitzer Prize for a series by reporter Eileen Welsome profiling Americans unwittingly injected with plutonium by government scientists.
Aug. 28, 2007: E.W. Scripps Co. announces its intention to cease publication of the Tribune unless a buyer can be found.
Feb. 1, 2008: A group of New Mexico investors trying to put together a package to purchase the newspaper announces it will no longer pursue the purchase.
Feb. 20, 2008: Tribune editor Phill Casaus announces to his staff that the paper's final edition will be Saturday, Feb. 23.
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