KRWG Public Media has welcomed a New Mexico Local News Fellow to the team. Abigail Salas will serve as a multimedia journalist at the organization through May 2026. Anthony Moreno talked with Salas to learn more about why she decided to enter the field of broadcast journalism.
Transcript:
Anthony Moreno: Abigail, thanks for joining us. Let's start off with learning a little bit about yourself. When did you decide that journalism was the path for you?
Abigail Salas: I decided kind of early on in high school. I just got into the program at Centennial High School and it was a lot of fun and it was just a combination of a lot of the things that I enjoyed, like taking video, being on camera, editing and talking to people and doing all these things. I like to tell the stories of people and I like to share the voices of those who might feel unheard a lot of the time. So, yeah, journalism was for me.
Anthony Moreno: You went on to pursue that as your major at New Mexico State University. You recently graduated this past May from the program. During your time in college, you participated in News 22 and reported for that news program on KRWG TV. What did you take away from that experience.
Abigail Salas: I mean, it was just the collaborative sense of what news is, like I really liked to go into the newsroom and listen to all these people, like their ideas for stories, and then go in and having to write 30 second scripts or even being in the control room talking about the camera, seeing everybody operate everything. So yeah, I guess I just learned how to work in a team and I just enjoyed that collaborative sense that we had in News 22.
Anthony Moreno: During your time reporting for News 22, were there certain stories that you feel really made an impact?
Abigail Salas: Yeah, so the ones that aired this my last semester, I think were the ones that I think made the most impact. The first one was about a lady, her name is Lauren, and she is collaborating with a lot of people in the community, including Viva Las Cruces and the court system, and artists, to create carts for those who are unhoused, and it didn't come because of the shopping cart ordinance, that wasn't why. She kind of did it as like a way to commemorate her husband, who had passed away and he was an artist, and he just wanted to help the people and she came up with that idea in collaboration with Donald from Viva Las Cruces, and I think that one was one of those where it really impacted me as well, just kind of diving more into that unhoused crisis and seeing that people do want to help, and I really enjoyed seeing like the community come together for this one project.
Anthony Moreno: During your time in News 22, you also got to cover a story that gained national attention. The Young Park shooting, and you were also able to assist our news team during that time. What did you take away from that experience covering an event like that?
Abigail Salas: I learned a lot, right, because I had never been put in a situation like that. It was very sensitive information, but very important information and hearing the stories of the people that I interviewed being there at the scene, listening to the press conferences and stuff. It was just very impactful stuff, and I am grateful that I got to report on that, even though it was such a horrible thing, but I did learn a lot, I guess it got me ready for like a more professional role.
Anthony Moreno: All right, let's learn a little bit more about you. Do you prefer red or green chile?
Abigail Salas: Green.
Anthony Moreno: Green. OK, that's very popular in our area, of course, and you also love music. Can you share a little bit about that passion for music?
Abigail Salas: Yes. So, my dad, he's a self-taught musician, so I grew up, with instruments in my house, I remember like one of my core memories is being in the living room and looking around there's just like 2 keyboards, a guitar. There was a drum set in my room, and he didn't know how to play any of them, and he was just teaching himself, and so I was, you know, raised around music. And that really created the passion that I have for it. I went to a middle school that focused on teaching Mexican culture, and so from there I learned how to play mariachi and conjunto, and that really just elevated my love for music. In high school I kept on playing guitar. I'm like mainly a guitarist. I'm not in a group or anything, but I do just play it on my free time, try to learn as many songs as possible. I always have a guitar in my hand when I'm not here obviously.
Anthony Moreno: OK. Well, we can't wait to hear the stories you share from our community, Abigail Solis is a New Mexico local news fellow and is serving as a multimedia journalist with KRWG Public Media through May 2026. Abigail, thank you so much for your time.
Abigail Salas: Thank you for having me.
