2012 March

Entries from March 29th, 2012

No Other Plausible Explanation

March 29th, 2012 · No Comments · energy policy, Fact Check, Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert “Shall I discourse,’ I wrote the other day, “on the AP Fact Check you haven’t published, which definitively rebuts your narrative on drilling and gas prices?” Yes. Today. First let’s set the stage. Readers of the Albuquerque Journal know management is a full-throated fan of the New Mexico and national oil industries, [...]

Mr. Monteleone Gets the Facts

March 27th, 2012 · No Comments · energy policy, Fact Check, Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert How shall I critique thee, oh, Albuquerque Journal? Let me count the ways. Shall I discourse on the AP Fact Check you haven’t published, which definitively rebuts your narrative on drilling and gas prices? Yes, absolutely, but not today. Shall I report the latest move by CATO Institute, the “free market think [...]

A War Hero and a Mystery

March 26th, 2012 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Denise Tessier “Unknown Hero” was the prominent headline on Sunday Journal’s front page, and the thoughtful story that followed continued the theme of mystery that once surrounded the life and heroism of Marine Lance Cpl. Kenneth L. Worley. “Unknown Hero” was a fitting tribute for the paper to run as it did on National [...]

More Skewing the News by Omission

March 22nd, 2012 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert Welcome to another installment in our series, “Skewing the News by Omission” (link, link), wherein we add a few new stories to the list of those the Albuquerque Journal finds unprintable. Let’s do that through the eyes of a hypothetical reader who trusts the editors. We’ll call him or her the Poor [...]

Widespread Misunderstanding: Round Two

March 20th, 2012 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Denise Tessier As he did with his Senate clarifications on rising gas prices, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman last week found he needed to set the record straight on another energy misunderstanding, this time related to a $50 light bulb. Bingaman’s latest clarification took the form of a guest column that appeared in the Albuquerque [...]

Journal Contributes to ‘Widespread Misunderstanding’

March 19th, 2012 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Denise Tessier George W. Bush thinks building the Keystone XL pipeline is a “no-brainer.” Apparently, the Albuquerque Journal’s editorial board agrees. The Journal once again editorialized in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline this past week (March 12), the sixth pro-pipeline editorial in four months. Not to criticize consistency, but in doing do, it [...]

Intimate Collaboration

March 16th, 2012 · No Comments · budget policy, tax policy

By Arthur Alpert I always complain the Albuquerque Journal imposes its editorial agenda on news decisions, but I never define that agenda. So let’s have at it. The Journal stands against government. The paper’s web site used to carry a mission statement that said its basic purpose was to monitor governmental malfeasance. (It may be [...]

Setting the Record Straight on Solar

March 16th, 2012 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Denise Tessier An Albuquerque Journal reader’s letter to the editor March 13, “Something Doesn’t Quite Add Up Here,” challenged information contained in the caption for last week’s Journal photo of the new solar energy array – 1,001 panels that will provide electricity to the Fire Academy, animal shelter and city environmental offices on the [...]

Richardson "Terror" Group Link: Readers Needed to Turn the Page to Get the Whole Story

March 13th, 2012 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert As I hope you’ve noticed, I rarely critique the rank-and-file at the Albuquerque Journal. Their work is generally professional and sometimes excellent. Management, not staff, insists on carrying the editorial agenda into the news pages. But that management vs. staff distinction isn’t perfect. Look at the Saturday, March 10 Journal, specifically the [...]

Headlining What Is Neither New nor News

March 6th, 2012 · No Comments · Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert We often find the Albuquerque Journal’s editorial agenda hidden in its news columns; management’s opinions shine brightly once we’ve mined, polished and assayed them. Sometimes, though, there’s no need to dig, no ore, no agenda, just what’s on the surface. Such was the case Monday, March 4, where our daily offered a [...]