TODAY'S TOP STORIES: What's news?
The Albuquerque Journal and Santa Fe New Mexican are both reporting on the backlash against Democratic congressional candidate Benny Shendo Jr. for making opponent Ben Ray Lujan's sexual orientation an issue in the hotly contested District 3 race. It's interesting to see how different media outlets across the state are handling this touchy issue, which presents a tough editorial decision for news managers: is Shendo's "deception" claim legitimate? Should we report an unsubstantiated claim, just because a congressional candidate brings it up in a public forum? On the other hand, is a news organization obligated to report the story for that very reason? Does the fact that a person running for national officer -- or any office -- brings up sexual orientation of an opponent, regardless of the context, raise bigger questions about our politics and culture that merits coverage?
Some say yes. Some say no. The Santa Fe New Mexican broke the story yesterday, and many other outlets, including this one, have followed up on it in some form or another. Others have chosen not to cover it. For example, the Farmington Daily Times had a reporter at this week's forum where the issue came up, but did not mention it in their account of the event.
Sexual orientation, meanwhile, is at the heart of another story in southern New Mexico, where a controversial art exhibit was removed from the Las Cruces Museum of Art. The Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting that when artist Manuel Peña went to the opening of his exhibit "The Swimming Hole" earlier this month, he found "six empty nails" where he expected to find his "coming of age" photo collage series. Some say censorship and discrimination are at play:
Some of the images featured full frontal male nudity, but Peña doesn't think nudity was the reason for their removal.
"I was told that they were too risqué for family and children that would go to the gallery. But I'm gay, and I think that's the issue," he said.
In other news, Taoseños will have to wait to find out whether plastic grocery bags will be banned in their town. The Taos Town Council tabled the proposal this week, after splitting 2-2 on whether to adopt the ban, The Taos News reported.
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