Capitol Report New Mexico

What’s wrong with this picture?

This is Leah Fernandez-Johnson of Albuquerque Printing Corporation with Harold Morgan as he and I visited the printer to make a final press check on Capitol Report New Mexico last week. The new magazine will analyze the legislature in three issues a year.

The magazine is online at http://capitolreportnm.com/current%20issue/capitolreportnmSPR07-WEB.pdf.

Morgan, left, is the editor, seen here, with his partner Jack Swickard, right, they are the co-publishers.

I first met Morgan in 1968 when he was writing and photographing for the Albuquerque News. He was a journalism student at University of New Mexico when Tony Hillerman was still a professor. Morgan went off to Santa Fe to complete his education at St. John’s College. I was in touch with him off and on over the years. He ran for city council and was defeated by Tim Kline.

Morgan was involved in banking and currently is a communications and political consultant, a syndicated columnist and publisher.

He was one of the first readers of this blogspot and contacted me when I wrote about a mobile radar unit that was in my neighborhood. It turns out we live within a couple of blocks of each other.

Swickard is a name I knew. He has been a New Mexico journalist for years, having worked at the Tribune, Farmington Daily Times and the Roswell Daily Record in a variety of jobs from reporter, to a wide range of editor positions, to general manager. He is now president of The Triton Group in Roswell. The Swickard name has a more familiar ring. Jim Swickard, Jack’s younger brother was my younger brother’s classmate at Highland high school, graduating in 1970. They both entered the service after college; my brother went into the Army and Jim Swickard went into the Air Force. They consider each other best friends. They still communicate daily by e-mail.

Based on some political work I did with Morgan, during the last election campaign, he asked if I was interested in photographing for the magazine. He tempted me with the promise of lots of space and maybe a picture page. I accepted and quickly realized I had my work cut out for myself. I produced the cover; a double page and single page photo essay on the 60-day legislative session, consisting of 15 pictures. An additional 13 photos of mine were used throughout the 28-page magazine.

The printing industry has changed drastically since the early ’70s when Ed Lewis, owner of Newspaper Printing Corporationand publisher of the Albuquerque News, installed the first web press in New Mexico.

Albuquerque Printing Corporation is using state of the art technology in most of the preparation and printing process. Computers control almost every aspect of the machinery, though there is a fair amount of handwork is still necessary. APC has about 90 employees working at its north Albuquerque facility.