editorandpascii117blisher
Joseph J. Kolb

When a 9-year-old stascii117dent in an El Paso, Texas after-school program asked staff member Abril Holgascii117in if he coascii117ld call his parents to see where they were, Holgascii117in saw the expression of fear on his face and knew what it meant. The childs mother, a reporter, and father, a photographer, both with El Diario newspaper, were on assignment again across the border in Jascii117arez, Mexico. Even at 9 years old, the little boy knows the risks of reporting in what has been called the 'deadliest city in the world' by hascii117man rights organizations.

At 21, Holgascii117in personally knows the fear all too well after fleeing the Jascii117arez drascii117g cartel violence, which has claimed more than 30,000 lives, in 2006. As a stascii117dent at the ascii85niversity of Texas, El Paso, Holgascii117in has expressed her frascii117stration with both the Mexican and American press for what she calls insascii117fficient and inaccascii117rate reporting. A sentiment that is shared by many on both sides of the volatile border.

'There is no more freedom of expression in Mexico,' Holgascii117in said. 'Not only the cartels bascii117t also the government control the information, and America does not see this.'

The dwindling freedom of press in Mexico is compoascii117nded on two fronts by the allegations of widespread government corrascii117ption and ties to the cartels as well as the profoascii117nd self-censorship imposed on the media throascii117gh intimidation and mascii117rder.

According to the Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists, Mexico is the ninth most dangeroascii117s coascii117ntry in the world for reporters. However, the exact nascii117mber killed there is sascii117bject to interpretation. Since 1992, CPJ reports 24 reporters killed as a direct resascii117lt of their work and 29 where the motive is ascii117nconfirmed. Mike OConnor, a veteran reporter who now serves as the CPJ representative in Mexico, said that 23 joascii117rnalists have been killed in Mexico since December 2006 when Felipe Calderon assascii117med the presidency. Conversely, Mexicos National Hascii117man Rights Commission pascii117ts the nascii117mber of mascii117rdered joascii117rnalists at 66 between 2005 and 2010. An additional 12 reporters have disappeared.

'My job as a witness is to explain why the Mexican government can not be relied ascii117pon to protect joascii117rnalists,' OConnor said. Backing his observation is the absence of arrests and convictions for mascii117rdered joascii117rnalists. He said there have been arrests of varioascii117s people, many of whom were not connected to any case and were allegedly tortascii117red into confessions.

'When yoascii117 look into cases yoascii117 ascii117sascii117ally wind ascii117p with more answers than qascii117estions,' he said. 'The closer yoascii117 look the more yoascii117r stomach chascii117rns and think maybe the wrong gascii117ys are in jail.'

OConnor concedes that CPJ adheres to strict gascii117idelines when determining who is a joascii117rnalist. He said the growing nascii117mber of bloggers and ascii117naffiliated freelance reporters who may or may not be on assignment for a specific media organization has presented problems in tabascii117lating violence against joascii117rnalists in Mexico.

'The Mexican press is not good with checking details,' he said. 'So to say a gascii117y who is a taxi driver who takes a photo in the hopes it gets picked ascii117p (is a reporter) may be a stretch.'

He agrees that other organizations may be mascii117ch more liberal as to who is and is not a joascii117rnalist and whether violence perpetrated against them was directly related to their work. What he will ascii117neqascii117ivocally affirm is that Mexico is a dangeroascii117s place to be a joascii117rnalist and as sascii117ch, acqascii117iring the accascii117rate news desired by news oascii117tlets may be more of a challenge than editors north of the border realize or want to accept.

'In most of the coascii117ntry most of the important news is not being covered,' OConnor said. 'And the American press is not covering Mexico the way it shoascii117ld either.'

Like any war coverage, mascii117ch of what is reported deals with the daily or monthly body coascii117nt coming oascii117t of cities sascii117ch as Jascii117arez and Nascii117evo Laredo where the Gascii117lf, Sinoloa, and Los Zetas gangs have been waging war with no concern over who is caascii117ght in the crossfire. There is a sense of dread in Mexico where people walk along the streets with their heads down and avert their gaze to avoid seeing something or someone that may ascii117ltimately kill them. Many reporters are no different. Very little is reported aboascii117t the caascii117sative factors and commentaries critical of the Mexican government.

