ALBUQUERQUE – When a 13-year-old girl in Hobbs said she was raped at school, the school punished her instead of helping her, according to an investigation by Searchlight New Mexico.
For Searchlight New Mexico Investigations Editor Ed Williams, the case highlighted a larger problem: institutions designed to protect children can fail, and those responsible are not always held accountable.
Williams has built his career around revealing overlooked problems. His reporting examines the systems that affect New Mexicans, from foster care to human trafficking, often focused on people who struggled to have their voices heard.
“Being a reporter can kind of have an outsize impact for kids and especially in New Mexico,” Williams said.
Children lack the lobbyists, unions and other organized groups that can advocate for their interests at the New Mexico Legislature, he said. Investigative reporting helps shed light on these issues by exposing problems to the public and holding institutions accountable.
Williams was raised in Austin, Texas, and became interested in journalism while he was studying abroad in Spain during the Iraq War. He later traveled to Peru to report on U.S. coca-eradication policies – money used to destroy the plants used to make cocaine – and its harmful effects on New Mexico communities. NPR’s Latino USA featured Williams and his reporting while he was still in college.
He later earned a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Texas before working for KDNK in Colorado and KUNM in New Mexico. When he joined Searchlight in 2018, he worked in multimedia production. An investigation into New Mexico’s treatment foster care system changed that trajectory. The story went on to win a national award and Williams became a full-time reporter.
His expertise in investigative journalism has shaped his colleagues’ work. Lily Alexander, a state accountability reporter for Searchlight New Mexico, said Williams has offered valuable guidance on sourcing and public records requests while they work together on an investigation.
“He’s a masterclass in investigative reporting,” she said.
Some of his most inspiring work has followed issues beyond New Mexico. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams investigated drug and trafficking networks operating on the Navajo Nation, tracing connections from Los Angeles to New Mexico and Oklahoma. He said national outlets later covered the issue, but Searchlight was the first to report it.
For Williams, exposing misconduct is only the beginning. His investigations have helped prompt government and legislative responses. Williams said the goal is to inform people while also seeing some positive change.
When asked what advice he would give his younger self, Williams returned to his natural instinct as an investigative reporter.
“I would tell myself to not be afraid to go for the biggest story you can,” he said.
Williams is to be honored with an A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting by the New Mexico Press Association during its Oct. 17 Better Newspaper Awards Gala.
(Jules Elizondo is a student at the University of New Mexico. Follow her on social media at @julian__elizondo.)
