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RIP, Ollie Reed Jr.

When I arrived at work for the first time at The Albuquerque Tribune — on Jan. 4, 1977 — I was assigned to cover the Bernalillo County government beat and was seated beside the City Hall reporter, a young man named Ollie Reed Jr. I had no idea how lucky I was. Ollie turned out… Continue reading RIP, Ollie Reed Jr.

Podcast features Citizen Carl

“Write On! Four Corners” just dropped its latest podcast: an interview with me about Citizen Carl. The show is hosted by DelSheree Gladden, author of several books herself. “Write On! Four Corners” originates at KSJE-FM, a public radio station based at San Juan College in Farmington, N.M., and it highlights books and authors from the… Continue reading Podcast features Citizen Carl

I’m the other Jack McElroy

The Cibola Citizen in Grants, N.M., just published a lovely review of Citizen Carl. Unfortunately, a short bio sidebar conflated my background with that of another author named Jack McElroy. The confusion was inevitable. One Jack McElroy is an entrepreneur, businessman, publisher and author of 6 books, most of them dealing with the Bible. He… Continue reading I’m the other Jack McElroy

The coveted APE Award

For many years, journalists who worked in Albuquerque cherished Albuquerque Press Club awards above many more prestigious prizes. The reason: The APE Awards were the coolest-looking trophies ever. A golden slouch-shouldered gorilla stood upon a wooden base wearing only a too-small fedora with a press card and a sloppily loosened tie, cigarette dangling from his… Continue reading The coveted APE Award

Review finds Citizen Carl ‘compelling’

Chapter 16 — an affiliate of the Library of Congress’s National Center for the Book founded by Humanities Tennessee, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities — just published a review of Citizen Carl. I couldn’t be more thrilled. The review by David Wesley Williams recounts Carl Magee’s rollicking exploits as a journalist… Continue reading Review finds Citizen Carl ‘compelling’

Teapot Dome’s 100th anniversary

I’ve written several guest columns for newspapers about Carl Magee’s life. A few have recently been published in Iowa, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. Each column focuses on how Magee’s story was tied to the local community, but all are pegged to the 100th anniversary of the Teapot Dome scandal. Carl Magee testified before the… Continue reading Teapot Dome’s 100th anniversary

School editors connect after 120 years

The Northern Iowan, student newspaper at the University of Northern Iowa, just published a guest column I wrote about Carl Magee, who was editor of the school’s paper, then called the Normal Eyte, in 1894. Facilitating publication of the column was editor Caroline Christensen, Magee’s successor 120 years later. I suspect Carl would be as… Continue reading School editors connect after 120 years

Citizen Carl publishes

Well, it’s official. University of New Mexico Press just published my biography of Carl Magee, so I donned my cherry and silver for the occasion. It can be ordered from UNM Press or Amazon. Now if the Lobos can just make it to the NCAA basketball tournament, it’ll be a perfect March.

Citizen Carl available for preorder

I recently got a proof of the entire book cover, including front, back and spine. I also learned that my biography of Carl Magee is available for preorder at the University of New Mexico Press, through Amazon, or, as they say, wherever books are sold. Many thanks to Professors Richard Etulain of the University of… Continue reading Citizen Carl available for preorder

Bit of newspaper lore: The Albuquerque Tribune Nukes

On July 16, 1979, a dam collapsed at the Church Rock uranium mill, spilling more than 1,000 tons of radioactive waste and 94 million gallons of radioactive tailings solution into the Rio Puerco north of Gallup, N.M. The Albuquerque Tribune, then an ardent supporter of the uranium industry, buried news of the disaster in a… Continue reading Bit of newspaper lore: The Albuquerque Tribune Nukes