Corner to Corner
Diane Denish is a former lieutenant governor of New Mexico. She is a native of Hobbs and now lives in Albuquerque. Reach her at diane@dianedenish.com
As is usually the case in 30-day legislative sessions, far more bills are introduced than can realistically be read, debated in committee, and passed by two chambers. One estimate puts the combined total at roughly 600 bills between the House and Senate—excluding “dummy bills,” which are empty shells that can become substantive after the introduction deadline.
Relatively few of those bills will reach the governor’s desk, and some won’t even receive a committee hearing. That doesn’t mean they’re bad ideas; it simply means they aren’t priorities—at least not this session.
Two Senate bills that caught my attention fall squarely into that category: SB 120 and SB 150, both of which recognize—through tax policy—the value of local news and the people who produce it: local journalists and local presses. I’m taking a look at SB120.
SB120, the Local Journalist Employment Tax Credit, would provide tax credits of up to $15,000 tied directly to newsroom jobs in New Mexico communities. According to the New Mexico Press Association, this is a payroll tax credit—not a subsidy—and it applies to locally owned news organizations such as The Roswell Record, The Hobbs News-Sun, The Los Alamos Daily Post and NMNews.com outlets in the metro area. Publicly traded companies need not apply.
Why does this matter? Because New Mexico desperately needs local news.
Nothing underscored that reality more starkly than the recent announcement that The Gallup Independent is closing after nearly 100 years of publication. Like many small-town papers, the Independent tried multiple strategies to survive—cutting publication days, trimming staff, tightening expenses. But unlike billionaire-owned outlets, its owner didn’t have deep pockets to absorb ongoing losses. That’s the difference between billionaire ownership and a locally committed publisher showing up every day to tell local stories.
The numbers are sobering. According to the Press Association, New Mexico has 60 percent fewer journalists than it did two decades ago. Five counties are already considered news deserts, with others heading in that direction. In many communities, local coverage is sporadic—or nonexistent.
This mirrors a national trend. Newspapers are closing across the country as small, locally owned outlets face rising printing costs, competition from digital platforms, and now the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence. Even publishing fewer days a week no longer guarantees survival.
SB 120 offers one practical remedy. By encouraging the hiring and retention of local journalists, it helps rebuild civic infrastructure. Local news is where people turn for voting information, school board coverage, and accountability in city halls and county commissions. Communities without local journalism are less informed—and less engaged.
Surveys consistently show that 77 percent of residents believe having a local newspaper is important.
I’ve always been a newspaper reader. I still read my local paper—the real, physical paper—and three to five additional papers online every day, nearly all of them local. I also rely on nonprofit and investigative outlets that partner with newspapers to do deep reporting. When I stop for gas or coffee in a small town, I often grab the local paper. I loved it when a neighborhood coffee shop carried the Albuquerque Journal, and I was genuinely disappointed when Starbucks stopped selling the New York Times nationwide.
Call it a news habit—or even a news addiction—but it’s also what makes me an informed citizen. That’s the real value of policies like SB 120: they support an informed public that stays engaged in its community and its democracy.These bills may not advance this session, but Senator Peter Wirth and Senator Carrie Hamblin deserve credit for introducing them. Let’s hope they bring them back next year—before more small-town newsrooms close their doors and the number of local journalists shrinks even further.
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