Politicians buy NM newspapers from Gannett; pledge centrism

Republicans hate the press and love news deserts. 

Nevertheless, this blog has argued that the Gannett Company should have bought Lee Enterprises which owns the Rapid City Journal and 45 other daily newspapers. It was my rant that Lee Newspapers of Montana would survive as part of a Bismarck Tribune, Rapid City Journal, Casper Star-Trib marriage and not become part of a Gannett takeover. 

In 2015 Gannett acquired the Alamogordo Daily News; Carlsbad Current-Argus; the Daily Times in Farmington; Deming Headlight; Las Cruces Sun-News; Silver City Sun-News and the Ruidoso News in New Mexico and the El Paso Times in Texas. 

A 2019 merger between Gannett and GateHouse Media consolidated papers in my home state of South Dakota sending journalists scrambling to find work in other media and in public relations. 

Now, the only newspaper Gannett will own in New Mexico is the Las Cruces Sun-News after selling the Daily Times to a publishing company based in Farmington and after El Rito Media LLC acquired the Alamogordo Daily News, Current-Argus and Ruidoso News. The Deming Headlight has fizzled but the Sun-News has survived for now. 

Richard Connor is the editor and publisher of the Rio Grande Sun.

The Rio Grande Sun‘s owners include Ryan Cangiolosi and Harvey E. Yates Jr. of Albuquerque, both of whom have served as chairmen of the Republican Party of New Mexico, and state Rep. Joseph Sanchez, a Democrat from Alcalde. According to a news release from Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe that represented Gannett in the sale, Yates is a managing member of the El Rito group. Connor will serve as editor and publisher of the five newspapers. Connor said the group will work to provide a “center” balance when it comes to news coverage with the three new papers. [Gannett sells four New Mexico newspapers, three to 'Rio Grande Sun' owners]

The Santa Fe New Mexican was a Gannett paper from 1976 to 1989. 

The Rio Grande Sun mostly chronicles the woes of living in Rio Arriba County and Española but its version of the sale is linked here.

On Wednesday, Gannett closed at $3.14.