I’ll be honest: I was a little nervous when I posted a column last week arguing that Don Juan de Oñate should be put in museums alongside the Confederate flag. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the discussion. The Internet can be a difficult place to have civil conversations.
Heath Haussamen
With only a handful of exceptions, people were not only respectful – you listened to each other, and to me, and I listened to you.
Some of us began conversations taking opposite stances and came to respect each other and, in some instances, to learn something new.
That was one of the strongest signs yet that NMPolitics.net’s new focus – on informing and engaging people to help you become more active in society – is working.
I’m happy to report that in June, our first month of publishing articles since 2012, more than 11,000 people visited NMPolitics.net.
July is on track to be even better. The column about Oñate has almost 1,700 page views. More than 1,500 people have liked it on Facebook it has been shared there dozens of times.
I haven’t counted up all the comments on various Facebook posts and the NMPolitics.net website about my Oñate column, but I believe it adds up to several hundred. After an intense week of moderating that conversation, I finally had time to process this weekend how well it went. The civility and depth was remarkable.
I’m still smiling about that.
Watching local governments in cities with little media presence is another important focus for NMPolitics.net. Last week we shone some light in Hobbs with posts on efforts to implement webcasting of city government meetings and a column critical of the city manager.
To date that column has been viewed about 3,600 times. Some 577 people have liked it on Facebook, where it’s been shared at least 59 times. Those are incredible statistics for an article about a city of less than 40,000 people whose citizens aren’t used to coverage from NMPolitics.net.
You are responding really positively to NMPolitics.net’s work! I want to thank you for that. I also need to ask for your help.
Individual donations are integral to our plan to keep NMPolitics.net going. Thus far we’ve received 129 donations this year. We’re grateful for that support!
And we need more.
Would you make a donation today to help fund journalism that is shining light in dark places and sparking bridge-building conversations?
Some of you subscribe to newspapers or magazines or watch cable news. Some of you donate to help fund public radio and television. We also need your help. Any amount helps!
You can donate here. We’re devoted to hard-hitting, fair exploration of politics and government that seeks to inform, engage and build community. NMPolitics.net is more than a news website. It’s a community. It’s your community.
And it can’t exist without your support.
Thanks for all you’re doing to help build this community. I’m looking forward to continuing the conversation!