Robert Trapp discusses his career as editor and publisher of the Rio Grande Sun in Española, New Mexico; notable issues facing residents of Rio Arriba County; and the letters that he wrote to President Obama in 2010 and 2011. Trapp provides an overview of the county, describing the issues of greatest political salience to the community, its historical support for the Democratic Party, economic rel iance on the nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory, limited access to high-speed broadband, high rates of drug overdose, and the poor performance of its school system. Trapp emphasizes the importance of letter-writing to representative democracy, describes his motivations for writing to President Obama in support of the administration's healthcare reform effort, and discusses the payroll tax cuts included in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Trapp also shares his experience of learning from the White House that President Obama had read his letter. Trapp discusses changes in news media that took place during the years of the Obama presidency, including the trend toward digitization in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the consolidation of local newspapers by large holding companies. Also discussed are Trapp's inability to secure prompt and detailed disclosures from the Obama administration through the Freedom of Information Act process, the importance of the independent press as a government watchdog, increases in employee health insurance premiums following the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and Obama's visit to Española in September 2008 during the 2008 general election campaign
Presidents--United States; Presidents--Correspondence.--United States; Digital divide--United States; Rural telecommunication--New Mexico; Drugs--Overdose--New Mexico; Health care reform--United States; Trapp, Robert; Obama, Barack; Los Alamos National Laboratory; United States; Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010; Freedom of Information Act; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
57 pages
Note (Biographical)
At the time of the interview, Robert Trapp was editor and publisher of the Rio Grande Sun, a paid weekly newspaper serving the city of Española in Rio Arriba County in north central New Mexico. He wrote two letters to Barack Obama over the course of the Obama presidency touching on the subjects of healthcare, the economy, and the challenges of running a small business
Note
Interviewed by Julius Wilson on July 8, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Robert B. Trapp, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023