Bill's KSFR News Blog

Public Radio: Do local news or die

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:03:00 +0000

I just joined up to attend an online seminar on The Future of News.

I couldn't agree more with the general manager of Milwaukee Public Radio who says, "The whole area of upgrading local reporting at public radio stations is absolutely vital to our survival. If local stations are simply going to be downloads of national programs from NPR, PRI or any other source, we will find ourselves disposable in the future.”

More about the conference here in the publication for public broadcasting.

Much of the focus will be on a newly released Columbia J-School report, The Reconstruction of American Journalism.

The authors write: "“The failure of much of the public broadcasting system to provide significant local news reporting reflects longstanding neglect of this responsibility by the majority of public radio and television stations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Congress."

They conclude: "Local news coverage remains underfunded, understaffed and a low priority at most public radio and television stations, whose leaders have been unable to make or uninterested in making the case for investment in local news to donors and Congress."

My only problem is, while they're holding the conference, I'll be up to my neck doing local news!

19,000 KSFR newscasts!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0000

I've been thinking a bit about KSFR's fund-raiser coming up in a few weeks (it starts September 20) and about what the News Department has done during that period.

I surprised even myself. Since we started seven and a half years ago with an emphasis on local news, we've done some 19,000 newscasts, 10 to 11 times a day, weekdays, plus a Saturday news roundup.

We produce a full hour at noon weekdays and a full local-international broadcast at 7 a.m.

And this is everyday.

When it snows, we have to leave home extra early to meet our a.m. deadline. We've been on air even when other staff members couldn't dig out to come to work.

That's not all. We've broadcast every municipal, county and primary election returns live -- often simulcasting them with the community television station. We've broadcast several town halls during the presidential campaigns so Santa Feans could sound off after they hear the candidates speak at their debates.

Wow and double wow. Kudos to my absolutely dedicated team of a dozen volunteers, plus me and Dan Gerrity.

Public radio reach expands

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Public radio continues to grow.

The latest Arbitron report (for the full year 2008) shows that public radio stations increased their overall weekly reach, rising from 11.2 percent of the population in 2007 to 11.8 percent in 2008. Increases were seen in all demographics and age groups, especially among women 18-24 and 35-54.

Arbitron says the lion's share of public radio listening comes from adults 35+.

Men 55 to 65+ still are the top audience, followed by women in those same age groups.

The News/Talk format is still the most dominant, followed by News/Classical music. News/Talk gets more than half the public radio listeners around the nation.

As for public radio's share of allradio listeners, the numbers vary. The highest is 10.6 percent in the Pacific Northwest. Next are 8.3 percent in the South Atlantic, 7 percent in the East North Central, and 4.4 percent in the Mountain region, which includes New Mexico.

On reporting about swine and seasonal flu

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:01:00 +0000

I'm on a jag about flu.

We'll urge people to get their flu shots, of course. But the question that's always bugged me is, how can 30,000 Americans die a year and I haven't even heard about one, much less known one -- especially after all my years? Now, they're saying 40 percent of us will get, if not be killed by, swine flu.

As I've written before, I regularly challenge the state health department about their reporting of deaths. Last year, they reported that in one month alone, 19 New Mexicans had died from flu and pneumonia complications. I asked: "How many died of flu by itself?" "A couple," they replied. Why lump the numbers together? To make them more compelling?

The CDC says seasonal flu hits the young and the elderly the most. Even the CDC, and the state health department, will admit it's difficult to define the precise cause of death in the very young and the very old, two population groups susceptible to pneumonia, to which flu is just one contributor, but not the only one.

So I raced to the phone several years ago when I ran across a paper by a CDC research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (one of the most respected medical-research journals anywhere). The editors don't publish garbage.

The paper reported on a huge effort by CDC to get health departments in a dozen states to step up their efforts to separate actual flu deaths from all others, then count the number of young people (0 to 18) who actually died of flu. The number was 143. Remember, this is one of two most susceptible age groups.

Extrapolate the numbers anyway you wish. It's nigh impossible to arrive at 30,000 total deaths with such a low rate among one of the two groups most likely to die of seasonal flu.

You watch for it -- the media will dutifully report this fall that more than 30,000 Americans die each year of flu.

