Founder and editor Damien Willis discussed local journalism in southern New Mexico, community listening and the work of building an independent newsroom in Las Cruces.

Organ Mountain News report

LAS CRUCES - Organ Mountain News was featured during a recent New Mexico In Focus special examining the state of local media in New Mexico.

The segment, “Organ Mountain News and Journalism in Southern NM,” featured founder and editor Damien Willis in conversation with host Nash Jones. The interview focused on the Las Cruces-based digital news outlet, its work serving Doña Ana County and southern New Mexico and the challenges of building an independent newsroom in a changing local media landscape.

During the interview, Willis described Organ Mountain News as an independent, locally owned digital news outlet serving Las Cruces, Doña Ana County and southern New Mexico residents who are often overlooked in the current media landscape.

The conversation also touched on the outlet’s funding, its partnership with the New Mexico Local News Fund and its community listening work through the Listening Post Collective. Willis said he has personally conducted more than 50 one-on-one listening sessions with residents throughout the county and that Organ Mountain News has received more than 300 responses to online listening surveys.

The interview also covered the decline of traditional local newspaper staffing in southern New Mexico, the role of the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative and the importance of transparency for a startup newsroom asking readers for trust.

Willis said reader donations will be an important part of Organ Mountain News’ long-term sustainability, but emphasized that the outlet will not move to a subscription or paywall model.

The State of the Local Media special also included conversations with Bill Church of the Santa Fe New Mexican and Searchlight New Mexico, Searchlight investigations editor Ed Williams and Lindsay Wood, publisher of the Nob Hill News, North Valley News and International District News. The episode was hosted by Nash Jones, with segments led by Jones and New Mexico In Focus Executive Producer Jeff Proctor.

The full episode is available through New Mexico In Focus and New Mexico PBS.