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For a moment in time, I was the Queen of All Albuquerque Media.

During our slow ascent to the top of the Manzano Mountains, I crouched in doorway of the Air Force helicopter, balancing a television news camera and capturing the small-as-ants people below.

Looking up at the Medical Red Flag chopper were a couple of newspaper reporters, as well as television crews from KOB-Channel 4 and KOAT-Channel 7. On that autumn day back in 1985, I, a lowly journalism student and Kirtland Air Force Base stay-in- school employee, (with awesome base connections) flew with the eagles.

I documented the annual military exercise from a vantage point not available to the established media. The experience did wonders for my professional self-esteem: I scooped the big boys that day. More importantly, there was a lesson there about the importance of competitive media.

Even the little guy can sometimes take home the prize.

Today, the future of one of New Mexico's leading newspapers is uncertain. The Albuquerque Tribune, up for sell by its parent company, E.W. Scripps, is being looked over by potential buyers.

Despite the changes in newsprint journalism through the years, I hope New Mexico's finest newspaper stays in business. The overall consensus from anyone who places a value on solid journalism, is that New Mexico needs the Albuquerque Tribune.

The high standards and unique perspective provided by The Tribune's staff is invaluable to its readership. Informed citizens make for a more educated and stable society.

Case in point, from my current vantage point of living in southern California:

Thanks to worldwide media coverage, everyone knows that southern California caught on fire recently. With no thanks to arsonists and our Santa Ana winds, numerous wildfires resulted in loss of life, loss of homes, closed freeways, hundreds of thousands evacuated and the resultant sickening air quality.

Last Sunday night I went to sleep with television images of the fires in Malibu. All day, fires had been raging out of control. Those of use who live in Riverside County were inundated with surreal breaking news stories from Los Angeles network affiliates. The L.A. fires were all the buzz.

Monday morning, my clock radio blasted my favorite San Diego station. Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw were not their usual chipper selves. The first thing I heard that morning was that the I-15 freeway was closed from Fallbrook, south to Highway 76. My first thought: there must have been a catastrophic earthquake. Why else would a major interstate shut down?

Within seconds I learned that a huge portion of San Diego County was ablaze. Who knew? Certainly not those of us in the Inland Empire. Though geographically closer to San Diego, our region is mandated by the outdated Federal Communications Commission ruling that hooks us up to L.A. news stations.

A little something called the Designated Market Area (DMA) is tightly guarded by Los Angeles area politicians and broadcasters. It dictates that the Inland Empire (mainly the counties of Riverside and San Bernardino) must receive network signals from the Los Angeles stations. So, while San Diego was burning down, the county line a mere 10 miles from my home, we were tuned into L.A. news, 70 miles away. San Diego was on fire, and had been for most of Sunday, and we never knew it!

Access to our local television station, KZSW-TV 27, where I work part-time, is limited: No weekend news. This small cable-carried station thusly limits the availability of local news to the people who need to know how close the fires (or other significant news) are to their neighborhoods.

If you look at a So Cal map, our southwest Riverside County area was surrounded by fires. Those who called us to check in from New Mexico had seen the national news coverage and wondered if we had been evacuated. Because San Diego news stations were focused on San Diego, and Los Angeles news stations were focused on Los Angeles and Orange County, those of us in the middle of the hellish smoke and flames had to scramble to find updates on from local online newspapers.

The answer? More competitive media. In general, L.A. stations focus on the Inland Empire's bad news: car chases, pedophiles and drug busts. No wonder the outside world sometimes perceives us as a bunch of thieves, sexual deviates and, well, drug users.

Daily news coverage, preferably from a variety of sources, is vital in our fast-paced and ever-shrinking world. That The Tribune may soon be shutting its doors and depriving New Mexicans of a variable news source is tragic.

That my house could have burned down while I was watching fire coverage 70 miles to the west, is, of course, silly.

However, I also would have expected news coverage for an area of over 4 million people, and the 14th largest metropolitan area in the United States.