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 […]
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
Tags:Dan Boyd·data centers·data farms·Dave Swenson·Deepa Seetharaman·Facebook·Facebook's Los Lunas data center·goodjobsfirst.org·John Rath·Marie C. Baca·Mike Rogoway·NM's budget crisis·Paul Gessing·Portland Oregonian·Quentin Hardy·Rath Consulting·Wall Street Journal
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 […]
Tags:Aetna·Allen Sanchez·Arthur Alpert·Brian Blase·Carolyn Y. Johnson·Dan Boyd·death penalty·Gov. Susana Martinez·Koch brothers·Lenny Bruce·Mercatus Center·Obamacare·Paul Gessing·Rio Grande Foundation·Samuel Johnson·Washington Post
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 […]
Tags:Arthur Alpert·Associated Press·Dan Boyd·Gov. Susana Martinez·Harvey Yates Jr.·Jay McCleskey·journalism·Las Cruces Sun-News·Morgan Lee·NM Republican Party·Pat Rogers·Santa Fe New Mexican·Steve Terrell
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 […]
Tags:Arthur Alpert·Dan Boyd·Maggie Shepherd·Winthrop Quigley
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, […]
Tags:Arthur Alpert·Dan Boyd·Deborah Baker·Gov. Susana Martinez·NM Legislature
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. […]
Tags:247WallSt·Arthur Alpert·Dan Boyd·Finley Peter Dunne·Milan Simonich·Winthrop Quigley·worst-run state
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 […]
Tags:Alan Pyke·Arthur Alpert·corporate tax cuts·Dan Boyd·Gov. Sam Brownback·Kansas budget crisis·Max Ehrenfreund·Zachary Goldfarb
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 […]
Tags:Arthur Alpert·Dan Boyd·George Will·Hillary Clinton·Jim Kuhhenn·New York Times·Susanna Martinez·Washington Post
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 […]
Tags:Arthur Alpert·Dan Boyd·fracking·Gov. Susana Martinez·Hillary Clinton·NM Legislature·Peter St. Cyr·Rep. Steve Pearce·Sen. Phil Griego. Thom Cole·Sen. Ted Cruz·unemployment insurance
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 […]
Tags:Arthur Alpert·community college·Community Reinvestment Act·Dan Boyd·Dean Baker·Fannie Mae·Freddie Mac·Right to Work·Winthrop Quigley