The Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative is a partnership of local news organizations and interested community stakeholders seeking to redefine local news in the southern half of the state.

We believe local news is a vital part of our communities, helping to strengthen democracy, hold government accountable, tell the stories of everyday people, and, overall, contribute to our shared sense of place.

However, over the past two decades, the capacity of newsrooms has shrunk dramatically across our region. This follows a national trend that has been driven largely by cuts to traditional advertising models that long had sustained local news. Across Southern New Mexico, journalists’ numbers have been decimated through workforce cuts, layoffs, and forced retirements. Several news organizations have ceased operations. This has meant fewer journalists are available to cover city council and school board meetings and ever-important topics like water, border and immigration, and elections. Even in times of better newsrooms staffing, we believe too many communities, particularly those of color and those who are Spanish-speaking, were ignored or not given their due.

Spearheaded by a parent organization known as the New Mexico Local News Fund, the Collaborative launched as a small pilot project in the late fall and early winter of 2020 to offer more in-depth coverage of the state Legislature for southern New Mexico residents.

The New Mexico Local News Fund sought in 2021 to reconvene the group with the aim of making the Collaborative a more-structured project. The Collaborative was successful in pursuing grants from Solutions Journalism Network through a project funded by the Knight Foundation and from Con Alma Health Foundation.

Our newsroom partners so far include Carlsbad Current-Argus, Ruidoso News, Alamogordo Daily News, Las Cruces Sun-News, KRWG Public Media, KTAL Community Radio in Las Cruces, The Las Cruces Bulletin, the Columbus NM News, and the Deming Headlight. We’ve invited community organizations with shared interest in the project to participate, as they’re interested and able to do so. With a solutions-reporting lens, we decided to examine issues surrounding COVID-19 recovery in the first year. This can include both direct health impacts, as well as other effects, like broadband internet access and financial strain from the pandemic.

We launched the project in spring of 2022 by sending an experienced, bilingual journalist, Reyes Mata III, throughout the geographically expansive region of Southern New Mexico. Equipped with a table, audio recording equipment and signage about the project, he talked with residents from the Southeast to the Southwest and listened to their stories on the pandemic and its aftermath. These listening sessions have formed a strong foundation for his reporting on the pandemic and its myriad impacts on residents’ lives. Also, as part of our project, we’ve brought on board Loren Schoonover, a community engagement specialist, to better connect with residents in the most under-served areas of southern New Mexico.

As newsroom cuts have continued in 2022, we believe stronger partnerships will become more crucial than ever before to building a robust local news landscape that serves and engages residents from all ages and backgrounds.

Our work is made possible due to much-appreciated financial support from the Democracy Fund, Solutions Journalism Network, the Knight Foundation, and Con Alma Health Foundation.