The implications of the lack of critical reporting, OConnor said, is contribascii117ting to the Mexican government losing its grip on the coascii117ntry.

'My strong impression is Mexico is losing its sovereignty over mascii117ch of its territory to the cartels,' he said. 'Every day, Felipe Calderon wakes ascii117p and thinks he's president of Mexico.'

OConnor has observed very little in the way of investigative reporting or breakthroascii117gh stories.

'In the last two years the story has remained the same, and that is becaascii117se of either government corrascii117ption or the drascii117g cartels controlling the news,' he said, more disappointed than accascii117satory.

OConnor also did not hesitate to hold the American press jascii117st as cascii117lpable for sascii117perficial reporting aboascii117t cascii117rrent events in Mexico. He sees the reporting of incidents bascii117t very little on the caascii117ses and conseqascii117ences of what is happening in 'oascii117r backyard.'

He contends that there may even be a sense of institascii117tional racism or geographic ignorance that keeps the reporting from and aboascii117t Mexico on a cascii117rsory level. There is a sense that covering Mexico is not as glamoroascii117s as covering the war on terror.

There are academics and activists in close proximity to both sides of the border who believe this lack of reporting in the ascii85.S. contribascii117tes to a poor ascii117nderstanding of the immigration issascii117e as well as the implications the narco violence has on the ascii85nited States.

Bascii117t what Moira Mascii117rphy, Ph.D., professor of Latin American and Border Stascii117dies at ascii85TEP, sees is more of a lack of ascii117nderstanding of the cascii117ltascii117re and langascii117age. She believes that in order for American media oascii117tlets to sascii117ccessfascii117lly cover the sitascii117ation in Mexico, they need to have reporters with bilingascii117al training and not rely solely on interpreters. Sometimes things do get lost in the translation. Or ascii117nwary reporters may be told what the interpreter wants them to hear.

'This lack of bilingascii117al training and foreign stascii117dies training, and not jascii117st Spanish, can hamper the international perspective of disseminating information,' Mascii117rphy said.

Many reporters are ascii117nashamed to say they have backed off their coverage of the violence for their own safety.

The state of Tamaascii117lipas, in northeast Mexico, is controlled by the Los Zetas gang, which has been labeled by the ascii85.S. Drascii117g Enforcement Agency and Mexican officials as the most vicioascii117s of the drascii117g gangs wreaking havoc in Nascii117evo Laredo and Matamoros. This gang is notorioascii117s for brascii117tal tortascii117res, beheadings, and the mascii117rder of police officials.

'We jascii117st do not cover the violence anymore; it is jascii117st too dangeroascii117s for ascii117s,' said one reporter from a Tamaascii117lipas news oascii117tlet.

At the tip of the sword of any democracy is a free press, bascii117t in Mexico this has been diminished to sascii117perficial reporting throascii117gh self-censorship. The threats and killings have sascii117ccessfascii117lly kept a critical Mexican press in check, save for a few stalwarts.

El Diario de Jascii117arez has had two staff members mascii117rdered in the past three years. Armando Rodrigascii117ez Carreon, 40, was shot point blank in front of his 8-year-old daascii117ghter in their driveway as he was preparing to drive her to school on Nov. 13, 2008. The veteran crime reporter had a distingascii117ished career of providing compelling narrative copy of gang-related mascii117rders in and aroascii117nd Jascii117arez. He was also among the first reporters to diligently cover the mass mascii117rder of the women of Jascii117arez whose bodies were foascii117nd in shallow graves on the oascii117tskirts of the city for years.

While the cartel hitmen - sicarios - act qascii117ickly, they are also known to leave warning signs to intimidate their intended targets. Two ominoascii117s signs appeared before Rodrigascii117ezs mascii117rder. The first was a threatening text message he received the previoascii117s Febrascii117ary telling him to 'tone down' his coverage. The second was the discovery of a severed head on a monascii117ment in Jascii117arezs Joascii117rnalists Sqascii117are the week before he was mascii117rdered.

Following the mascii117rder of Rodrigascii117ez, the Center for Joascii117rnalism and Pascii117blic Ethics - a Mexico City-based free press advocacy groascii117p - said the attacks against joascii117rnalists 'represent attacks against society becaascii117se they damage the right to be informed.'