KSFR News may say that, as well. We can't disprove it.

But neither can they prove it.

I'll remain healthfully skeptical.

No hysteria, please

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:36:00 +0000

Ambulance chasing, aircraft crashes, swine flu...

We don't do hysteria at KSFR News. At least we try not to. In fact, I think we may go out of way to avoid the news items that seem to want to lead to hysteria.

When the four teens from Santa Fe were killed in a head-on collision. We didn't air the tape of the 911 call.

When the state police helicopter crashed in the mountains above Santa Fe, I thought about asking state police for the taped communications between base and copter. But I chose not to. When other outlets put the audio on their websites, morbid curiosity led me to go there and listen to them (maybe to get a new angle to cover the story?). But KSFR did not air them.

There's enough anguish in the actual fact of those types of events that would not be better served by repeating raw, emotional details -- at least not for us.

So, what about swine flu?

Each year when flu season comes along, I grit my teeth that even talking about it and promoting the fact that the flu shots are ready will add to hysteria. Of course, we'll urge people to get their flu shots. But I'll do it while also asking the question, do 30,000 Americans really did from flu each year? I've never known or heard of one. So, I challenge the state health department about their numbers all the time. Last year, they reported that in one month alone, 19 New Mexicans had died from flu and pneumonia complications. I asked: "How many did of flu by itself?" "A couple," they replied. Why lump the numbers together? To make them more compelling?

Now, we're confronted by not one but two types of flu. Will swine flu be more deadly? The hype makes it sound that way. Who will be more susceptible to it, the young and elderly or somewhere in the middle. The early evidence suggests it will be those somewhere in the middle.

And how many will die? It's always seemed like 30,000 Americans falling to seasonal flu each year is a lot, although I spoke with a statistician recently who says for a population our size, it's not many at all. If it's not many at all, why the hysteria? Many times more people die in auto crashes.

Yes, we'll report about swine flu. I'll even see how the state's emergency preparedness people are getting ready.

I just hope that whatever we report on KSFR News will contribute to education, not to hysteria.

Robin Lustig of BBC news has these thoughts about swine flu on his blog.

G'bye, Walter

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:30:00 +0000

I've read the tributes to Walter Cronkite but they can't surpass my own memories.

As for where news was and is now, Ted Williams of Associated Press sums it up nicely.

"At the end of last year, according to Gallup, 31 percent of Americans considered the Internet to be a daily news source, a 50 percent gain since 2006. That's almost 100 million people actively reaching out to get their news rather than flipping on the TV and waiting for it to come to them.

"Nightly American comfort, Cronkite style, is a thing of the past, if it ever really existed at all. Perhaps, in the Age of Many Voices, comfort and reassurance is not meant to be our lot. Maybe that's just the way it is."

Pub radio listeners

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:59:00 +0000

Been away for awhile, but a new study caught my attention.

What technologies are public radio listeners using, or drifting to?

The upshot is that more than three-quarters of 30,000 listeners surveyed showed they still like and use the old fashioned radio.

But the study commissioned by the Public Radio Program Directors Association shows some other trends:

-- Listening to streaming radio is growng

-- Cell phones are ubiquitous, and the iPhone is owned by half of them

-- Satellite radio has not made much headway, with only 12 percent saying they have one.

-- Only 3% own an HD radio. As for very likely, somewhat likely or not likely to buy one, they were split almost evenly in thirds.

The point about cell phones and iPhones is an important one and should cause more programmers, especially news directors, to push their audio out to these phones.

Associated Press vs You Tube vs Embedders

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:15:00 +0000

First, understand that You Tube allows posters of videos to allow anyone to take those videos and embed them on their own websites. That's part of the user agreement.

You (poster/account holder) hereby grant each user of the YouTube Website a non-exclusive license to access your User Submissions through the Website, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such User Submissions as permitted through the functionality of the Website and under these Terms of Service. The functionality in the last line is the "embed" code adjacent to each video. If the code is there, another website may use that code (the functionality) to embed the video on their web site.

Ok so far.

Now, Associated Press has gotten miffed at a radio station in Tennessee for embedding codes of Associated Press videos on You Tube on the station's web site.

Here's how PC World covered the story.

