Today, the Mountainair Dispatch Goes Completely Public
How You Can Help Keep this Experiment of a Micro-Local Newsroom Going
The Mountainair Dispatch exists because Torrance County deserves a news outlet that treats it seriously. Its readers deserve the ability to make informed decisions, whether at the polls, with their wallets, or in their actions. When I moved to Torrance County, it was a news desert. The Mountain View Telegraph, a weekly paper that had served the East Mountains and Estancia Valley since 1988, published its final edition on June 14, 2018. The Albuquerque Journal promised to continue coverage of the area. The Mountainair Dispatch launched in 2023. You can draw your own conclusions.
Today, after deliberation, I have decided to make all articles, including the entirety of the archives — over 610 articles in four years — freely and publicly accessible. I would rather people have access to actionable information than hide that information behind a paywall. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket, as they say. I do a lot of work to make the Mountainair Dispatch. I want that work to be useful.
That work includes attending commission meetings, filing public records requests, covering elections, and asking uncomfortable questions of local officials — not because it is dramatic, but because that is what accountability journalism looks like in a county of 15,000 people spread across a lot of high desert.
It is also a one-person operation. There is no corporate parent, no editorial board, no advertising department. There is one reporter, one photographer, and one editor — and those are all the same person.
How the Dispatch Stays Online
Running a local news outlet is not free. To put one line item in concrete terms: attending the regular meetings of the Mountainair, Estancia, and Moriarty town governments requires driving 4,452 miles per year. At the IRS mileage rate, that is $3,227.70 annually, just to show up. For context, that is the equivalent of driving from Moriarty to Los Angeles more than five times. That figure does not include public records requests, insurance costs, equipment, software, or the hours spent writing, editing, and publishing what gets reported at those meetings.
Right now, the Dispatch is supported by a combination of grants from the New Mexico Local News Fund, local advertising, reader memberships, and one-time contributions. It is not yet fully self-sustaining. I fund the remainder of the costs from my military disability pay and my retirement accounts. I am not rich; anyone can look up the public records that show what a member of the military made over the course of the Global War on Terror and figure out what I made. I have seen boxes of ammunition worth more than my annual salary.
Advertising from local businesses helps. If your business or organization wants to reach readers across Torrance County, the Dispatch offers straightforward, affordable packages — including a free option for businesses just getting started. Details are at mountainairdispatch.com/advertise-with-us.
What Reader Support Actually Does
When a reader becomes a member or makes a one-time contribution, it does a few specific things.
It pays for public records requests. IPRA requests are free to file, but following up on them — and sometimes fighting for compliance — takes time and occasionally money.
It keeps the lights on during slow advertising months, which in a rural county happens regularly.
It covers the costs of replacing camera equipment that overheats or is ground down by the duststorms we experience. Twice, so far.
It makes it possible to cover stories that do not have obvious commercial appeal but matter to the people who live here. Budget hearings. Water rights. Road conditions. Municipal audits.
It also sends a signal that this community values having someone watching.
How to Support the Dispatch
If you find the Dispatch useful — if it has kept you informed, helped you understand something happening in your county, or just given you something worth reading — there are two ways to help.
A monthly or annual membership is $7 per month or $50 per year (a 41% discount). Details and signup are at mountainairdispatch.com/membership.
If you prefer a one-time contribution of any amount (well, any amount over $1.00, according to my payment processor), that option is available at mountainairdispatch.com/#/portal/support.
No contribution is too small, and sharing articles with people who might find them useful is free and genuinely helpful.
Thank you for reading. This county is worth covering.
— Todd Brogowski
Reporter, Photographer, Editor
The Mountainair Dispatch