News For the People: Local Journalism in the 1970s

What is journalism? It is various forms of news presented to a wide variety of different communities with the intention to inform. Journalists research, investigate, and report on current events, issues, and stories that are of public interest. Journalists play a crucial role in providing citizens with accurate and reliable information, serving as a bridge between events and the public.

Good journalism is a hallmark of a democratic society holding those in power accountable. It provides a platform for public discourse, fostering dialogue and raising awareness about important issues. Informed citizens are central to democracy, and always have been. Free speech and access to information epitomize responsible journalism.

This exhibition explores the 1970s, a time before cable and 24-hour-a-day news networks when reporters and news anchors on radio, television, and in newspapers played powerful roles. That aura that surrounded journalists no longer exists today. CBS Evening News broadcaster Walter Cronkite was known by many as “the most trusted man in America,” exemplifying the importance of a journalist’s role in households across the country. However, this trust was fragile, and with events such as Watergate and involvement in the Vietnam War, the U.S. public began to lose faith in their leaders just as journalists more thoroughly investigated them.

Chicano activism, women and Indigenous representation in the news, and opposition to the Vietnam War became cornerstones for local journalism. New Mexico’s journalists strove to fight and report for the people alongside a larger national movement for change. New Mexico’s approach to diverse reporting became more common across America during and after the 1970s, as televised and printed news grew in the scope of what was reported.

There remains a frenetic pace in all of these journalistic forms as daily deadlines accompany a different story each day. Not only this, but ethical discussions in journalism often revolved around trust. Jim Nachtwey, an award-winning photojournalist and photographer for the Albuquerque Journal in the 1970s, said that “journalism depends on integrity. [It] is necessary for society to function properly. It's not going to go away. It will get stronger. Whatever tools are currently being used, we will use those tools properly.” The objects and tools of journalism, ranging from printing presses, radios, televisions, newspapers, and other historic artifacts on display in this exhibition, remind us of the significant impact that journalism has had on our society and its vital role in our daily lives.