And for added emphasis, here's an embedded Associated Press video for you to understand what the content is, where it came from and the functionality (embedded code) of the You Tube posting by AP.

Click twice on the video image to go to the Associated Press pages on You Tube. To the right of the video, you'll see the "embed" code. If it's not there, then they've taken it down. If they've taken it down, you didn't see the video above.

Easy as that to understand.

By contrast, the Reuters You Tube site does not offer an embed code. So there is no way to post their videos directly on another website.

Media as lobbyists?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Interesting take from Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano on the recent session of New Mexico's legislature.

"So who was successful in getting legislation passed this year? The only lobbyist that don't even have to register as lobbyists in New Mexico, The News Media. In news papers, TV, blogs, and live blogging the press pushed for Live web cams in the legislature, open conference committee meetings, double dipping legislation, and ethics reform. Now don't get me wrong, I sure other people cared about these issues as well, but the news media hounded law makers on these issues relentlessly. Even the death penalty legislation was not hurt by the media stories on the issue."

Should the media be registered as lobbyists?

"...when the legislature listens to the media, when they are lobbying on these issues, are they now beholden to the media?"

This is a fascinating opinion that we'll follow up on with the sheriff.

The CS Monitor is dead. Long live the CS Monitor -- online

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:29:00 +0000

After 100 years, the Christian Science Monitor has folded. It's daily print edition is no more. But print will continue in a weekend form -- we suspect for the time being, at least.

The daily Monitor does survive, however, online.

The paper's editor reasons that, "two million individuals now engage with us online each month, about 40 times the number that have been subscribing to the print daily. We are linked deeply and extensively across the Internet. People who never picked up our newspaper read Christian Science Monitor articles online..."

Is there a lesson here for broadcast? Yes, and I hope we pick up on it faster than we're doing now.

With the small amount of time and resources at KSFR's disposal, we're trying to be "more than just radio.

We have done podcasting of audio for years. They're at KSFR.org,

We've found a way past the limitations of our web service provider to do more than put one piece of audio on a news page. (Check out KSFR's You Tube offerings that we post on many of our news pages. Here's a recent one:

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Recently, we began a breaking-story service on Twitter.

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Unlike the percentage growth of the Monitor's, KSFR's online audience is still puny.

We'll be watching to see if we can grow that audience and succeed at being more than "just radio." If not, what happens when the radio tower lights dim?

"We can't talk to the media"

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Here we go again.

Not long ago, I reported that the FCC was in Santa Fe to brief the public on the coming transition to digital TV. But no one showed up -- except KSFR's reporter. Interview about what the representative was to tell the audience (if an audience had appeared)? Nope. "We can't talk to the media."

Then there was New Mexico's new commuter rail line. Would a trainsman speak with our reporter on tape? No. "We can't talk to the media."

Now comes the U.S. Census Bureau to Santa Fe to recuit people to pound the pavement in 2010 for the census count. It could have been a good news story since, a few weeks before, a similar recuiting episode elsewhere in New Mexico turned out thousands of job seekers. KSFR's reporter showed up to find that, "We can't talk to the media." Seventy five people are taking a test with more to come later in the day and the representative can't talk to the media. After they made several phone calls to regional headquarters, the local agent did speak with us. But it took some doing.

Listen to our full report here. (Sorry, it's You Tube but we have only audio). After the interview, I spoke with our reporter about the incident.

Blogs are now officially "in"

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Check out the new White House web site. Clean, welcoming.

And the White House blog.

Times are changing.

If only on 9/11

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:13:00 +0000

This story raises the eyebrows again, seven years-plus later.

Man suspected of fraud flies away.

FAA loses track.

In minutes, two fighters are looking into his empty cockpit.

Minutes! Two fighters! Small plane, not several commercial jets!

Is anyone else trying to connect the dots?

More here.

Murdoch media's muddled minds

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:32:00 +0000

An editorial in the the Dec. 9, 2008, Wall Street Journal is being touted by the New Mexico Republican Party. It has to do with the former federal prosecutor for New Mexico who was fired after not playing political ball with Republican Sen. Pete Domenici and Republican Congresswoman Heather Wilson.

