近距离内射合集

Editor鈥檚 note: Today鈥檚 Centennial Sundays focuses on Kent Walz鈥檚 leadership at the Journal, his emphasis on investigative reporting and his role in protecting New Mexicans鈥� right to information.  

The staff was abuzz when Kent Walz 鈥� wearing cowboy boots and hat 鈥� first entered the 近距离内射合集 newsroom. It was December 1984. He was filing a newly created position called assistant editor. Who was this guy and what was his role?

He was a native New Mexican, lawyer and lifelong journalist. 

His role? Even as assistant editor, he was quickly a force to be reckoned with, overseeing day-to-day news coverage, managing the expanding investigative reporting teams and helping shape the editorial pages.

He stepped into the editorship position when Jerry Crawford took senior status in 1995, and led the state鈥檚 largest news operation for the next 22 years. But he wasn鈥檛 done. After retiring, he spent the next three years as senior editor, writing editorials and in-depth interviews with New Mexico鈥檚 movers and shakers. His tenure at the Journal spanned 36 years.

For the first 25-plus of those years, he worked closely with publisher Tom Lang, and then with current publisher, Bill Lang.

鈥淜ent鈥檚 tenacity and decisions regarding New Mexico politics, legal opinions, newsroom operations and changing technology were always well thought-out,鈥� said Bill Lang. 鈥淎nd his journalism and education grounding allowed him to study and investigate any subject he thought important for us at the Journal and New Mexico.鈥�

Walz was a hands-on editor, reading most front page stories, where he would spot holes, hidden leads and inaccuracies. He cultivated sources in the government, business and the legal community. He also read nearly every one of the hundreds of letters to the editor the paper received monthly, which served as a window into community concerns and often provided valuable news tips. He came in each day with story ideas and feedback on that day鈥檚 paper. 

鈥淚 think Kent really enjoyed every intellectual challenge,鈥� Lang said, 鈥渨hich contributed to the reputation he developed and represented well at the 近距离内射合集.鈥�

The early years

Walz鈥檚 journalism career started early 鈥� as a paperboy for his family鈥檚 paper, The Silver City Daily Press. He worked multiple jobs at the paper through high school and while getting his degree in economics from Western New Mexico University.

鈥淲orking in the small town newspaper is a true learning experience,鈥� he said recently, 鈥渋n terms of interacting and understanding the importance of the newspaper to your community.鈥�

Walz entered the University of New Mexico Law School in 1973, and immediately started working part-time for The Associated Press, doing sports and weekend news.

鈥淚 moved fairly quickly into full time with AP, which is a very different experience than the Silver City Daily Press,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was very high-paced, very high volume.鈥� 

At the time, he juggled law school, AP and a young family.

After receiving his law degree and passing the bar exam, Walz worked with a small law firm while working full time at AP for about four years. Working at the law firm 鈥渨as great because I got to do almost everything 鈥� some criminal stuff, some civil stuff, some domestic relations.鈥�

His legal experience and knowledge helped keep the Journal safe from lawsuits as he provided final edits to sensitive stories. And his courtroom cross-examination skills were well-known to officials who met with the Journal鈥檚 Editorial Board.

After working at the law firm and AP in Albuquerque, Walz went on to serve as AP bureau chief for Nebraska, then New Mexico and finally Oregon before receiving a call from Tom Lang about joining the 近距离内射合集.

The Journal years

During his first 11 years at the Journal, as assistant editor, Walz forged a close relationship with editor Jerry Crawford 鈥� a relationship based on both men鈥檚 passion for producing fair, accurate and thorough information to New Mexicans. Their close relationship was aided by daily lunches together.

 鈥淛erry was not a big guy, but he could do serious damage to a Chinese plate at the old Medallion Downtown or at the Hometown Buffet in the Heights,鈥� said Walz.

The Journal, and the newspaper industry, underwent massive changes during Walz鈥檚 tenure. 

He arrived at a time the newsroom was expanding 鈥� it grew to 170-plus staffers and multiple editions and bureaus. Print was king.

鈥淚n 1984, when I started, it was very heavy print home delivery. So you approached it as delivering a product to readers鈥� homes that met many of their wants or needs, from the news of the day to the weather to sports to weddings and obituaries.鈥�

Then the internet arrived, driving changes in the news industry and how audiences consumed information.

近距离内射合集room staffing was reduced and more emphasis was placed on online news coverage, with the Journal launching a robust website and other products.

Recently, Walz reminisced about his tenure at the Journal. Here are a few edited excerpts.

Can you sum up what it was like working at the Journal for 30-plus years?

It was a privilege to work with so many dedicated journalists for so many years, and for a family that supported the newsroom and its mission. There were a lot of big stories, but also a lot of day-in and day-out shoe-leather reporting on the workings of government, business, schools, etc., that let people make informed decisions.

How important was the Editorial Board?

The editorial staff had a big impact on the city and was a huge part of the Journal's identity. We reached the point where policymakers and elected officials wanted to give us their best pitch.

That didn't mean we always agreed with them. But they felt, given the Journal's role in the community, it was important for them to come in and give their rationale or explain what they wanted to do and why, and then they would answer questions.

And I thought that was a real tribute to the newspaper and to the Lang family. And it was another way to keep the public informed. Reporters sat in on those conversations (and then wrote stories). 

Were there any officials who stood out?

