Analyzing New Mexico’s Journalism Ecosystem

This week on New Mexico in Focus, we take a deep look at the state’s evolving journalism ecosystem. Executive Producer Jeff Proctor opens the show with a conversation you’ll only see on NMPBS — a one-on-one interview with the new executive editor at the Albuquerque Journal, Patrick Ethridge. Jeff asks about his career in journalism to this point and how that will shape his philosophy at the top of what has long been considered New Mexico’s “paper of record.”  

A panel of local journalists chats with NMiF Host Gene Grant about the successes, shortcomings and challenges facing small-town news publications. One of the biggest factors in that equation is ownership, something this panel is uniquely qualified to discuss. Each of our three panelists represents a distinct business model prevalent today: locally-owned papers, corporate-ownership and nonprofit news.  

In his second one-on-one interview of the show, Jeff Proctor talks with Albuquerque City Council President Pat Davis, who also now owns four newspapers in the state. As the leader behind The Paper., the Edgewood Independent, the Sandoval Signpost and the Corrales Comment, Jeff asks Mr. Davis about media consolidation and the role of journalism more broadly in New Mexico.  

Gene closes out the show with a final panel segment featuring three newsroom leaders with a hand in shaping coverage around the state. The group also discusses ownership’s influence on staffing and coverage. Regardless, resources in the industry are much more limited than they were even just a decade ago. Gene asks if news organizations can still properly serve their audiences with so much less.  

Host: Gene Grant 

Segments: 

One-on-One with the Albuquerque Journal’s New Executive Editor 
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor 
Guest: Patrick Ethridge, vice president, executive editor, The Albuquerque Journal 

The Changing Landscape of Print Media & Serving New Mexico’s Smaller News Markets 
Correspondent: Gene Grant 
Guests: Shaun Griswold, editor, Source New Mexico 
Algernon D’Ammassa, editor, The Deming Headlight 
Jessica Onsurez, news director, Gannett  

Pat Davis: Politician and Newspaper Magnate 
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor 
Guest: Pat Davis, Albuquerque City Council President, Newspaper Owner 

Newsroom Leaders Explain Staffing & Coverage Decisions in 2023 
Correspondent: Gene Grant 
Guests: Tim Maestas, news director, KOB-TV 
Sara Solovitch, editor, Searchlight New Mexico 
Megan Kamerick, news director, KUNM Radio