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Albuquerque Tribune copy editor Willie Jefferson Jr. and graphic artist Charlotte Hill Cobb embrace today after hearing that The Tribune's last edition is Saturday. Jefferson has been with the paper for a year; Hill for 30 years. E.W. Scripps Co. announced it would close the city's 86-year-old afternoon newspaper after an unsuccessful six-month search for a buyer.

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The Albuquerque Tribune will publish its final edition Saturday, ending a buoyant and sometimes bare-knuckled presence as the city's afternoon newspaper.

E.W. Scripps Co., The Tribune's Cincinnati-based owner, today said the U.S. Department of Justice -- which had closely monitored a six-month effort to sell the newspaper -- was aware of the decision to cease publication of the 86-year-old Trib.

The newspaper's 38 editorial employees were told of Scripps' decision by Editor Phill Casaus in a staff meeting this morning.

"It's a difficult day, but there is a lot to celebrate about The Tribune, and I don't think that's limited merely to the people who work here or have worked here," Casaus said.

The Department of Justice was required to monitor the sale or closure because it oversees the newspaper's joint operating agreement with the Albuquerque Journal. The agreement has allowed the papers to share certain business functions while operating independent newsrooms.

Scripps announced in August it would sell or discontinue publication, saying it had determined the Albuquerque market couldn't support an afternoon newspaper.

The Trib's daily circulation in January was about 9,600, Casaus said. In 1988, the newspaper sold about 42,000 copies a day.

"The loss of The Albuquerque Tribune is profoundly sad for the community, its dedicated staff, and all those great journalists who have contributed over the years to the newspaper's outstanding reputation for editorial independence and excellence," said Rich Boehne, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Scripps.

"As The Tribune passes into history, we take some solace in the knowledge that Albuquerque and New Mexico are better places to live today thanks to the newspaper's commitment to community service," he added.

The Tribune -- which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, was a finalist for journalism's highest award in 1996 and consistently won state and national awards -- will publish a commemorative edition Saturday to celebrate its 86 years of covering Albuquerque and New Mexico, Casaus said.

Other looks back at The Trib and the city it covered will appear in Thursday's and Friday's editions.

"This newspaper has been an important voice, and I think anyone who's read it understands that it cares deeply about this community and state," Casaus said.

The Tribune, which won the Pulitzer for national reporting in 1994 for reporter Eileen Welsome's series "The Plutonium Experiment," began as Magee's Independent in 1922. It was purchased by Scripps a year later and was named the New Mexico State Tribune until Feb. 20, 1933 -- 75 years ago today -- when it became The Albuquerque Tribune.

After the August announcement, only one bidder emerged from Scripps' search for a buyer: Albuquerque public relations executives Tom Carroll and Doug Turner.

Carroll and Turner, who run the public relations firm D.W. Turner, announced in early October their plans to make a pitch for the newspaper.

But after months of negotiations with Scripps, the pair withdrew their offer Feb. 1, with Carroll saying: "We were unable to put the package together."

The Trib publishes six days a week. It has operated since 1933 under the joint operating agreement with the Journal Publishing Co., which owns the Albuquerque Journal.

The Trib and Journal editorial staffs have operated independently of each other. Under terms of the agreement, Albuquerque Publishing Co., formed by the two partners, has been responsible for the business operations of The Trib, including advertising, subscription sales, production and distribution.

The benefits of that agreement would not have been part of any sale of The Tribune, meaning a potential owner would have to create the business, advertising and production arms of the newspaper virtually from scratch.

Scripps and Journal Publishing Co. shared the combined profits generated by both newspapers. Under a new agreement with Journal Publishing, Scripps will continue as a partner in Albuquerque Publishing Co.

Joint operating agreements are allowed under the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 and fall under the oversight of the Justice Department.

A group of concerned readers working under the name Friends of the Albuquerque Tribune have also expressed interest in saving the newspaper and operating it as a nonprofit. The group plans a meeting Thursday night to discuss its efforts to acquire the newspaper.