Both tried to talk with Iglesias, when he still had a job with the Bush administration, about a federal grand jury probe of prominent New Mexico Democrats, including Manny Aragon. No need to go into the details of the investigation here because the details are not the point of this comment. The point is that some time after those phone calls, and after Republican political appointee David Iglesias lost his job, Aragon and others were indicted, tried and found guilty.

But back to the Wall Street Journal and Iglesias.

The Journal editorial says it's good that Iglesias was fired because he wasn't the right prosecutor to " root out endemic political corruption in the state."

Bosh. Leaks months before indicated a grand jury investigation was under way.

Iglesias claims and the record of a congressional inquiry shows that Domenici complained to Karl Rove and others that Iglesias did not respond to questions from Domenici and Wilson in October 2006, before the general elections. His comment could have led to "political hay" in favor of Republicans. Iglesias followed the rules of the Department of Justice in not speaking to anyone about the grand jury deliberations.

It's clear that Domenici and Wilson broke the rules of the House and the Senate in bringing up something they shouldn't even have known about.

Rules of the House require a member of the House to file an ethics complaint in a matter of this kind. No complaint was filed against Wilson. Hence, the House Ethics Committee did not follow up.

The rules are different in the Senate. Anyone can file a complaint against a senator. The advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington did that. The Senate Ethics Committee looked into the matter and "admonished" Sen. Domenici for trying to speak with an independent federal prosecutor about a matter under investigation.

Domenici subsequently announced, in the fall of 2007, he would not run for office again, claiming that a fatal, deteriorating brain condition put his ability-to-serve at risk. (As he was leaving office, Domennici in November 2008 disclosed his condition had either gone away or had been misdiagnosed.)

The Wall Street Journal: "Ater Mr. Iglesias's departure, the U.S. Attorney's office issued indictments in and won two major corruption cases, and the new U.S. Attorney in New Mexico, Greg Fouratt, has picked up the pace."

Blog: Iglesias had the investigation underway and Fouratt finished it.

The Wall Street Journal: "All of this looks like vindication of the decision to nudge Mr. Iglesias out the door. Every President is charged with enforcing the law and that sometimes requires removing individuals who resist certain law enforcement priorities. We said at the time that Mr. Domenici crossed a line in lobbying Mr. Iglesias, but it turns out he was right about the possible corruption to explore."

Bosh PLUS baloney. The grand jury was investigating and compiling information months before the Domenici/Wilson talks with Iglesias. After Iglesias was fired, the investigation continued to be built by the new prosecutor.

Rupert Murdoch: Get your timeline straight.

Interested in the whole editorial?

NM Vindication - Remember that U.S. Attorneys hoohah

January 9, 2009 –

Governor Bill Richardson says it's all a matter of timing -- that if only the feds had wrapped up a corruption investigation into his New Mexico Administration by now, he'd be cleared and would be winging his way to Washington confident of Senate confirmation as the next Commerce Secretary. Instead, he withdrew his nomination earlier this week.

And maybe he's right about timing. But we'd dial the clock back not to August, as the national media have in clucking that Barack Obama has a sloppy vetting process. Rather, go back to December 7, 2006. That's the day the Bush Justice Department dismissed U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico. His dismissal, along with that of six other U.S. Attorneys, set the stage for a political firestorm when Democrats claimed the firings were proof that the Bush Administration was "politicizing justice."

Mr. Iglesias put himself at the center of that storm by claiming he was fired because he hadn't pursued voter fraud cases vigorously enough. He also claimed he had been pressured by two Republican Members of Congress to speed up a public corruption investigation shortly before the November elections handed Democrats control of Congress. Those Republicans were Senator Pete Domenici, who has since retired, and Representative Heather Wilson, who ran for his seat and lost.

Democrats eventually ran Attorney General Alberto Gonzales out of town. But the nub of the criticism of Mr. Iglesias -- that he wasn't the right man to root out endemic political corruption in the state -- was never substantially refuted. Mr. Iglesias did nab a pair of state Treasurers. He compelled one to plead guilty to an extortion charge and indicted the other on nearly two dozen counts of corruption. He lost in court on all but one count.

Ater Mr. Iglesias's departure, the U.S. Attorney's office issued indictments in and won two major corruption cases, and the new U.S. Attorney in New Mexico, Greg Fouratt, has picked up the pace.

