What is the current state of freedom of the press, both locally and nationally? And what can we do to protect this vital right in these difficult times?
The Santa Fe Freethinkers are hosting a forum to explore these questions with Bill Church, the editor of our Santa Fe New Mexican, on Sunday, October 12, from noon - 1:30 pm at the Unitarian Congregation of Santa Fe, 107 W. Barcelona Road.
Bill Church is The Santa Fe New Mexican’s executive editor, director for The New Mexican Public Service Journalism Fund, and incoming executive director of Searchlight New Mexico (a statewide investigative news nonprofit). He has led news operations at the national, regional and state levels, and was executive editor when the Sarasota Herald-Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. He is a former national president of the Associated Press Media Editors, a Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard and a two-time Pulitzer jurist. He is on the publishers’ board for Stars and Stripes, is a longtime member of the Asian American Journalists Association, and a recipient of the national Robert G. McGruder Diversity Leadership Award. He and his wife, Darla, live in Santa Fe.
The threats to independent journalism are real and present: lawsuits against the Wall Street Journal for publishing a sketch of a woman's torso signed by Donald Trump that appeared in Jeffrey Epstein's "birthday book," litigation against the New York Times for endorsing Kamala Harris in 2024, defunding public broadcasting, the legal shake down of 60 Minutes, and the FCC pressure campaign on Disney to cancel Jimmy Kimmel, to name just a few. A free press is protected by the First Amendment because the founders believed an informed citizenry is essential to our republic.
We are fortunate to have an independent daily newspaper in Santa Fe staffed by professionals like Bill Church, who holds a B.A. with Distinction in economics from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in administration from Central Michigan University. Come, listen and learn from an insider. This event is free and open to the public, with hybrid attendance in-person or online. Register here.
