terms of the economy, not so much. it s small compared to the powerful neighbors. there only about two million people living here, but they have an endless supply of stories to tell about how they are trying to build up in these downtimes. that s where we begin with a man who believes in the power of stories to help people on their way to recovery. a bit more than a year ago, he had every reason to give up on the economy, the west, and especially newspapers. we walked around the whole day with tears in our eyes. after 10 years of reporting for denver s rocky mountain news, he and his colleagues were shocked to find it shouting down. that was a special place and a dam good newspaper. rather than retreat, he charged straight down to his home state of new mexico.
that s when the state began offering big rebates to filmmaker who is would come and hire workers, buy local productions and use local facilities like the sprawling new sound stages just outside of albuquerque. in addition, the state can help cover salaries for local folks being trained for film jobs. as a result the number of skilled film workers here has gone from 100 to 3,000. it s very high paying jobs with great benefits. construction has slowed down and this has been a good way to fill that economic void for jobs. this is not an utterly new idea. thomas edison s picture company made their first film here more than a century ago. in the 20s and 30s, cowboy films rode all over the new mexico range. what it happening here is much bigger than what was happening back then and bigger than what was happening 13 years ago with
us how regular people are finding innovative ways to survive the struggling economy. i will see you in about 30 minutes with more of the newsroom. let s begin building up america. the great wide west was the land of opportunities and it still is. folks are hearing the creeks and rumbles as much as anyone else. they are also moving ahead despite all that. through technology, the arts, agriculture and so much more. building up america in their own western way. welcome on board the cnn express rolling through the land of enchantment. new mexico is a vast state in
archaeological evidence suggests people started living in what we call new mexico 25,000 years ago. the state is home to 22 indigenous tribes like the apaches, the pu ebb lows and the navajos. here in the northwest corner of new mexico, many native american populations have struggled for many years with soaring unemployment worse than any of us have seen in our lifetimes. not far from where i m standing on the navajo nation, a program seems to be helping in a big way. a year s harvest is being cut in the northwest corner and mr. lewis is pleased. each brings what he believes his
five film and video projects in the state. last year, they had more than 40 and the number keeps growing. the state estimates 10,000 jobs have been created on the sets and by the dozens of local businesses providing everything from catering to computer animation to big spending filmmakers. do you have any idea what they are spending? about $300 million in hard cash and the money circulates through the local economy. that by almost all accounts is just beginning. so good to be home. some are doing well a tracking movie makers, notably louisiana. new mexico claims to have more