Note: Many of us at SPJ Rio Grande will miss Alexa Schitzinger. Fellow board member Peter St. Cyr has offered this “bon voyage” as she starts the next phase of her career in California:
I remember when Alexa first moved to New Mexico from Texas. She was hired to replace Dave Maass at the Santa Fe Reporter. At the time, I wondered how she’d ever be able to fill his footsteps. It didn’t take long for all of us to realize this talented journalist would definitely be making her own mark here.
For the past four years, Alexa has demonstrated courage and leadership, both in the newsroom, on SPJ-Rio Grande’s Board, and most recently on the chapter’s First Amendment / Freedom of Information Committee.
That girl definitely has a spine. And she’s got talent.
Who can forget when Alexa introduced SFR’s readers to rancher Marianna Hatten in her 2011 cover story, “Welcome to Madrid”? The story focused on the Region III Drug Enforcement Task Force’s annual marijuana-eradication efforts and her work revealed government activities again shrouded in secrecy:
On Dec. 1, SFR sent a request to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, under the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act, for all “operations plans” and “incident logs” related to marijuana eradication missions.
DPS denied that request on the grounds that it does not keep incident logs of Region III eradication activities.
But a 2010 joint powers agreement between DPS and Region III requires DPS to keep “Offense/Incident Reports,” as well as overtime records for its officers who participate in eradication missions. When SFR pointed this requirement out in a subsequent request, DPS provided incident reports for three specific dates in 2009 and 2010.
Using SPJ’s Code of Ethics, Alexa stood up to power, valued open government, and demanded transparency. It’s not a mistake the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government have recognized her and the SFR staff for their closed government reporting in 2012 with its Dixon Freedom Award.
It’s also not a mistake she was selected for a Knight Fellowship at Stanford.
Just a few months before she proposed her project to develop revenue solutions to sustain local journalism at community newspapers, I’d asked her to write a letter of recommendation for my own John Jay College Juvenile Justice Fellowship. She quickly agreed and I was selected. I was honored nine months later when Alexa asked me to return the favor and write a recommendation for her Knight application.
It’s clear Alexa is not content to sit by and watch other journalists, publishers and media moguls solve the industry’s financial issues. A committed journalist, Alexa wants to add her voice to solving our profession’s problems.
Her keen intellect and dedication to journalism ensures her success in California.
With a shot of whiskey in hand, I offer a toast to Alexa. A toast to her vision, her courage, and most of all a toast to thank her for her leadership and her friendship. In fact, I imagine most of us would have a drink with Alexa any day or night. Of course she’d still be standing there at her desk making final edits long after we all hit the floor.
At least we have some comfort knowing that when we recovered, our friend Julie Ann Grimm will be standing at the desk ready to fill Alexa’s footsteps.
I’m betting she won’t miss a stride.
