New Mexico is known as “The Land of Enchantment,” but some of that enchantment was lost on Oct. 21, 2021. That was the day actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun with a live round during the filming of the movie “Rust” at the Bonanza Creek Ranch. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot, and director Joel Souza was wounded.
Suddenly, what would become one of the biggest news stories was occurring in the Santa Fe area. Without losing sight of the tragic consequences of the shooting, it was a breaking story few local journalists ever experience.
Victoria Traxler is a young journalist and had only been at the Santa Fe New Mexican for a year. During midday, her editor passed a vague tip from a private citizen about a shooting at the ranch to Traxler as the public safety reporter.
The events of the next 24 to 48 hours would be exciting, challenging and stressful for Traxler and Jim Weber and Luis Sanchez Saturno, two veteran New Mexican staff photojournalists. In the end, however, it was a rewarding experience and an opportunity to demonstrate the professionalism and journalistic integrity of local reporters and photojournalists.
“Initially, all we knew was the shooting had occurred in the general area of the Bonanza Creek Ranch,” said Traxler. “It is an enormous property with multiple locations for movies and TV productions. Luis and I headed to the ranch with no clear idea where the incident occurred or what information was available.”
When they arrived, they first drove on the only public access road adjacent to the ranch property, looking for the site. They even asked crews at other filming locations in the area if they had heard a gunshot, but none could supply accurate information.
Eventually, Traxler and Sanchez found the gated entry to the “Rust” movie set, but only because they sighted a law enforcement vehicle leaving. Since the ranch was private property, security personnel would not allow them to enter.
“Victoria and I were quite frustrated because we couldn’t see the location from the road and, in fact, it was behind a series of hills,” said Sanchez. “I found the best photography location possible. Even with a 300mm lens and an extender, the images I captured didn’t show much detail.”
Although a young journalist, Traxler had a veteran journalist’s radar, intuitively telling her this was a big story. She also experienced the stress of the job when her editor constantly asked her for updates, which she couldn’t provide. She and Sanchez returned to the New Mexican newsroom once it was clear there wasn’t much more they could discover.
“When I returned, I contacted the public information officer at the sheriff’s office who I knew,” said Traxler. “He shared information from the official press release before it was distributed. It included the names of those who were shot and that Alec Baldwin had fired the gun.”
Traxler cited the teamwork of the New Mexican newsroom and the support of Phaedra Haywood, the paper’s long-time courts reporter, for helping her to focus on the process of gathering information and writing the story.
Haywood suggested Traxler follow up by visiting the sheriff’s office. Sanchez had returned to other duties, so Weber accompanied Traxler. Little did they know they were about to enter that journalistic zone where being at the right place at the right time changes the story’s dynamics.
“The parking lot was almost empty, and then Victoria recognized someone leaving from the side door of the sheriff’s office,” said Weber. “At first, we didn’t know it was Baldwin because of his heavy beard and looking very distraught.”
“I had all of two minutes to move towards Baldwin and still give him some space and capture the image of him on the phone, which subsequently appeared in media across the U.S. and the world. His handler quickly ushered Baldwin into a car, and they were gone.”
To Weber, he was just doing his job. He has never been or aspired to be a paparazzi; the celebrity nature of that moment was new to Weber after more than a quarter-century as a photographer. Weber was also surprised by the international response and the many requests for images.
“Henry M. Lopez, our digital enterprise and marketing director and the publisher managed the photography requests and permissions internally without using a photo agency so the paper could generate that revenue,” added Weber. “I live for the journalism and would rather cover local events.”
“Cultivating relationships with local law enforcement as the public safety reporter proved to be very important,” said Traxler. “I also realized when a story like this breaks, local newspapers and their journalists and photographers must focus on the story’s effect on their communities and not become entertainment and celebrity reporters.”
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
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