Valencia County News-Bulletin
Weekly newspaper published in Belen, New Mexico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Valencia County News-Bulletin is a weekly newspaper in Belen, New Mexico, that was established in 1912. It is owned by Number 9 Media, a subsidiary of the Albuquerque Journal.
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | Journal Publishing Company |
| Founder | P.A. Speckmann |
| Publisher | Clara Garcia |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Language | English |
| City | Belen, New Mexico |
| Country | United States |
| ISSN | 1071-3492 |
| Website | news-bulletin |
History
In December 1912, P.A. Speckmann founded the Belen News.[1] In March 1914, E.H. "Henry" Salazar, owner of the Hispano-American Publishing Co., bought the News and appointed M.C. Garcia as editor.[2][3] Salazar was the stepson of William H. Manderfield, an early owner of The Santa Fe New Mexican, and founded two Spanish-language papers called La Voz de Pueblo and El Independiente. He was also appointed a land receiver at Fort Sumner in Guadalupe County. In October 1914, Salazar died after being struck by a cow.[4][5]
Years later the News eventually fell into the hands of county school superintendent Saturnino Baca and his son Elfego G. Baca,[6] a police officer who fatally shot a man in self-defense.[7][8] In May 1946, George W. Perkins founded the Belen Bulletin.[9] In December 1946, Edwin J. Lewis bought the News from Elfego G. Baca after he was elected county sheriff.[10][11] In January 1947, Carter M. Waid became co-publisher of the Bulletin.[12] In March 1947, the Bulletin and the News merged to form the News-Bulletin. Waid became editor, Lewis became business manager and Perkins became plant superintendent.[13]
Carter bought out Lewis in 1953, only for him to sell his entire stock in the business to Lewis in 1976.[14] The paper was then operated by the company Modern Press, which was managed by Thomas E. Lewis. The News-Bulletin was acquired by Meredith Corporation in 1980,[15][16] Harte-Hanks Communications in 1983,[17] Worrell Enterprises in 1986,[18] brothers Walt and Ken Green in 1988,[19] and Cooke Media Group in 1989.[20] A new $100,000 printing press was installed a year later.[21]
Cooke Media Group was owned by Jack Kent Cooke and it also published the Los Angeles Daily News. Cooke's six New Mexican papers were operated by Raljon Publishing, a subsidiary managed by his two sons, Ralph and John Cooke.[22] In 1994, the News-Bulletin was sold to WorldWest LLC.[23] That same year former owner Carter, who served for two years as town mayor, died.[24]
In 2001, Journal Publishing Co., publisher of the Albuquerque Journal, acquired the News-Bulletin and El Defensor-Chieftain from WorldWest. The papers were operated under a subsidiary called Number Nine Media Inc.[25] In 2025, the paper's editor and publisher, Clara Garcia, was inducted into the New Mexico Press Association’s Hall of Fame.[26]