So, at the annual Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the Santa Fe Reporter took home the most awards in the AltWeeklies Contest than any other paper in our division. Of those, two projects I worked on took First Place: SwingStateofMind.com won in the blog category and “Things to Do in Santa Fe When You’re Undead” won in the Innovation category.
I’m pretty stoked. I didn’t win in news or features, which was a little bit of a disappointment, but in the end I think it says a lot about where I am, and our paper is, as media evolves.
This Saturday, I’ll be Tweeting from the Dustball 500, a 500-mile gimmick rally leaving from El Paso and going god knows where.Team New Mex Express, two guys (Matt Ruybal, John Paul Gonzales) with a sweet ‘95 Ford Mustang Cobra have invited me to fold myself into the back seat.
What’s a gimmick rally? Here’s how TNME navigator John Paul Gonzales explained it in an interview a few months back:
SFR: Is it a race or not?
JG: The saying goes: ‘It’s a rally, not a race.’ What we get at the beginning of the rally is a sheet of paper with ‘gimmicks’ on it. These are clues to items that you’ll see as you’re driving along the highways. So you’ll have a picture of a sign and you’ll be asked to identify the location of the sign or you’ll have to pick out the fourth letter of the third word of a street sign on the left of mile marker 20, and you string these together to answer a question. The competition is who is able to solve those questions the fastest and the most accurately and basically make the best time over the distance.
So, really this is competitive road tripping?
I wouldn’t say it’s just a road trip, unless you also you want to boil Formula One racing to just guys in cars driving around in a circle.
Still unclear? Me too! It sounds rad. It also looks like we might have a sponsorship for an aircard to use the net from the road whenever we get a signal.
Thanks to the quick credit cards of a few good family members, friends, and volunteers, NewLiberian.com collected the $209 it needs to incorporate as a non-profit organization in just a couple of days. I thought I was going to have to annoy the hell out of everyone on Facebook and instant messenger with my palm out. You met the goal before I had time to write the big, long History-of-New-Liberian post. You people rock.
Props and praise and pallets of gratitude to Journalists for Human Rights alums Gabby Kalaw, Jeff Topham (!!!) and Prue Clarke, College Times Editor Ed Baker, my dad (and Happy Fathers Day!) and Penelope Chester at the Niapele Project. I’d also like to thank Ben Peterson and Karen Palmer for trying their best. We’ll try to iron out that kink in the system by the next micro-fundraiser.
So, yes, what happens next? Semantics King Jr. and I are assembling the paperwork with the help of the Niapele Project. Once we’ve got that filed with the state of Minnesota, we’ll be able to accept grants, contributions and in-kind, all that good stuff. What will we do with those resources? Well, the sky’s the limit. We’ve been doing it for four years without really any funding. Finally we can make some major infrastructural improvements and help our team on the ground develop their skills and voices.
Semantics King Jr. and I need to raise $209 to pay NewLiberian.com’s incorporation fees.
This is a big step towards becoming a formal news organization. The Niapele Project is advising us on the process and accepting tax-deductible donations on our behalf. I’ll have more information for you about NewLiberian.com’s history and future as I prepare for a Facebook campaign. (I’ve got more than 400 friends, so really, all I need is an average of 50 cents.)
Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from donating now–just click on the widget’s “Chip In” button.
Obviously, there’s a question of conflict of interest when it comes to journalists soliciting money. For the record, I don’t think I’ll be able to see who these contributions are coming from. Well, it turns out I will be able to see who donated (so far just friends, family and old-school supporters). If any of my “sources” want to contribute, please do not send a contribution so large as to make me feel uncomfortable.
Of the seven men sitting in this row, only one was born male. Can you tell which?
This FTMazing image was shot by MaryEllen Broderick at the LGBT Summit in Albuquerque, which I attended today to gather background info for an upcoming story.
(LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and FTM stands for Female-to-Male. FTMazing is just an adjective I made up. For more on “transguys” check this WIkipedia page out.)
KOB-TV’s Jeremy Jojola reported on my story this week in which I reveal the names and relative locations of potential medical marijuana growhouses.
I’m absolutely fascinated how they translated it from the page to television.
I hear that Pete St. Cyr, a reporter for KKOB radio, has a follow-up interview with a grower I couldn’t get on the horn. I’m looking forward to hearing it.
I just found out that SFR’s SwingStateofMind.com, the blog I built and coordinated during last year’s election has also been named a finalist in the blog category for the 2009 Association of Alternative Newsweeklies awards.
This means that, in the smaller division for alternative newspapers, SFR is leading in number of finalists. It also means that I’m guaranteed to win two awards this year, both of which are for untraditional journalism.
I was really proud of this blog, though, even now, the template seems outdated. We had polls and a Twitter feed and little scrolling widgets and the Web o Power. During the Democratic National Convention, we live blogged (with live streaming and chat) and captured some priceless footage of the protests. We laid into Jerome Block Jr. and covered even the most fringe candidates. We even interviewed the guy who put the phrase “Cunts for Eyes” in Hillary Clinton’s mouth.
It was a good year at SSOM. I predict we’ll take second.
So, at the annual Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the Santa Fe Reporter took home the most awards in the AltWeeklies Contest than any other paper in our division. Of those, two projects I worked on took First Place: SwingStateofMind.com won in the blog category and “Things to Do in Santa Fe When You’re Undead” won in the Innovation category.
Thanks to the quick credit cards of a few good family members, friends, and volunteers, 