The investigation that derailed Mr. Richardson involves political donations from David Rubin and his Beverly Hills-based company, CDR Financial Products Inc., in 2003 and 2004 that total $100,000. Those donations were given to campaigns Mr. Richardson ran that registered Hispanic and Native American voters, among other things. And they came at about the same time that CDR won a lucrative contract from New Mexico.

All of this looks like vindication of the decision to nudge Mr. Iglesias out the door. Every President is charged with enforcing the law and that sometimes requires removing individuals who resist certain law enforcement priorities. We said at the time that Mr. Domenici crossed a line in lobbying Mr. Iglesias, but it turns out he was right about the possible corruption to explore.

As for Mr. Fouratt, he wasn't appointed by President Bush. He was appointed about a year ago by a panel of federal judges. The veteran prosecutor and former U.S. Air Force officer doesn't seem interested in meeting political timetables and rarely talks to the press. We hope that after being sworn in on January 20, Mr. Obama gives Mr. Fouratt all the time he needs to finish his investigation.

Deliver KSFR news on a CD?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:00:00 +0000

I've joked with tongue in cheek before about the problem newspapers have -- printing yesterday's news on paper and delivering it the next morning. The analogy is delivering KSFR's Monday newscasts on a CD to your doorstep Tuesday morning.

I love newspapers, but they're really beginning to feel the pinch.

The Albuquerque Journal is cutting back 10 staffers in its newsroom. They didn't say what percentage that represents.

And the Journal says it will stop home deliveries in 30 non-metro communities. Rack sales there, too.

The cutbacks at the Journal will include home delivery and rack sales north of Las Vegas, including Raton; east of Moriarty on Interstate 40, including Santa Rosa, Tucumcari and the northeast corner; much of the east side, including Clovis, Portales, Artesia, Carlsbad, Hobbs, Lovington, Alamogordo, Tularosa and Carrizozo; and the southwest corner, including Deming, Lordsburg and the Silver City area, Fantl said.

The company said those areas represent a small percentage of its total circulation. The newspaper will continue home delivery and single-copy sales in Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Taos and Espanola, western New Mexico including Grants and Gallup, the Four Corners area, Roswell in eastern New Mexico, the three-county area around Albuquerque and south to Las Cruces.

More on that and other newspaper woes here.>

To KSFR: "We can't talk to the media"

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:33:00 +0000

Is it the result of the past eight years or has something bad infiltrated the water?

Too often, KSFR gets the response, "We can't talk to the media." It's beginning to bug me.

A year ago at this time, a Santa Fe County commissioner wanted to hold a meeting with a number of different citizen and industry groups on a growing issue. But he explicitly "un-invited" the media. We could not attend. I blew up. He soon backed off when the groups themselves, hearing from me, became uncomfortable with taking part in such a closed meeting.

A month ago, a representative of the FCC was in Santa Fe to talk to the public about the ins and outs of the television conversion from analog to digital signals. They hired a huge hall, hoping for hundreds of people to listen to his presentation. No one showed up except KSFR's reporter. We tried to interview the representative about his pitch, only to hear, "I'm not authorized to talk with the media.

What? He could talk with thousands of people but not answer the same questions before a microphone? The next day, I interviewed his supervisor (who is authorized to speak with the media) about that policy. To say she sounded like an idiot is an understatement. She knew we were taping, by the way.

The Santa Fe County public information officer sent out an email to all county employees, saying talk to the media at your own peril. They're probably out to gather dirt. It's had a chilling effect on good communications with the county. Yet, I just had an informative conversation with the director of one county program who was not afraid to talk. Good chat on the air. Her stock went up, I'm sure.

Yesterday, our reporter interviewed some passengers taking the Rail Runner commuter train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. In this burg, the train has been the biggest news since Gov. Bill Richardson announced his run for the presidency. Nice interviews with riders. But Dan Gerrity asked some officials with the train, "Hey, how's it going?" The reply stunned him. "We can't talk with the media." Well, Gerrity said, we've been covering this a lot and we've been down here a lot. "Well, then you know we can't talk with the media."

Want to hear the exchange? Send me an email to haveyoursay@ksfrnews.com and I'll send you an mp3 file of 15 seconds.