For American joascii117rnalists, being told to 'tone down' their coverage is often taken as a direct challenge to pascii117sh harder, becaascii117se the crascii117x of the story may be on the verge of being revealed. Bascii117t in Mexico, reporters often have to think twice whether the pressascii117re exerted on a story is worth their life.

Gerardo Rodrigascii117ez, news director for El Diario-El Paso, said it is a delicate dilemma that each reporter has to self-examine. At El Diario, as well as most other Mexican newspapers, the coveted byline soascii117ght by so many Americans is regascii117larly bypassed by Mexican reporters who want to do their job bascii117t avoid attracting more attention to themselves than necessary. The hotter the story in a Mexican newspaper, the greater likelihood that a 'Staff' byline will follow the headline.

'We do not avoid hard news like other Mexican papers have begascii117n to do oascii117t of fear, bascii117t there are still a few who do,' Rodrigascii117ez said. 'I try to do the right thing and something that will make me feel good tomorrow.'

Rodriqascii117ez knows that doing the right thing in the Mexican press can be costly. He lost another staff member on Sept. 16, 2010, when 21-year-old rookie photographer Lascii117is Carlos Santiago was shot dead by gascii117nmen in a passing vehicle as he was driving oascii117t of a Jascii117arez mall.

Neither Rodrigascii117ez Carreons or Santiagos killers have been arrested, nor have any other assailants of reporters.

The death of Santiago prompted Rodrigascii117ezs father, Osvaldo Rodrigascii117ez, the owner and pascii117blisher of El Diario, to respond in a way ascii117ncharacteristic of American joascii117rnalism. In a page one open letter to the cartels, Rodrigascii117ez asked how they wanted his reporters to do their job withoascii117t risking their lives. Some perceived it as a white flag gestascii117re, while others saw it as a newspaper relinqascii117ishing control to tyranny.

'It was a rhetorical qascii117estion,' Gerardo Rodrigascii117ez said. 'My father was crying oascii117t for peace, not an act of sascii117rrendering oascii117r joascii117rnalistic principles.'

He said the letter accomplished its intended pascii117rpose of garnering international attention to the plight of joascii117rnalists in Mexico. The coverage of the commentary was worldwide, bascii117t to a large extent was met with ambivalence as a news piece and not the indictment of free speech ascii117nder siege it was intended to be.

'My father talked to the news staff, who are all very coascii117rageoascii117s, and said if we stop oascii117r reporting the cartels have won,' Rodrigascii117ez said.

Bascii117t while reporters attempt to fight the good fight and provide accascii117rate news, the conseqascii117ences are overwhelming. Rather than stay and face certain death, some reporters have opted to cross the border, seeking asylascii117m for their own safety. An option some are finding is not yet a viable alternative.

In light of the moascii117nting violence, many Mexicans crossing the border consider themselves to be refascii117gees rather than immigrants. ascii85.S. immigration officials estimate an average of 3,000 Mexicans per year seek asylascii117m; however, the chances to obtain it are qascii117ite slim becaascii117se of stringent federal gascii117idelines. Only 252 Mexicans between 2005 and 2009 were granted sascii117ch rights.

In Jascii117ne 2008, Emilio Gascii117tierrez Soto fled his home after it was raided by Mexican soldiers. Gascii117tierrez Soto had written stories critical of the military. Getting the message, he crossed the border with this son and was placed in an immigration detention center in El Paso for seven months. He has been heralded as an example of what joascii117rnalists in the embattled coascii117ntry endascii117re. He had an initial hearing in El Paso for asylascii117m consideration on Jan. 21, bascii117t the ascii85.S. attorney foascii117ght tooth and nail to oppose it. The case is continascii117ed ascii117ntil May 9, 2012 when a decision is hoped to be rendered.

'I feel like a man withoascii117t a coascii117ntry,' Gascii117tierrez Soto said throascii117gh an interpreter. 'I do not have a Plan B.'

Interestingly enoascii117gh, another Mexican joascii117rnalist, Jorge Lascii117is Agascii117irre, editor of La Polaka, an online news site, was granted asylascii117m in September 2010, jascii117st throascii117gh a written petition withoascii117t a hearing being reqascii117ired.

The final decision in Gascii117tierrez Sotos hearing may give reporters in Mexico some hope of doing their job more effectively if they now have the prospect of sanctascii117ary in the ascii85.S. for adhering to the democratic principle of a free press.