Those who came to meet with the editorial board, they all had different styles. You know, Senator (Jeff) Bingaman used to just kind of saunter up the walkway by himself with his suit jacket slung over his shoulder. Ditto for Senator (Pete) Domenici. Other people had big entourages sometimes, including security people. Think (former New Mexico Gov) Bill Richardson.

There were so many people who came in over the years 鈥� everybody from mayors to senators to legislators to the European Union's ambassador to the U.S. He wanted to come in and talk and then wanted somebody to drive him down to see the 鈥淏reaking Bad鈥� house.

We鈥檝e previously reported about the important role the Journal and you played in the creation of the pro-transparency nonprofit New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. But that wasn鈥檛 all the Journal did to defend the First Amendment. Can you describe another instance? 

Sometimes First Amendment issues came from unpredictable places. We had a very popular Lobo basketball coach who got very angry at the Journal鈥檚 reporter who was covering the Lobos. So this coach, who kind of got to do whatever he wanted, announced that he was banning the reporter from the practice facilities and the press conferences.

I talked to Tom (Lang) and told him what I wanted to do. And he said, 鈥淕reat.鈥� I called the appropriate UNM athletic official late in the afternoon, and told him:

鈥淚've talked to our attorney. He's getting ready to file an injunction in federal court to stop you from banning this reporter. So who wants to accept the subpoena? And we'll see you in court tomorrow.鈥� The decision to ban the reporter got changed. 

This wasn't about ego. It was about the First Amendment. It's about not letting government entities dictate who gets to cover them based on whether they liked what they wrote.

You've seen that play out in the White House. To some extent, it's a very similar story, but it was right here at home with Lobo basketball.

And frankly, if you don't have a publisher at a family owned newspaper like Tom and now Bill, who understands that sometimes you will ruffle feathers, that probably doesn't get done.

You stand up for the First Amendment, whether it's about a college coach or a different issue. It was great.

What was the reason for the Journal鈥檚 longevity and its success?

I think probably the biggest reason for the Journal鈥檚 success is that it is a family owned newspaper. That really set the Journal apart from other newspapers.

I do not recall a single time when a major advertiser or anyone else was able to influence what we did.

And accuracy and credibility were very important to the Lang family. So we did some things internally along those lines 鈥� some of them were big, some small. But for a long time, if we misspelled someone's name in the paper, the person who did it was required to write a personal letter of apology.

There were people who wanted to exert influence for their own benefit in the operations of government 鈥� but I think we (Journal leadership) viewed the Journal's role as safeguarding against that. 

Investigative reporting set Journal apart

The Lang family and Kent Walz鈥檚 emphasis on investigative reporting was integral to the Journal鈥檚 mission of holding public officials accountable.

鈥淚t sends a message that there is a watchdog, that there is someone out there looking at things 鈥� it made the Journal unique and special, different from other midsized papers,鈥� Walz said.

Investigative reporter Mike Gallagher was an expert on law enforcement, crime and the Justice Department. Thom Cole delved into government corruption and health care.

The current investigative reporter, Colleen Heild, has been with the Journal more than 40 years. 

鈥淜ent showed the courage and leadership for the investigative team to take on important tough subjects and powerful people,鈥� Heild said recently. 鈥淭hen he shepherded the stories to ensure they were fair, engaging and well-written.鈥� 

Here are Walz鈥檚 comments regarding the investigative reporters鈥� work.

Why was having investigative reporters important, rather than having daily news reporters investigate all of the major issues?

Investigative reporters had the luxury of being able to work sources and really dig into a specific project, which they often did in conjunction with other reporters in the newsroom. But it was a luxury that a lot of papers our size didn't have, or even some bigger ones. But it was one that the publishers felt was important for New Mexico.

Wasn鈥檛 there an investigation into horse racing that involved the Journal actually buying a race horse?

An investigative reporter named Dick Lynis had been told there was a lot of drugging of racehorses going on, which isn't really fair.

We actually set up an undercover operation at the Albuquerque Downs racetrack. We bought a racehorse, and we hired a woman reporter as a jockey.

We had a trainer who was actually also a source. And the horse ran a few races. We bought drugs. We were able to really give a picture of the illegal drug trafficking going on, on what we call the backside. 

There was a lot of pressure from policymakers, Governor's Office and legislators to get this all cleaned up. And they did do a lot to reform, including new kinds of testing.

And I do remember when we finally concluded the project, we still had the horse. So as I recall, the horse was on Bill Lang's property. And Bill and I got it in a horse trailer and we took it to the reporter, and gave the horse to her.

One of the last investigative series you worked on focused on New Mexico鈥檚 guardianship laws. That took months, and the Journal had its lawyers carefully vet it. Why was it so important?

Diane Dimond, who is a New Mexican living in New York, came out and she did the stories and has since written a couple books. But the system itself was just awful.

You could have someone file for a petition for guardianship for somebody, and the court never even had a meaningful hearing. They never even talked to the person who has been put under guardianship. There was an industry of insiders who manipulated and controlled the entire system. 

And that has subsequently led with great difficulty to significant reforms. Then New Mexico Chief Justice Charles Daniels was instrumental in moving these forward after attending a Town Hall the Journal did on the subject. 

Now there鈥檚 much more oversight. There are requirements that before the court can put somebody into guardianship, the judge actually has to talk to them. 

Karen Moses is a former editor of the Journal and can be reached at .

Coming Sept. 20: A behind-the-scenes look at the work that led to a few of the many awards the Journal received over the years.