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Alamogordo Daily News

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Alamogordo Daily News
Front page of Alamogordo Daily News on May 16, 2008
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)El Rito Media, LLC
Managing editorMichael Johnson
General managerCarol Burgess
Sports editorMark Rudi
Founded1898
Headquarters518 E. 24th Street
Alamogordo, New Mexico
Circulation6,355 Daily
7,569 Sunday [1]
Sister newspapersEl Paso Times, Las Cruces Sun-News, Carlsbad Current-Argus, Farmington Daily Times, Silver City Sun-News, Deming Headlight, Ruidoso News
OCLC number10674593
Websitealamogordonews.com

Alamogordo Daily News, founded in 1898, is a daily newspaper published in Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States. It carries local news as well as syndicated content from Associated Press and others.

History

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Alamogordo Daily News claims 1898 as its founding date, but a case can be made for 1896. A predecessor, the Chief, was founded in Tularosa as a weekly in 1896, then moved to La Luz the next year and changed its name to Sacramento Chief. It was sold to the Alamogordo Printing Company in 1899 and continued under the same name briefly before becoming the Alamogordo News. [2]: 75  The paper continued as a weekly until the 1950s when it went daily. [3]: 9 

The paper has been sold several times. In 2001, it was sold by Community Newspaper Holdings to MediaNews Group. [4] The paper was part of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, a joint venture formed in 2003 between MediaNews Group and Gannett, with MediaNews Group the managing partner. [5] In 2015, Gannett acquired full ownership of the partnership.[6] In May 2024, Gannett sold the newspaper to El Rito Media, LLC.[7]

The paper was an evening paper until September 1, 2006, published weekday evenings and Sunday mornings. It then switched to a morning paper, published daily except Mondays. [8] In 2015, Gannett acquired full ownership of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership.[9]

In March 2024, the newspaper announced it will switch from carrier to postal delivery.[10]

The paper regularly wins awards from the New Mexico Press Association [11] and from the New Mexico Associated Press Managing Editors. [12]

Features

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Coverage

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Alamogordo Daily News is primarily a local newspaper. It has a staff of reporters and news editor to write local news. It also carries state, local, and national news from the Associated Press. It covers the city of Alamogordo and the neighboring village of Tularosa. The other incorporated area in Otero County, Cloudcroft, has its own newspaper, the Mountain Monthly, and does not get much coverage in this paper.

The paper publishes and shares some content with a free weekly tabloid, Hollogram, at nearby Holloman Air Force Base covering happenings on base.

Major sections

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The paper is published in two sections:

  • A: local news; weather; an Opinion page; an extensive listing of coming events
  • B: sports; state, national, and international news (sometimes split with section A); comics; classified ads

There are several weekly editorial inserts (in addition to advertising inserts):

  • Wednesday: As Seen on TV, a locally produced tabloid based on content from zip2it.com; complete TV listings and some feature stories
  • Thursday: American Profile, a national rotogravure magazine published by Publishing Group of America
  • Friday: Vámonos, an arts, entertainment, and dining tabloid covering Otero and Lincoln Counties; published by and appearing in Alamogordo Daily News and in Ruidoso News
  • Sunday: USA Weekend, a national rotogravure magazine published by Gannett

The Opinion page combines editorials, editorial cartoons, op-ed pieces, letters to the editor, and occasionally short feature articles written by community members.

Recurring features

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There are full-page sections of photos and press releases that appear once or twice a week:

  • "¿Qué Pasa?" features upcoming or just-passed local events
  • "Celebrate" features wedding announcements, anniversaries, promotions, etc.
  • "Kudos" covers awards and other notable achievements

There are regular columns on gardening, on Alamogordo Public Schools, on Alamogordo Public Library, on animals in the Alameda Park Zoo, and on Otero County Community Health Council. "New Mexico Tally", a roll call from Thomas Voting Reports of how New Mexico's Congressional delegation voted on the most important bills, appears each Saturday.

Web site

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The paper's web site carries all the locally-written editorial content. It is updated once or twice daily with breaking news stories that will appear in tomorrow's print edition. There is also an official newspaper blog.

Editorial position

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Alamogordo Daily News rarely prints unsigned editorials or expresses an official editorial position. The few it publishes usually deal with endorsements for an election. For example, in the March 2008 municipal election it endorsed a candidate in the only contested City Commission race and endorsed a bond issue for street maintenance. [13] In 2006 it made endorsements for all races in the November general election. [14]

The paper runs a lead editorial in each issue, but they are nearly all reprinted from other newspapers, particularly other MediaNews Group papers. There is no editorial cartoonist, but each issue carries an editorial cartoon from the Copley News Service. The syndicated columnist Jay Miller from Santa Fe appears frequently with his "Inside the Capitol" column about New Mexico politics.

Newspaper staffers occasionally write signed opinion pieces, and while these are not official positions they are featured prominently on the Opinion page. For example, in 2007 there was a contentious bill before the State Legislature to prohibit smoking in most indoor public places and work places. The paper did not take a position on this, but it published signed opinion pieces against the bill by the Assistant Editor [15] and for the bill by the Publisher. [16]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "MediaNews Group Paid Circulation" (PDF). MediaNews Group. 2007-03-31. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-27. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ Townsend, David; Clif McDonald (July 1999) [1999]. Centennial: Where the Old West Meets the New Frontier. Alamogordo, NM: Alamogordo/Otero County Centennial Celebration. ISBN 978-1-887045-05-6. OCLC 41400788.
  3. ^ Harwell, June (2000). Alamogordo Public Library: A Community Treasure, 1900-2000. Pioneer. Vol. 3. Alamogordo, NM: Tularosa Basin Historical Society. OCLC 45084643.
  4. ^ Santo, Jamie; Kathryn Wade (2001-07-30). "Daily Newspaper Sales, January-June 2001". Editor & Publisher: 11. ISSN 0013-094X. OCLC 1567511.
  5. ^ "Gannett, MediaNews Group expand and reorganize Texas-New Mexico Partnership" (Press release). Gannett Co., Inc. 2005-12-01. Archived from the original on 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  6. ^ "Gannett acquires complete ownership of Texas-New Mexico Newspaper Partnership from Digital First Media". Archived from the original on 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  7. ^ "El Rito Media acquires Alamogordo Daily News, Carlsbad Current Argus and Ruidoso News". Editor and Publisher. 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  8. ^ Coltharp, Richard (2006-09-13). "To err is all too human". Alamogordo Daily News. OCLC 10674593.
  9. ^ Gannett acquires complete ownership of Texas-New Mexico Newspaper Partnership from Digital First Media
  10. ^ Onsurez, Jessica (March 13, 2024). "Alamogordo Daily News transitioning to postal delivery". Alamogordo Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  11. ^ "2006-2007 NMPA Better Newspaper Contest Winners List" (PDF). New Mexico Press Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2008-05-28. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ "Associated Press Managing Editors annual awards". Santa Fe New Mexican. Associated Press. 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2008-05-28. [dead link]
  13. ^ "Daily News endorsements". Alamogordo Daily News. 2008-03-02. pp. 4A. OCLC 10674593.
  14. ^ "Daily News endorsements for the Nov. 7 election". Alamogordo Daily News. 2006-11-02. pp. 4A. OCLC 10674593.
  15. ^ Stevens, Jeff (2007-03-04). "No more smoke-filled back rooms? What gives? (Bitter Medicine)". Alamogordo Daily News. pp. 5A. OCLC 10674593.
  16. ^ Coltharp, Richard (2007-03-08). "Smoke gets in your eyes (Going Downtown)". Alamogordo Daily News. pp. 4A. OCLC 10674593.
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