I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A day after the governor called for a ban on political candidates appearing in public service announcements paid for by the state, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has asked the state Health Department to stop running one in which she appears.
The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell has the goods:
“Denish, as most readers of this blog are surely aware, is running for governor. Her chief of staff Josh Rosen said Denish had already pledged not to do any PSAs during an election year. He said she decided to stop the PSAs to avoid any confusion.
“A spokeswoman for the department said they have pulled the Denish ad. The department had planned to stop the PSAs in January anyway.
“A companion ad featuring Richardson will keep airing. Richardson, of course, isn’t running for anything next year.
“Political experts say 30-second spots are one of the best ways to build name recognition for a candidate — even if the candidate isn’t overtly saying ‘vote for me.’”
Denish Chief of Staff Joshua Rosen released this statement to me:
“Public Service Announcements are useful tools for disseminating important information to the public, such as how to protect your children from the H1N1 virus. But to avoid even the appearance of a conflict, the Lt. Governor had always planned to decline invitations to participate in these announcements during the upcoming election year.”
Here’s the PSA in question:
