Dan Boyd

Entries Tagged as 'Dan Boyd'

The Facebook Data Center Story: Is it really a “Big Win” for New Mexico?

September 22nd, 2016 · 3 Comments · corporate welfare, economy, journalism

By Arthur Alpert As a citizen who has read the Albuquerque Journal’s reporting and editorializing on Facebook’s decision to build a data center in Los Lunas, I am skeptical. I suspect New Mexico’s embrace of that deal will end badly. But it’s a complex arrangement and there are some unanswered questions, so I’ll try to […]

Diversion

August 21st, 2016 · 3 Comments · journalism

By Arthur Alpert A thousand years ago when I was young, the Arts and Entertainment editor at my Big Apple newspaper sent me to review a Lenny Bruce show in Greenwich Village. Bruce wasn’t funny at all. What I didn’t know at the time was that he was on his last legs, succumbing to drugs […]

Missing the “Why”: Harvey Yates vs. Pat Rogers

May 23rd, 2016 · No Comments · journalism

By Arthur Alpert Why? Why was oilman Harvey Yates Jr. so intent on defeating Governor Martinez’s choice, Pat Rogers, for GOP national committee? Why and what was his beef? I’ve been wondering why since the Albuquerque Journal began covering the intra-party dispute, but it never came clear. The Journal told me “who, what, when and […]

A Win for Win

January 28th, 2016 · 2 Comments · economy, journalism, role of government

By Arthur Alpert I’ve just finished reading Winthrop Quigley’s thoughtful Thursday, Jan. 28 UpFront column tying New Mexico’s population losses to the state’s failing economy and I still cannot decide if he’s a super journalist or simply very good. You understand the problem – seen in contrast to what the Journal does day in and […]

Chalk This One Up to Incompetence

January 20th, 2016 · No Comments · journalism, NM Legislature

By Arthur Alpert Regular readers will remember my references to the veteran New Mexico journalist who cautioned me against finding political motives for all the Albuquerque Journal’s missteps. It’s often youth and inexperience, he said, or amateurism. I think about that advice often, but sadly, political decisions by the editors are the rule and incompetence, […]

Old Story: The Journal repackages the “Worst-Run State”

December 10th, 2015 · No Comments · journalism

By Arthur Alpert “You know what the problem with the Journal is,” said the guy in the other barber’s chair, a lawyer. “There’s nothing in it.” That isn’t exactly true, of course. Nor is it fair to the newspaper’s rank-and-file; they try hard to inform us accurately and fairly. But we know what he meant. […]

NM’s Corporate Tax Cuts: We’re not in Kansas yet, but it’s not for want of trying

July 8th, 2015 · 1 Comment · tax policy

By Arthur Alpert Following in Winthrop Quigley’s footsteps, Dan Boyd has written a fair, thoughtful essay on political economy. Albuquerque Journal editors published it as an UpFront column Monday, July 6, under the headline, “Are tax incentives working? Jury’s still out”. At the risk of looking a gift-horse in the mouth, we should read it […]

Questionable Balance

April 14th, 2015 · 1 Comment · journalism

By Arthur Alpert As a sophisticated consumer of journalism, you know the dangers involved when news people or institutions seek balance. Most obviously, it implies there are two sides to a story. If only the world were that simple. And then there’s the problem of deciding what you want to balance. Years ago, when I […]

Some Brief Observations

March 24th, 2015 · No Comments · energy policy, environment, journalism, labor, NM Legislature, regulation

By Arthur Alpert I’m falling behind again, so here are a few, brief observations about the Albuquerque Journal’s daily alternative to journalism: • “Falsehoods and deception led to senator’s $50K payday” was the headline over Up Front columnist Thomas Cole’s excellent recapitulation of the Sen. Phil Griego story Sunday, March 22. Of course, it’s eight […]

Editorial Board Plays Canard Game; UpFront Columnist Commits Act of Journalism

February 1st, 2015 · No Comments · economy, Fact Check, financial coverage, journalism, labor, NM Legislature, regulation, role of government, Uncategorized

By Arthur Alpert I was poised to launch into another critique of the Albuquerque Journal’s continuing assault on truth and beauty when Winthrop Quigley intervened, committing what looks very much like journalism. Quigley wasn’t a spoiler, though; he just provided a sharp contrast between the Journal’s insistent political advocacy and what staffers like Quigley strive […]