N.M. Business Partners Make Offer for Albuquerque Tribune
By Tim Korte/
Associated Press
The president of a New Mexico advertising and public relations firm said he and his business partner have made an offer to buy The Albuquerque Tribune from the E.W. Scripps Co.
"We are interested in continuing to operate it as a daily newspaper," Tom Carroll said Wednesday.
Carroll, who lives in Santa Fe, said he and Doug Turner of Albuquerque, chief executive officer of the D.W. Turner firm, are heading a group that recently placed an offer with the Cincinnati-based newspaper chain.
Carroll declined to discuss the offering price or proposed operational issues outlined in the bid, citing "a very strong, very strict confidentiality agreement." However, he said the bid is independent of D.W. Turner's operations.
"This is separate from our business," Carroll said. "Our offer is in to Scripps and now it's up to them. We're waiting to hear back."
Scripps officials couldn't be reached for immediate comment late Wednesday.
The company announced Aug. 28 it planned to close the Tribune within two months if it couldn't find a buyer. The 85-year-old afternoon newspaper had 45 editorial staffers when the announcement was made.
The proffered sale does not include the Tribune's 64-year-old joint operating agreement with the Albuquerque Journal.
That agreement, set to expire in 2022, would end if the Tribune is sold, but Scripps officials have said the chain would continue collecting income under a separate partnership arrangement with Journal Publishing Co., which owns the morning Albuquerque Journal.
Those circumstances haven't deterred Carroll's interest in the Tribune.
"Are we put off? Not at all," he said. "We're very excited about the prospect of running a daily newspaper."
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