Conservative media network behind mystery paper in New Mexico mailboxes

Nov. 19—An unsolicited newspaper that began hitting area mailboxes just before the midterm election has residents asking questions about the purpose and publisher of a product that carries a partisan punch despite claims to the contrary.

The New Mexico Sun began circulating in Santa Fe a little before Election Day on Nov. 8, addressed by name to residents who say they have no idea where the paper originated.

A thread on an Albuquerque Reddit forum this week had users asking, "It this a legit newspaper?"

Among this week's headlines was a story accusing Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller of creating a "system of cronyism" over unclassified employees, an opinion piece claiming Democrats unjustly weaponized the Jan. 6 insurrection and a pre-election opinion piece by Bernalillo's County's Judy Young, who ran for District 5 commissioner and who ultimately lost to opponent Eric Olivas.

On its accompanying website, newmexicosun.com, the paper is said to be owned by Bradley Cameron of Pipeline Advisors LLC of Austin, Texas. But on closer inspection, the paper's managing partner is listed as Brian Timpone.

Timpone of Chicago, heads Local Government and Information Services and Metric Media, national network chains boasting more than 1,200 papers and their accompanying websites, according to the LGIS website. The companies have come under the scrutiny of traditional news agencies in recent years and labeled by critics as "pink slime journalism," a reference to meat byproduct injected into hamburger and sold to consumers as the real deal.

The Columbia Journalism Review in 2020 investigated both Metric Media and LGIS via data collected and analyzed by Columbia Journalism School's Tow Center for Digital Journalism. The results detailed how the emerging network of "pink slime" news outlets grew from 450 to more than 1,200 in 2020. A year later, the publication detailed the "dark money groups" that had funded their proliferation prior to the 2020 elections.

"It is becoming an increasingly common campaign strategy for PACs and single-interest lobbyists to fund websites that borrow credibility from news design to help advance particular agendas," the report stated.

Online transparency records provided by the Defend Texas Liberty Political Action Committee indicate Pipeline Advisors LLC accepted more than $57,000 from the PAC, which reportedly opposed 19 Texas House Republicans ahead of primary elections as "insufficiently Republican," according to a story in Austin's Texas Tribune.

New Mexico Sun publisher Carla Sonntag did not respond to questions from The New Mexican. However, in an August 2021 article, Sonntag criticized mainstream media as biased and said the Sun would be nonpartisan and present facts without a political agenda.

"I'm tired of one-sided news coverage that doesn't give the full picture," she wrote. "And I'm tired of being told what to think about issues. I know that many of you feel the same way. The New Mexico Sun was created to make New Mexico a better state through more complete news coverage."

Stephan Helgesen of Tijeras has been submitting political columns to the Sun since June and said the free paper isn't funded by advertising.

"The New Mexico Sun is very welcoming of my articles because I try not to go too far into the ditch. Obviously, I'm a conservative," Helgesen said. "They don't edit my copy."

Among Helgesen's recent headlines are, "Canceling without conversation," "The not so great American U-turn," and "Diversity is not strength."

Nationally, the network of what appear to be old-school newspapers use such mastheads as the "Times," "Journal" and "Reporter," featuring identical stories and local features crafted from established news organizations — apparently without their permission.

The New York Times in 2020 described Timpone's media operation as "rooted in deception, eschewing hallmarks of news reporting like fairness and transparency" when his newspapers began widely circulating prior to that year's election.

The newspapers and accompanying websites offer a single commonality — hard-right slants and digs at progressives. "Finally, the halls of power have a real media watchdog," reads the LGIS website.

Metric Media is also behind the network of "Catholic Tribune" websites and newspapers that appeared a few years ago, according to a Columbia Journalism Review investigation. Hard copies of the Arizona Catholic Tribune were sent to people in that state in late October, featuring headlines such as "[U.S. Sen. Mark] Kelly Co-Sponsored Bill Bishops Call 'Most Unjust and Extreme ... Ever Seen'" and "Arizona Democrats Stanton, O'Halleran vote to keep school 'gender services' secret from parents."

The paper's appearance in Arizonans' mailboxes prompted the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix to issue a statement denying any connection to the publication.

The New Mexico Sun doesn't offer a phone number, nor do any of the newspapers in LGIS or Metric Media's productions. Stories are bylined as a "New Mexico Sun Report" or by journalists who work for content creation agencies and not the newspaper. The paper lists no reporter contact information.

George Willis, whose work is bylined in several stories, said he doesn't write directly for the New Mexico Sun but for a company that generates content for a number of publications.

"I know we provide content for various outlets around the country," he said in a LinkedIn message. "I'm originally from Las Cruces, so that's why I do a lot of the New Mexico stuff. Mostly rewriting stuff that's already out there."

In fact, all of the news stories appearing in the New Mexico Sun are borrowed from other news organizations, many of whom have either never heard of the paper or who say they didn't give permission for content use.

Lindsay Barber, assignments editor for KOAT-TV News in Albuquerque, said she knows of no agreement between her television station and the Sun.

"I'd be very shocked if we did have one," she said, adding that one of the station's reporters looked into the newspaper when it first appeared.

"It appears it's a guy who bought up several different newspapers and is printing them from Iowa with different mastheads," she said.

Barber said the newspaper could harm readers who may not understand its deceptive practices.

"I would love for misinformation to go away. It feels like they're bad actors trying to take advantage of people's struggles with media literacy," she said, adding that many readers and viewers are overworked and "too tired to verify if what they're reading is true."

Making money off of fake news should be illegal, she said.

"First Amendment rights are tricky, I recognize that, but it's false advertising to say you're nonpartisan and then only offer partisan news coverage," she said.

Michelle Donaldson, KOB-TV's vice president and general manager, said she hadn't yet heard of the newspaper and knows of no agreement to share content, although the Sun offers a number of articles attributed to the television station.

"We expend a considerable amount of resources and time in gathering and vetting news and verifying sources," she said. "Making sure people know exactly what is from KOB 4 is important to us."

While the website appears as a legitimate newspaper, it appears more like an aggregator, she said.