Abq. Trib to close

Sad (inevitable) end in Albuquerque.

http://abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/20/tribune-close/

 

Scripps shutters another one...
fuckabunchamoneygrubbers...


Sorry to the Trib folks... at least you get a week. Birmingham got a day.

 

JOAs are usually heavy to one side.

 

Like Jay said, this was only a matter of time.
The afternoon papers of the world are (for the most part) on their last legs. They basically have to have something extremely special to keep them afloat; people are proving day after day they don't want to pay for them in droves, especially if they're competing against a morning paper.

 

It doesn't make this any easier, but the staff seemed to have a fairly good idea that this was coming. Back in December, we interviewed a reporter from there for an opening we had at the time, and he seemed to think the paper wouldn't make it to the end of 2007.

Having survived the demise of The Houston Post, I'm definitely sympathetic.

 

Yes, the writing was on the wall, but it will be a sad day. The Tribune was the better of the two papers in that town.

 

In case you weren't aware, as I wasn't, here's a captivating recap of arguably the Trib's finest hour:

<a href="http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/22/eileen-welsome-albuquerque-tribune-made-history-pl/">Winning the Pulitzer in 1994</a>

That a small-paper neighborhood reporter could stumble on a secret like "The Plutonium Experiment" and dig for six long years to unearth the story the way she did ... is inspiring as hell.

This story, which appeared online Friday, is well worth the read, trust me.