Albuquerque Citizen Archive

The Albuquerque Weekly Citizen served Albuquerque in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.  Albuquerque grew quickly between 1879 and 1900 as it became a hub for railway construction throughout the territory with a plethora of railway crews, shops, and retail merchants.  Between 1901 and 1912 railroads accessed much of New Mexico’s territory, and established communities, especially Albuquerque, expanded as distribution hubs for smaller growing towns.  New Mexico’s most populous town since 1900, Albuquerque continuously drew many journalists eager for their share of the profits. 

Although more newspapers were published in Las Vegas than in Albuquerque, the competition in both towns was similarly fierce.  At least two dailies, and often more, vied for profits in Albuquerque between 1882 and 1900.  Many editors fared poorly and were often left bankrupt during their aggressive struggles to dominate the newspaper market.  The Albuquerque Weekly Citizen commenced publication on January 10, 1891, with Thomas Hughes serving as editor and continued through 1909 when a merger created the Tribune-citizen.  The inaugural issue declared the Citizen the “Official paper of Bernalillo and Valencia Counties.” A daily subscription cost $8.00 a year, $6.00 for six months, $2.00 for three months, and $1.00 for one month; the annual cost of the weekly edition was $2.00.  Title variances included theAlbuquerque Weekly Citizen (1891-1909), the Albuquerque Daily Citizen (1895-1903), the Albuquerque Citizen (1907-09), the Albuquerque Evening Citizen (1905-07), as well as the Daily Citizen (1886-92), the Daily Citizen (1903-05), and the Evening Citizen (1892-95).  The Albuquerque Daily Citizen reported 1,100 to 1,900 subscribers between 1895 and 1899, although their actual circulation may have been lower as many newspapers inflated these numbers.  The rival Albuquerque Morning Democrat fiercely battled the Albuquerque Daily Citizen by commandeering both the evening and morning franchises from the Associated Press for a brief time. 

Many New Mexico journalists maintained that the quality of the territory’s dailies rivaled those from similarly sized towns.  One editor claimed that the Albuquerque Daily Citizen, the Albuquerque Morning Democrat, and the Las Vegas Daily Optic were the best daily newspapers published in any territory in America.  Another argued that the Albuquerque daily newspapers were superior to their counterparts in Denver and Kansas City.  This editor undoubtedly overstated his claim, yet the consistency of such assertions leads one to believe that by 1900 New Mexico papers like Albuquerque Daily Citizen were indeed of high quality.