Welcome to Organ Mountain News

This is Organ Mountain News, a brand-new news outlet designed to serve the residents of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County.

Welcome to Organ Mountain News

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

This is Organ Mountain News, a brand-new news outlet designed to serve the residents of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. It has been in the planning stages, off and on, for nearly 10 years. It has been under serious development for the past 18 months, since I resigned my position as lead reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News at the end of May 2023.

Doña Ana County is underserved by the current media landscape. Newsrooms are severely understaffed; both local print media outlets are owned by out-of-state companies. To the El Paso-based television stations, southern New Mexico often seems like an afterthought. The idea behind Organ Mountain News is driven by the belief that our community needs a news source that is locally owned and independent. One that is fully committed to serving the residents of Doña Ana County — from Hatch to Sunland Park — with reliable, informative and unbiased news.

And we intend to do it all at no cost to our readers. That's right, we'll never charge a subscription fee or hide our content behind a paywall. However, we will eventually accept (and even encourage!) donations if you're able to help out and find our mission and vision worthwhile. We will also support the site with the help of advertising from local businesses. After all, we're all in this together.

Organ Mountain News is committed to transparency. We want to do our part to restore the community's trust in local news. As a result, we will be fully transparent when it comes to where we are getting our funding — whether that's from advertisers, reader donations or other funding sources, like grants.

Speaking of grants, this project would not have been possible without the support of the New Mexico Local News Fund Incubator. The program provided Organ Mountain News with a $20,000 grant to get the business off the ground, as well as invaluable resources, operational support and a cohort of peers with whom we could learn, launch and grow.

And now, the time has come to hit the ground running. Our mission is clear. Our vision is bold. There will, without a doubt, be challenges that lie ahead. With your continued readership and support, we will be ready to face them head-on.

Damien Willis is the founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. He can be reached at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or on X at @DamienWillis.

Sign up for Organ Mountain News, our free email newsletter

Get the latest headlines right in your inbox