Media

As the convention wrapped up with an hourlong address by and Q&A with Sarah Palin — broadcast live on CNN, Fox, MSNBC and C-Span — it was clear that the organizer’s massive and controversial gamble had mostly paid off. More than 200 members of the media had descended on Nashville to write probing stories on the Tea Party Movement.

The free market folks at the Rio Grande Foundation have launched an investigative news Web site, New Mexico Watchdog.

Though New Mexico has seen one of the more infamous drunk driving cases in its history last Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reports that New Mexico may have turned the corner on our state’s notorious drunk driving problem.

Santa Fe New Mexican politics reporter Steve Terrell has a blog post today that concludes the grudge between the Clintons and Gov. Bill Richardson is still going strong.

During remarks about the nation’s national debt and annual deficit at today’s Rio Rancho Town Hall, President Obama took the media to task for only paying attention to earmarks in the federal budget when there are much larger problems, namely “entitlement reform.”

Massachusetts U.S. Sen. John Kerry is going to hold hearings in the Senate Commerce Committee on the plight of newspapers according to the Boston Globe.

While people are increasingly getting their news from the internet, the number of those writing the news in traditional newsrooms continues to plummet. After a loss of 5,900 jobs, the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) said newsrooms cut more jobs in 2008 than any time since the ASNE’s census began in 1978.

Let’s start off today with photos from the 2009 Legislature. That’s a nice way to look back at things, right? Then on to other things…

MSNBC looked at microlenders and the companies they loan to — including a local microlender and company.
ACCION New Mexico jumpstarted the local car and recreational vehicle detailing business Recapturing Vehicles with an $8,000 loan. The owner of Recapturing Vehicles, Jason Burns, had been turned down by five banks for a loan. Now, his company grosses [...]

Barack Obama’s recent rise in the presidential race numbers isn’t due to media persuasion –- as the increasing volume in blogosphere and email chatter would have us believe –- but rather is directly tied to Americans’ negative response to the economic crisis. That’s the opinion of one UNM political scientist who looks to numerous polls for confirmation.

To follow-up on an earlier blog post by Kate Nelson, there is at least one Santa Fe newspaper that believes the election is a foregone conclusion.
The New Mexico Sun News will never be considered part of the traditional or mainstream media, and the bi-monthly paper proved this again with its latest printing. According to CNN, [...]

Sure, there was some sort of debate last night. The debate looks to have lower ratings than the previous debate, perhaps due to the Phillies-Dodgers playoff game.
But the real show is tonight. The “Late Show,” that is.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain will be on the “Late Show with David Letterman” tonight, his first appearance after [...]

National Public Radio (NPR) reported from Rio Rancho, the population center of what NPR believes is the swing county in the middle of what has been the closest swing state in the nation the past two elections.