The New Mexico Free Press is going out of business less than two years after the free-distribution newspaper began to publish in Santa Fe.

The Dec. 2-15 issue of the Free Press does not announce that it is the last edition. But on Wednesday, editor-in-chief Lee James notified the paper's employees that they would be laid off and the paper would not publish again.

James did not return messages seeking comment for this story.

The Free Press's board members are not listed in its incorporation records filed in August 2007. Lawyer Ralph Scheuer is the only name on the documents — as the registered agent and as the sole organizer.

In September 2007, Santa Fe advertising agent Scot Karlson began advertising for an editor-in-chief for the publication via a Web site listing journalism jobs.

"Do you believe that news in general is much too negative?" he asked in the ad. "Can you be a positive force in an entire region? Do you believe that mainstream media are all too much alike?"

The first edition rolled off the press in March 2008. Initially, it came out weekly. But in October, it began to be published once every two weeks.

Karlson initially listed himself as publisher, but he left earlier this year. Brad Buck, listed as deputy editor, wrote many of the stories published in the paper. He has taken a job with the Santa Fe Public Schools.

Others listed on the masthead are sports editor Arnie Leshin, art director Ana June, advertising director Linda Rodriguez, account executive Margaret Henkels, graphic designer Ann Hackett, photo intern Penny Martin and Web designer Robert Landavazo.

In its two years, the Free Press staked out a conservative-leaning editorial position, featuring columns by Fox News commentator and former Moral Majority vice president Cal Thomas, for example.

The last issue, with 10 tabloid-size pages, focused on New Mexico's worsening economic conditions — with stories on local leaders' "passive" efforts to bring in new businesses, "murky" information on jobs created by the federal stimulus package and "mixed reviews" of Santa Fe's minimum wage — the highest in the nation at $9.85 an hour.

No one answered telephones Wednesday at the Free Press's office at 1225 Parkway Drive, off Rufina Street.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.