Summary
Public records raise serious questions about ABQ Journal’s behind the scenes activity during the Summer 2024 Special Session
As New Mexicans, we all deserve transparency and clarity on how policies are crafted and implemented. We can’t think of an issue where this is more true than public safety, an area that needs fewer band-aids and more addressing the root causes.
It’s also why, reading the Albuquerque Journal’s op/ed section going into the July 2024 special session called by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, something didn’t sit right with us. So, ProgressNow NM filed a formal Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) request to see what correspondence, if any, existed between the governor’s office and ABQ Journal.
We received a considerable tranche of documents from the Governor’s office, but one email thread in particular caught our attention, dated July 9, 2024 between Michael Coleman, Communications Director to the Governor, and Jeff Tucker, Opinion Editor at the Albuquerque Journal.
The initial email was sent one day before the Governor was set to sit down with Tucker and other members of the Journal’s Editorial board, and perhaps reporters, to discuss the Special Session.
In that email, Coleman asked if the Journal had “editorialized at all about the governor’s call for a special session to date?” This conversation led to Tucker directly soliciting an additional opinion piece from the governor to advance a narrative about crime and public safety that is contrary to what community groups and New Mexicans want when addressing public safety.
In the thread, Tucker also mentioned coordinating with Republican House Minority Leader Rod Montoya and Republican Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, and Coleman responded to say “…we very much appreciate your lift on this – not just the editorial but your conversations with GOP leadership, etc. I’m sensing that it is really helping with Republicans.”
Additionally, while the Governor should always strive to work with the whole of the Legislative body, in this particular instance, not only was the Governor’s office dismissing the concerns of her own party (and the majority party, at that), but by all appearances actively working with the GOP on the initiative. This is notable, as Republicans have been intensely critical of the Governor since she took office, and continue to strongly condemn her overall while utilizing this particular issue for political gain in an election year.
View the full email thread in the PDF below – note: the records were received in reverse chronological, read top to bottom. We have also redacted phone numbers and email addresses.
The emails Tucker sent to Coleman raise a series of questions for us:
- Who was Jeff Tucker referring to when saying “Upper management is totally with the governor on these issues. I am licensed to burn asses as warranted”?
- Do these activities rise to the level of advocacy and/or lobbying? If so, are these activities appropriate for a newspaper to engage in?
- What conversation, if any, did Jeff Tucker have with newsroom reporters covering the governor’s special session agenda and did this affect how the Journal reported on the critical issues of public safety?
- Is this a pattern of behavior by Tucker, and if so, did this behind the scenes activity impact other narratives on key topics New Mexicans care about like immigration, the environment, and renewable energy/green jobs?
- How many OpEds or LTEs submitted by trusted local organizations and community members were discarded or ignored that might have highlighted differing viewpoints?
Public safety and crime are complex issues, and most of us know that real solutions will not happen overnight. But we also know that for the Governor’s Office and legislators to tackle the root causes requires a fair, clear, and meaningful conversation in public about what’s already in process, what’s working, and what’s not working.
From our perspective, it feels unusual and harmful for a daily newspaper’s editorial staff and/or management to actively coordinate (advocate? lobby?) around policy, because they already hold considerable power in what information the public receives or does not receive on issues.
If that extends into newsroom briefings, policies, and procedures, it is even more concerning. We believe the people of New Mexico deserve answers to these questions.