Boils down to this:

Passenger: What time does the train arrive?

Conductor: 4:30 is the schedule.

Reporter: What time does the train arrive?

Conductor: We can't talk with the media.

No joke.

About KSFR's listeners and an admission of being wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:00:00 +0000

OK, so I was wrong about this. But he still faces possible charges, which will be interesting to see if he's elected.

As for reporting the news, I wonder where KSFR listeners would stand in this study?

Jerome Block won't talk with KSFR, but that's OK

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:15:00 +0000

We know what's going on, anyway.

It's hard to image how Jerome Block, Jr., is going to withstand the current firestorm. He complains about a "media circus" around his campaign to win the northern New Mexico seat on the Public Regulation Commission.

What campaign? All he's done are a few billboards. He has never appeared before a public audience. He won't give interviews.

The media have caught Block in a series of gaffes, from underplaying his record of police arrests to his admitted lying on a campaign finance report.

Some voters may be asleep. But others are voicing their concern, as in this page full of letters-to-the-editor.

Can fellow Democrat Gov. Bill Richardson be seen as condoning such behavior?

Here's my personal opinion how this will play out....

In a day or two, Block will announce that he's pulling out of the race to "be with his family," who have "gone through so much." Richardson will appoint a Democratic successor on the ballot, even though Block's name will remain on it because ballots have already been printed. The Dem will probably win as people vote straight-ticket (there are no Republican opponents). But Green Party candidate Rick Lass will make a good showing because of his positive campaign efforts over the summer.

Few repeats from '04 at KSFR's first debate event

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:53:00 +0000

A respectable crowd showed up for KSFR's first presidential debate-watching event of '08. But when I asked who among the audience was also in the same room for the same thing in '04, no hands went up. Why? No George Bush? No John Kerry? Forgone conclusion about this time? No interest (hardly, I think)?

Or was it expectation levels in the tank? Are these debates just political theater?

One audience member suggested we "fact check" the debate as it goes along. Good idea. We'll try to do that next time.

Meanwhile, here are some fact checks from the first debate at Fact Check dot ORG.

KSFR visits BBC's bus tour

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:40:00 +0000

KSFR is BBC's only full-time New Mexico affiliate, so I decided to drop in on the BBC Bus when it arrived in Albuquerque.

A hospitable group of tired BBC'ers were on hand inside the touring-band-sized bus. They had started a few days before in L.A. and on day three or four had parked at the N.M. State Fair in Albuquerque.

Jon Kelly waved "hi" inside, but he was busy blogging about the trip. Man, is he prolific. Great blog stories as they make their way across the U.S.

Tricia Lodge handles press (hell -- they are the press). Very nice. She recounted for me the all-you-can-eat places that serve the road food we have to eat when we drive the interstates. She's convinced she'll go home many pounds heavier.

Ros Atkins is the reporter-presenter who's been filing stories for the BBC's English-language World Service. Other reporters from other services will join them along the way to report in other languages.

I asked Ros his view of "voting America" so far. Too bad that he's only been treated to the way-soutwestern U.S., coming most recently from Las Cruces. He was impressed with some he met -- A fiercely independent type of American, he calls them. "They'd rather go bankrupt paying medical bills than seek federal assistance."

Oh, yeah? Sounds like one of those independent Americans told a tall tale on Ros -- a "tale of derring do, against all odds, in the Ole American West." Bang, bang.

KSFR sets debates-watching events

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:38:00 +0000

Has it been four years already?

KSFR 101.1 and Santa Fe Community College plan to do it again. Our 2004 presidential debates-watching events at the college packed the house. We followed each debate with a comment period for watchers to comment.

The events about the news also made news themselves as local newspapers reported on what local residents had to say.

Example from the Albuquerque Journal.

Friday, October 1, 2004

SFCC Hosts Debate Discussion

Being a Republican in Santa Fe is tough.
Ask James L. Montoya, who on Thursday joined a group of local residents to watch the first presidential debate between President Bush and his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, inside the Jemez rooms at Santa Fe Community College.
After the 90-minute debate, the remaining audience members shared their thoughts about the debate, the two candidates and other perspectives about politics and civic life in the United States.
Bill DuPuy, the news manager at KSFR-FM, moderated the discussion that lasted some 45 minutes after the official debate ended...............

