After These Messages, We’ll Be Right Back — Well, Some of Us

This week marks the last new episode of New Mexico in Focus for a bit — more on that in due course — and it’s a good one. 

Lily Alexander, one of the best young journalists in the state, shoulders much of the weight as she helps us understand her reporting on years of turmoil, turnover and alleged hostility at the state Office of African American Affairs.

It’s a sensitive story for us because Gene Grant, who hosted our show for many years and now leads OAAA, is at the center of the controversy. So, big thanks to Lily for her rigor, empathy and professionalism. 

Our old pal Jerry Redfern, reporter extraordinaire for Capital & Main and de facto oil and gas correspondent for NMiF, is here, too. Jerry’s got some fresh reporting on newly published scientific research showing strong ties between airborne radioactive plumes in the Permian Basin and byproducts from the industry he watches more closely than any other journalist in the state.  More rigor, more empathy, more professionalism. 

And now to that lede I’ve sufficiently covered in proper New Mexico dirt… The final piece of this week’s show is a crusher. Host Nash Jones sits down in the studio with Senior Producer Lou DiVizio to talk about Lou’s time at NMPBS. Why? Because that time is coming to an end. 

Lou’s been here a little over five years, and searching for something he hasn’t done to make this show better would be an endless scavenger hunt with no prizes — big door or otherwise — at the end. From improving NMiF’s look and feel to pepping up the pacing to peppering the show with more video and graphics, Lou is the driving force behind why you’re seeing a superior news program on Friday nights these days. He’s also stitched together some of the most vibrant stories from the field we’ve ever produced and found his voice as one of the state’s best interviewers. 

Oh, and he alternated hosting duties with me — and did it far better — during the long, dark night before Nash Jones arrived here at 1130 University Blvd. NE. 
 
Lou’s journalistic instincts and skills are among the best I’ve encountered, and I’ve been at this a very long time. He’s easy to work with, too, and has nary a detractor — let alone an enemy — anywhere at this television station. Our audience loves him, too, and I’ve got the emails, text messages and analytics to prove it.  

For me, after all these many years and overdeveloped scar tissue, journalism has to be fun or it just ain’t worth doin’. Lou can make me laugh, elicit a quote from my bottomless well of cinematic arcana, get me worked up about a story or launch into one of my infamous rants about power with very little effort. This hasn’t felt much like work with Lou. 

He’s checked my biases, too, sharpened my news judgment and made me a better listener, a better observer. And Lou has been a friend, the kind you don’t have to ask for help when you need it. 
More rigor, more empathy, more professionalism. 

Now it’s time for Lou to go and do the next thing, and I know you, reader, will wish him well in the doing.
Along with some other challenges, Lou’s departure means we need a minute to regroup. So, we’re taking a hiatus to do just that. Our plan is to map out and start digging into a core piece of NMiF’s mission: election coverage. There’s consequence up and down the New Mexico general election ballot in November, and we know our audience relies on us for the deep insights, analysis and reporting we do best. 

We’ll be back in October with all that and more.  

Happy trails, Lou, and we’ll see the rest of you in a few weeks.

-Jeff Proctor, Executive Producer