2010 March

Entries from March 31st, 2010

The Journal's Wiccan Witchhunt

March 31st, 2010 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized

By Tracy Dingmann The Albuquerque Journal is finding out what happens when you stick a largely irrelevant detail about someone’s faith into a headline about murder and plaster it across the front page. People get mad! That’s what happened with the story headlined “Police: Wiccan Stabbed Man,” which ran across the top of the Journal’s [...]

The Journal's War On Health Care Reform Drags On

March 30th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal continued its war on health care reform in an editorial with this amazing sentence: “The legislation continues to be unpopular, no doubt made more so by the backroom deals and sleight of hand used to get it passed and Republicans are certain to take advantage of the low approval [...]

Bogus "Trends" Story Part of Journal's Health News Coverage

March 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized

By Tracy Dingmann Ah, the beloved trends piece. Like the time-honored weather story and the local candidate Q & A, it is but one of many mandatory products that fill the pages of a daily newspaper. Even though most people tend to go elsewhere for entertainment news now, local newspapers still include trends stories as [...]

Looking Back at Death Squads

March 25th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Denise Tessier Thirty years ago, the Albuquerque Journal surprised not only its readers but members of its staff when it allowed one of its investigative reporters to travel to El Salvador to look into the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who had been shot through the heart by a right-wing death squad as [...]

The Rio Grande Foundation's "Secret" Presence On The Journal's Op-Ed Page

March 25th, 2010 · 7 Comments · Uncategorized

By Tracy Dingmann The Rio Grande Foundation’s unannounced reign over the Albuquerque Journal’s op-ed page continues unabated. On Monday, the newspaper ran a guest column by Kenneth M. Brown, whom the Journal identified as a “Retired Senior Executive, National Science Foundation.” Brown’s column, called “Template for N.M. Governor,” sketched out in great detail what the [...]

ACORN, Better Choices New Mexico And The Importance Of Newspaper Corrections

March 24th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Tracy Dingmann Two stories about the community activist group ACORN dominated the news cycle yesterday. They are linked journalistically in a way I hope most news consumers will understand…but probably won’t. The eclipsing story is about how the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now will close its doors on April 1 after 40 [...]

The Distortion Habit

March 23rd, 2010 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert I don’t know much about astrology, but I read once that Aries like me hate details or can’t deal with them. Deciders at the Albuquerque Journal don‘t suffer from my defect. Not content with big, front-page distortions and big omissions, the partisans in power habitually impose tiny tweaks to further their cause. [...]

Accentuating the Negative

March 23rd, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Denise Tessier The United States Congress passed President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform package late Sunday night, ending a domestic battle that has defined the first year of his presidency. As this major domestic issue moves out of the spotlight, it will free up some time for Obama to address other items, such as foreign [...]

Why Not Call Wiener's Joke What It Is, Thom?

March 23rd, 2010 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized

By Tracy Dingmann Is there really any question about whether the “joke” that Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Wiener emailed to his buddies involving President Obama, black people, sex in the shower and prison was actually funny or appropriate? Not to me. And not to anyone I know. The “joke,” which Wiener sent to the county [...]

Blatantly Partisan Purposes

March 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert Wrong again! I believed the Albuquerque Journal’s political campaign against health care reform – in its “news” pages as well as Op Eds and editorials – could not become more blatant. Silly me. Here’s the big headline on the front page Thursday, March 18: “Premiums Likely to Go Higher”. Over that is [...]