{"id":45812,"date":"2024-10-04T15:57:16","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T22:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=45812"},"modified":"2024-10-04T15:57:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T22:57:20","slug":"an-inflection-point-for-nms-largest-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/an-inflection-point-for-nms-largest-newspaper\/","title":{"rendered":"An Inflection Point for NM\u2019s Largest Newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Rio Rancho municipal court judge on Thursday, Oct. 3, ordered Albuquerque Journal<\/em> Executive Editor Patrick Ethridge released from the Sandoval County Detention Center, where the 47-year-old newspaperman had been jailed for eight days on a petty misdemeanor shoplifting charge he picked up at a Rio Rancho Walmart in August. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a wild sentence to write, especially for a guy like me, who spent more than a decade as the Journal\u2019s<\/em> criminal justice system reporter from 2003 to 2013.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethridge\u2019s release came just as I was sitting down with Albuquerque-based criminal defense lawyer Kelly Golightley and UNM journalism professor Gwyneth Doland to talk about this case \u2014 and what it means for a paper that calls itself \u201cNew Mexico\u2019s leading news source\u201d \u2014 for this week\u2019s episode of New Mexico in Focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after we finished recording, a story appeared on the <\/a>Journal<\/a><\/u><\/em> website<\/a> reporting that Ethridge had resigned. (Publisher Bill Lang\u2019s statement indicated that this wasn\u2019t exactly a voluntary departure, but that is another story.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a prurient story that brings with it a significant amount of schadenfreude for the many New Mexicans who have long been frustrated with the newspaper\u2019s hardcore, right-wing position on crime \u2014 including, specifically, retail theft \u2014 in our state. You can find plenty of that on social media and on various blogsites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m grateful to Gwyneth and Kelly for a more nuanced conversation, which included a dive into what\u2019s been happening at the Journal<\/em> over the course of the last several years, whether it serves its community the way a newspaper should and why our legal system would think 10 days behind bars is going to do anything whatsoever to address crime, which is of course a serious issue.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you\u2019ll watch the two segments I hosted with Gwyneth and Kelly. I just did \u2014 that being part of my job \u2014 and was left with what I think was most important about our conversation: Who is ultimately accountable for the newspaper\u2019s failures? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer? Bill Lang, whose family has owned it for generations and who hired Ethridge last year. Not long after Ethridge arrived in New Mexico, I interviewed him for our show<\/a>. Judge for yourself, but it was pretty clear to me then that this was a rickety choice to run the news side of the Journal<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His departure presents an opportunity for Lang. By all accounts, Ethridge was neither very popular at the paper, nor very involved in the journalism it\u2019s been producing the last year-plus. Lang could replace him with someone who actually wants to do the job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, he could do what\u2019s been done at 7777 Jefferson Street NE for as long as anyone can remember: He can play it safe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of our conversation for this week\u2019s show, Gwyneth said something that is going to stay with me about Lang\u2019s conundrum: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo me it seems like, if this is my family paper, if this is my name on the masthead, if this is my legacy I\u2019m looking at, for me the decision is: Either I have to invest in this thing, hire someone who is really experienced, really talented, really ready to go and ready to take this paper in the direction it needs to go \u2014 or, let it go, let someone else take it over. Not some hedge fund that\u2019s gonna chop it up for parts \u2014 it\u2019s already basically there, right? But give it to someone else. Either do it or let someone else do it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I agree \u2014 because our state deserves a \u201cleading news source\u201d that is willing to lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Jeff Proctor, Executive Producer\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n