2012 began in 1999
by Peter Appleseed
of the Kyyboa Tribe
Book about true revolution, civilogy and creating positive alternatives.
Satan's Den Exposed
The David Parker Ray Story
True crime book about a
criminal sexual sadist and cohorts busted in kidnap, rape and sexual
torture cases in New Mexico
By the Desert Journal's award winning investigative reporting team of Bill
Johnson, Fred Mramor & David Pierre
These bears met
at the Desert Journal and got married the next day!
Bag ladies
welcome too. Actually, Claudia Wakeland (right) and daughter Debby. Jack
Vance painted the sign.
A magnet for the
community
Sept. 15, 1995 - May 9, 2003
Office at 200
Austin Ave. (1995-2000)
Office at 111 N.
Date St. (2000-2003)
Bill (left) and
Eagle (right) on Desert Journal's float.
Eagle Ashcroft
made the float for the Desert Journal to take part in the Truth or
Consequences Fiesta Parade
Dave and Bill
rode the float with Eagle and threw newspapers out to the cheering crowd
Dave and Fred
chat during Fiesta
Dave, Bill and
Fred each won first place awards from the New Mexico Press Association's
Better Newspaper Contest in 1998.
Bill nominated to
the NMPA Hall of Fame his competition from the Truth or Consequences Herald,
Bob Tooley, posthumously. Here Bill is shown presenting the award to Bob's
widow, Maureen, in 1998.
Teresa and Linda
at the NMPA Convention
Bill gave one
heck of a speech at the NMPA Convention during the induction of Bob Tooley
to the Hall of Fame.
David Pierre
shows some of his stuff.
A little bit
tipsy from the party
Dave juggles
fruit from the vendor.
Q&A man on street beat reporter
and photog Lucille Benda
Fred pounds out one of his block
busting city council stories.
Don Velzy
contributed frequently to the Desert Journal and he kept politicians' feet
to the fire. At left, Bill interviews U.S. Representative Joe Skeen, Second
Congressional District of New Mexico.
At left, Fred
interviews Sheriff Terry Byers on a hot topic. Teresa (above) in an awards
presentation.
Bill the
publicity hound (above) appears before the TV camera. At right, Bill, the
glory seeker, points success before the wall that holds his newspaper's 35
awards for journalism excellence between 1995 and 2003. The first
award for an honorable journalism recognition was presented in 1996 by Truth
or Consequences Mayor Lois Reaver-Black upon the rag's first anniversary.
DRIVE-BY SHOOTING OF DJ OFFICE - OCTOBER 1998
CLICK ON VIDEO TO PLAY
Truth or
Consequences police called Bill about 10 p.m. on a Friday night to let him
know they were investigating a drive-by shooting of the Desert Journal
Office at 200 Austin Ave. Bill's wife's mother, the landlord, had
walked through the office to get to her store only a half hour before the
shooting occurred but the building was vacant at the time of the shooting,
even though nearby apartment dwellers could have been at risk. Two shots
were fired but one bullet was never found. So Bill grabbed his camera
and shot these photos of a very professional police investigation that led
to the arrests of two suspects. The District Attorney dropped charges
against the main suspect and the driver took the fall for the whole
incident, despite eye witnesses' testimony in court. This incident made the
cover story of Editor & Publisher Magazine. Desert Journal Photos by Bill
Johnson
The bullet first
entered through this window (above) as measured by police and then landed in
the wall just inches above Bill's desk (right).
Police measure
the bullet in the wall (left) and Detective Alfonzo Cortez starts the
removal process but finds the bullet lodged in a 2x4 supporting beam.
The police
officer in photo (above left) finds a chisel isn't going to extract the
bullet so they call in Detective Ron Wrye to fetch an electric saw to chop
out the block of wood containing the bullet. Ballistic evidence proved
the bullet came from the main suspect's handgun. Bill has forgiven his
transgressors over this incident and would rather just forget the whole
thing, but this was a big part of the Desert Journal's history. And
the newspaper did NOT grow from it - it instead lost a lot of support from
the supporters of the main suspect, but we continued to operate for five
more years on a shoestring budget. End of drive-by series.
Not even all of
Joe Hodovan's gold could save the Desert Journal newspaper from its fate
with destiny, nor could it save Joe. Murdered in 2003, Joe was a good
fellow and he supported and loved the Desert Journal.
THE
GREATEST JOURNALISM HONOR OF ALL
David Pierre, former Desert
Journal photojournalist, sent the following correspondence to me (Bill
Johnson) in the mail
today (April 24, 2008), which also went out to all of his contacts, many
concentrated in Southern New Mexico. To
say the least, I'm very honored by David's letter and article but most of all, I am
most honored by having the privilege to serve with David and the entire
staff on the Desert Journal's award winning team all of those years.
Immediately after this statement is the YouTube video I produced and for
which David makes references in his letter and article (below).
