COMMENTARY: Grant Taylor donated $500 to help fund NMPolitics.net earlier this year. “Good government is not achievable without good journalism,” he told me in explaining his contribution.
“Heath Haussamen is an authority on demonstrable ethics in journalism, an expert in New Mexico politics and government, and an incisive investigative journalist,” said Taylor, the director of communications and marketing for the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry. “The ways in which we consume news may be changing, but what is constant is the need to underwrite ethical reporting.”
Heath Haussamen
Some of you can’t afford to give as much as Grant, but your donations in any amount are critical to NMPolitics.net’s survival. For Claudia Anderson of Farmington, that meant giving $5. Claudia regularly participates in our conversations on Facebook and has authored two commentaries published by NMPolitics.net (here and here).
“I support NMPolitics because it gives the everyday grassroots person a voice in the system,” Anderson told me. “It’s not often one has such a voice, knowing that both lobbyists and politicos read it.”
NMPolitics.net doesn’t limit access by requiring you to buy a subscription. Instead, we ask that you give what you can afford. Some of you have done that, and I’m so grateful for your contributions. But we must raise additional money to keep doing this work.
Please, make a donation today or sign up to make automatic monthly contributions.
The ‘dogged pursuit of the truth’
Fred Nathan, executive director of the Santa Fe-based policy organization Think New Mexico, recently gave $100.
“I support NMPolitics.net because I trust their substantive, nonpartisan approach and their dogged pursuit of the truth, wherever that might lead,” Nathan said.
It’s an understatement to call NMPolitics.net nonpartisan. Our only real ideology is holding power accountable, no matter who wields it; fighting for transparency; and helping everyone, regardless of their beliefs, have a voice in the conversation about bettering our society.
You won’t always agree with articles NMPolitics.net publishes. That’s not why we’re here. Our aim is to build a community where people challenge each other and work together to find productive ways forward.
Tom Mullins of Farmington, a Republican who ran for Congress in 2010, has donated to NMPolitics.net several times. He gave $50 earlier this year, saying journalists “do the heavy lifting for all of us to ensure the powerful answer difficult and sometimes unpleasant questions in a timely manner.”
“If you value freedom,” Mullins said, “supporting a free and independent investigative press should be worth not only your time reading their stories but your money supporting their survival.”
NMPolitics.net needs you to support our survival. Please, make a donation today.
‘Trustworthy insight’
Emanuele Corso of Peñasco gave $10 this year. He has been reading NMPolitics.net for years, and says, “while I don’t always agree with (Haussamen’s) take, it is never because he slants the information.”
“In other words, NMPolitics is a trustworthy insight into New Mexico’s often murky and slippery political scene,” Corso said. “I hope Heath can sustain his efforts. Our contributions small and large will make that possible.”
Angelica Rubio of Las Cruces, a social-justice activist, is currently signed up to make automatic, monthly $10 contributions. Rubio says she’s “humbled” to have been donating for years – and she hopes you’ll contribute too.
“You may not agree with what is written at times, but the difference between a lot of news outlets and NMPolitics is that Heath is CONSISTENTLY impartial, and that’s what matters to me,” Rubio recently wrote in a Facebook post.
Steve Montaño of Las Cruces, a state government retiree, has donated several times, including giving $25 this year.
“NMPolitics.net has always been a fair and dependable source for New Mexico information and I have always donated financially to continue this great forum,” Montaño said. “I would encourage folks to make a donation today to allow NMPolitics.net to continue its great work.”
Please, donate today.
‘Discussion without vitriol’
When I wrote about my decision to not call for embattled Secretary of State Dianna Duran’s resignation, the NMPolitics.net community was clear: Most of you thought I was wrong to err on the side of Duran’s due-process rights at the expense of the integrity of the Secretary of State’s Office.
So, earlier this week, I wrote an article about your disagreement with me.
That illustrates what I’m trying to do with NMPolitics.net. We’re a community with open discussions. You help shape the narratives. This is a partnership.
As NMPolitics.net states on our “about” page, we “aim to do journalism that fosters conversation and builds community. We view journalism as activism in the purest sense of the word: We should help all people become active participants in our society.”
So far, I think we’re doing something right.
In the almost five months since NMPolitics.net re-launched, more than 65,000 people have visited our website. We’ve more than tripled the number of people who like our Facebook page from 800 to 2,800.
We’ve had some really productive discussions on Facebook and the NMPolitics.net website that have helped people find common ground and build bridges.
“If you live in the Land of Enchantment, or just seek an example of balanced, civil news and discussion, please check out the site,” Craig Richard Bullock of Las Cruces recently wrote in a Facebook post. “(Haussamen) has forgone the traditional route and endeavored to create a forum for advancement by discussion without vitriol. It’s an amazing undertaking and deserves recognition.”
Over and over, I hear people bemoan the level of discourse in our society. NMPolitics.net is in part an experiment in improving the quality and civility of the dialogue.
If you care about respectful and productive discussion and engagement, make a donation today to keep NMPolitics.net going.
Join us
We can’t do this work without people like these donors – and you. Make a donation today of $500, $50, $5, or whatever amount you can afford. Or sign up to make automatic monthly contributions of $5, $10, $25 or more.
Your donations make a difference.
“Through good journalism, my contributions to NMPolitics.net aid in the collective effort to create a better state,” said Taylor, the Hobbs Chamber CEO. “I’m proud to support NMPolitics.net.”
You can join Taylor in supporting NMPolitics.net by clicking here.
Help us continue doing this important work. Please.