Op-Ed

I would like to express deep gratitude to our readers of the Cibola Citizen, the local newspaper serving Cibola County.

As we face financial challenges and prices continue to rise across the country, my staff and I remain dedicated to bringing you accurate, factual news about what’s happening in our community. We are not perfect, but we work hard to get it right.

We struggle in this line of work in two areas. First, editorial. Journalism brings a slew of different personalities.

We get praise; we get criticism. Sometimes people are upset with us. The newspaper is accused by some of being “too far left,” and by others of being “too right.” You cannot please everyone; we are simply doing our jobs. Our commitment is to nonpartisan, unbiased coverage of local government and politics.

I am approached by complaints and, at times, rumors about our coverage. One recent example: an elected official accused our work of being “too liberal.” I believe some of these concerns come from not reading the paper closely or conflating opinion pages with news pages. My editor has called out both the right and the left when facts warranted it— and that has, at times, upset people on both sides. That’s part of reporting the news in a diverse community.

We also live in a time when labels get thrown around quickly. Some people rely on fast social-media takes instead of the full story. That can spread false information and fuel anger. My editor goes by research and facts and will not put misinformation out there. Mistakes can happen, and when they do, we correct them—that’s accountability. If you see something you believe is wrong, please reach out and we will review it.

Second, advertising. Advertisements placed in our newspaper are the heart that keeps the paper going. It’s not the $1 per issue or even the annual subscriptions that make the paper sustainable, it’s local advertising that gets the Citizen printed every week.

Yes, we are a small community, and some businesses place ads on social media because it’s free. Social media has its place, but it doesn’t always reach a wide local audience consistently. A newspaper ad offers guaranteed, community-wide reach and permanence. The newspaper is a historical record. What goes in the paper is recorded in our local history; on social media, your ad can disappear into the scroll.

We need to support local businesses, and we at the newspaper do the same. We all want to succeed, and that means supporting each other.

For 2025, I am proud of our community newspaper, and I want it to continue to thrive. The New Mexico Press Association has notified us that we are receiving six awards in November for our newspaper, in the following categories: Education Writing; Feature Writing; Best Magazine; Sunshine Award; General Excellence; and Best Special Section. Also, our editor received the 2025 First Amendment Freedom Award.

We share these honors with you—our readers and advertisers—because you make this work possible.

Let’s keep our smalltown newspaper active. We need your support.