Again I want to invite people to tune into Bill Johnson's newspaper series on YouTube. I am going to copy and paste what
I already wrote to a few people about the series along with a link to the latest post.
This week's installment is short but it includes a reference to me, which
I am very proud of. I actually won 11 NMPA Awards while at the Desert
Journal. I have never heard of that feat being done before or
since... so I think I will keep it on my resume. I added another second place finish in 2004 to make my grand total a dozen with the Bulletin where
I ended my newspaper career.
When we won at the Desert Journal, we would all travel up to Albuquerque to receive our awards. Johnson would put us up in a hotel and buy us meals
- he was proud and appreciative.
At the Bulletin (in Las
Cruces), despite being a millionaire owner of a newspaper, Publisher McCullum took only his wife to the awards banquet and made little
mention of my feat in the publication. McCullum still has my award while Johnson has given me all of my individual awards I won while at the Desert Journal.
I would have ended it after my
job as Siliver City Sun-News editor, having been thoroughly disgusted with the industry. But I was given
the opportunity to work with an old colleague and editor, Jim Rosenthal,
another very responsible and talented newspaper man. It also must be
mentioned that I met and worked with Jeff Barnet whose biggest fault was
the love people had for him. Barnet was a very talented writer and
creative genius. Today Rosenthal is teaching while Barnet is a librarian
in one of the most dangerous prisons in American history.
I can never
say never (unless the LA times comes calling) but I can confidently say
that I will never work at a newspaper again. I enjoy my sanity and
health way too much. Today I am happy to be pursuing gringa Mexican women
and leading the cause for the common man and the revolution against
fascism.
Here is the link and last week's commentary from me
underneath. Please
take the time to watch Johnson's series as I believe the United States'
First Amendment is the most important in the Constitution.
Here is an opportunity to see a large chunk of Americana. Bill Johnson,
who is currently in the midst of producing a multi part
YouTube series
on his Newspaper days, was my editor at the Desert Journal.
And it is
quite amazing how we joined forces because we were and are both very
passionate about championing issues that challenged the common man or
more accurately the impoverished or down trodden and often the unjustly
exploited and prejudiced against or persecuted .
Bill’s career to me
represents something very dear we are losing in the United States. At
least we are losing it in more uneducated regions where Media
corporations are getting away with killing it (i.e., in our Southwestern
region and probably the plain states and maybe parts of the Midwest and
the south where ignorance is rampant, media corporations seem to get away
with printing garbage. It appears the left and right coasts Chicago,
Phoenix and Denver seem to be some of the only places good newspaper
work is still being produced in this country).
Print media, in particular newspapers, are either going out of business
or being gobbled up by large media conglomerates. Aside from the climate
that allows these corporate giants a forum to proliferate their own
interests, they also turn the screws on their editorial employees
demanding more work. And because they are, in many cases, the only game
in town they offer less wages. These cunning media corporations are only
interested in "fill content" or “fluff” just good enough to satisfy
advertisers. As they demand more quantity than quality from their
already diminished editorial staffs, CONTENT ULTIMATELY SUFFERS!
Editorial staff and the general public were much better off in the days
Bill Johnson speaks of in the first part of his You Tube documentary.
Reporters and journalists had the opportunity to develop stories and for
introspection regarding their responsibility to the profession of fair,
unbiased and objective reporting and journalism.
The flip side, of course, are corporate assholes like Rupert Murdoch
that pimp out irresponsible whore publishers like Las Cruces’ David
McCollum who wouldn’t know a well written and well laid out paper if it
was stuck up his anus. McCollum works tirelessly at ringing out his
employees for more copy and anything he can fill his “newspaper product”
he calls the Bulletin.
At the Sun-News, another place McCollum worked as a publisher when I
came in as the Silver City Editor, reporters were actually copying
police reports verbatim as stories for the paper. A sad disgrace!!!!
With the Herald in Truth or Consequences, after having received 11 New
Mexico Press Association Awards, I was asked to focus on writing
businessmen profiles once a week and was continually asked to take
photographs of check presentations - a practice shunned by real
journalists. That is the way The Herald gets business - it is called
Vanity Press and it happens more than media consumers realize. It is a
way to brown nose for business, and the victim is the public who tunes
in. And it is happening more and more.
Also in Truth or Consequences,
Sentinel owner Myrna Baird consistently railroaded her personal agenda
on the FRONT PAGE of her paper, while much of the small public
sheepishly followed.
I suggest listening to Bill in his Newspaper odyssey and you will
realize what a privilege, responsibility, honor and an important job is
in this country and the free world.
I am proud to say I had the opportunity to work with Bill in a creative
atmosphere. This is one of the few things I am proud of aside from my
black and Mexican heritage. The result of our efforts was producing one
of the most decorated, award winning newspapers in New Mexico
History - the Desert journal.
