At the end of each year, I make a point of stepping back and taking stock of what we’ve accomplished, what we learned, and what we should prepare for in the coming year.
This year was an especially tumultuous one, both for the country and for our newsroom. Political and economic instability, social upheaval and violence have us all on edge. Meanwhile, we at Searchlight have been navigating a long and difficult process of reinventing ourselves for the future. But through it all, as in previous years, we have continued to do meaningful and important reporting on issues that matter to New Mexicans.
Impacts from that reporting began registering barely a week into 2025.
In early January, Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced a lawsuit against Joseph Shepard, the former Western New Mexico University president who resigned his post after reporting by Joshua Bowling revealed he was misusing tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars, spending lavishly on international travel and high-end furniture. It was the latest in a cascade of developments spurred by Bowling’s reporting.
Just days later, the FBI arrested two men for their alleged involvement in massive illegal marijuana operations in New Mexico, citing Searchlight’s reporting in their charging documents. The men, Dineh Benally and Irving Lin, have been the focus of ongoing Searchlight investigations into labor trafficking and black-market marijuana farms dating back five years. Benally pled guilty to federal charges and now faces life in prison.
Then, following our reporting on the tragic suicides of teenagers in foster care, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of one of the teens. And our investigation unmasking a dark money group that was fighting efforts to reform New Mexico’s medical malpractice law led to a lawsuit by the State Ethics Commission. In the wake of that suit, the group filed disclosures revealing that the efforts to stop malpractice reform were funded by powerful trial lawyers.
Throughout the year, Searchlight’s stories appeared in news outlets across the country. We’re especially proud of the revelatory reporting by Alicia Inez Guzmán, whose deep dive into the challenges faced by Los Alamos National Laboratory’s nuclear program ran on the front page of The New York Times in October. Over the summer, our story on oil and gas development near schools, reported in partnership with the Associated Press, ran in more than 200 publications, from The Washington Post to the Los Angeles Times.
Meanwhile, Searchlight spent a good part of the year undergoing a major restructuring of our organization, in a move to better position ourselves for the ongoing financial and challenges faced by the news industry. With that restructuring now complete, we are ready and eager to take on the important stories that will arise next year.
We have our work cut out for us. Historically important gubernatorial and midterm elections, a short but critical legislative session are just around the corner. Right now, I’m busy planning reporting on education spending, foster care and immigration enforcement. And as any journalist knows, there are sure to be important stories to cover in 2026 that we can’t yet see coming.
I’m grateful for your support. If you have a story that you think needs our attention, I hope you’ll get in touch.
Wishing everyone happy holidays and a happy new year,