And the New Mexican.

Friday, October 1, 2004

Local Voters Watch Debate at SFCC

Majority in attendance said they were unswayed by the candidates
As soon as President Bush and Sen. John Kerry stopped their debate Thursday night, dozens of Santa Fe residents continued the debate at Santa Fe Community College. Both Democrats and Republicans were well represented at the event in which the audience first watched the 90-minute debate on a large screen. In all, about 100 people attended. Later, KSFR radio news director Bill Dupuy went around the room getting comments from...

Palin confusion

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:39:00 +0000

The McCain campaign is not helping the media or supporters understand what's going on.

For days, the campaign has told media that thepresumed vice president pick Sarah Palin would join John McCain in Albuquerque this Saturday. KSFR questioned that appearance when the campaign sent out an email yesterday (Sept. 2) promoting the event but not mentioning Palin. We called and the New Mexico Republican party
continued to insist Palin would be in Albuquerque.

Today, the New Mexico office tells KSFR Palin will, in fact, not appear. But the
McCain campaign website still carries an event notice saying that he will be joined in the Duke City by the vice presidential pick.

Palin's name is not mentioned as that pick. Nor is it mentioned in the schedule for events before and after Albuquerque.

KSFR: Bush names Michael Moore to protect New Orleans

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:44:00 +0000

We may be among the first among conventional media to announce this irony.

The Bush Administration has named "W. Michael Moore" to head up FEMA's relief efforts in the Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Gustav approaches.

The official statement is on the web but not on the FEMA website yet.
The more prominent Michael Moore, the film maker, couldn't help but take notice.

Here's what it says:

R. David Paulison, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named W. Michael Moore as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA (202) 646-4600.

White House Press Office
1-202-456-2580

KSFR files "Sunshine Law" inquiry

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:33:00 +0000

More on the issue I've been posting about -- the maneuvers at the Santa Fe County administration building.

In a very serious move, I've filed a compaint -- I called it an "inquiry" -- into whether Santa Fe County had violated New Mexico's Open Meeting Act. In addition to our own newscasts, it was the front page of the Santa Fe New Mexican's local section and in the Albuerque Journal's Northern New Mexico section .

Here's the Journal's story in case their link disappears:

Open Meetings Violation Alleged

KSFR News has asked the state Attorney General's Office to investigate whether Santa Fe County violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act by failing to give proper notice of the meetings of a county land use board.
KSFR news director Bill Dupuy, in a news release Wednesday, said KSFR reporters missed an Aug. 5 County Development Review Committee meeting because notice was not published on the county's Web site.
“KSFR had attempted to find out about a rumored discussion of oil and gas drilling in Santa Fe County. It was not until after the meeting had taken place that the reporters found the discussion had taken place at the open meeting,” KSFR said.
County spokesman Stephen Ulibarri said Wednesday that notice of the meeting was published July 29 in a local newspaper, meeting requirements of the Open Meetings Act.
KSFR, Santa Fe's public radio station, said the County Commission requires that notices of all county committees be posted on the county Web site but that no meeting notices for the CDRC had been posted between March 2007 and this month.
Ulibarri said that until recently, individual county departments were allowed to post information about meetings at their own discretion, as long as it was legally noticed.
Information about all county meetings can now be found on the County's Web site, Ulibarri said. “Should they be posted? The answer to that is yes, they should be posted. And that has been addressed,” he said.

KSFR and Santa Fe County's gatekeeper

noreply@blogger.com (Bill's KSFR News Blog) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:12:00 +0000

The previous post described the public-policy of Santa Fe County. It seems there are pesky reporters looking for "dirt." To protect administrators and staff, the public information officer would stand his post at the gate.

No need to look very far for interesting material, however. It results from their own doings, it's public, and it abounds.

KSFR's Marion Cox and Dave Obler are excellent researchers. The story of how they "discovered" a half-baked county procedure wasn't hard to find. It just took a little work.

There will be more to come about Santa Fe County and how it conducts its taxpayer-paid business in the "public interest."

Yet another story on how the county conducts it business in the "public's interest" is coming. Stay tuned.