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Huatulco

Seven Things the World Thinks about Mexican Journalism

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By Deborah Van Hoewyk

Ethical Journalism Network (U.K.): Truly independent media are found only in the most developed cities – Guadalajara, Monterrey and México City. In outlying states, governors control the media and journalists have little or no culture of independence.
http://www.ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/

Salzburg Global Seminar (Austria): Ownership of the media is concentrated in the hands of two entities – TV Azteca and Televisa. With close ties to government, the media giants get the bulk of their funding from public sources, which in turn influences media coverage.
http://www.salzburgglobal.org/news/latest-news/article/protecting-reporters-and-improving-journalism-in-mexico

Columbia Journalism Review (U.S.): There are 51 community radio stations across Mexico, serving poor rural and indigenous areas that lack other forms of media. They’re often prominent advocates in local human rights struggles, giving voice to social movements not covered in the mainstream press. In a country where both journalists and activists face serious repression, community radios are at the nexus of the struggle for freedom of expression. http://www.cjr.org/analysis/mexico-radio-news-media.php

Reporters without Borders (France): Press freedom is guaranteed in the Mexican Constitution and a specific Law Regarding Freedom of the Press was passed in 1917. Censorship abounds, however, imposed with threats or direct attacks against the journalists rather than lawsuits, imprisonment, or official suspension of broadcast or distribution activities. http://www.rsf.org/en/country/mexico

University of Navarra (Spain): Between 2000 and 2022, 150 journalists in Mexico were murdered. In the first three years of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s term, 36 were killed [it reached 55 by the end of year 4, 2022]; for Enrique Peña Nieto, it was 19, for Felipe Calderón, it was 29. Under AMLO, the first three years saw an 85% increase in all attacks on journalists.
http://www.unav.edu/web/global-affairs/the-skyrocketing-number-of-journalists-murdered-in-mexico

Amnesty International (U.K.): In 2012, Mexico created the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. The Protection Mechanism is considered a failure, with enrolled journalists still experiencing attacks; two have been killed. The Protection Mechanism needs a major overhaul, and analysis “reveals an increasing tendency by the Mechanism to deny, weaken or withdraw journalists’ protective measures, despite the clear and present dangers journalists continue to face.”
http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/mexico-killings-journalists-strengthen-federal-mechanism

Committee to Protect Journalists (U.S.): Part of the John S. and James L. Knight Press Freedom Center, the CPJ maintains an “Impunity Index” of countries where journalists are killed, and their murderers go unpunished. In Mexico, 90% of journalist killings go unpunished; Mexico has appeared on the Impunity Index for the 16 years it has been in existence. http://www.cpj.org/2023/10/faces-of-impunity-across-the-world/

    Huatulco

    Carmen Aristegui: An Unyielding Force in Journalism

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    By Kary Vannice

    There’s one woman every Mexican president since Felipe Calderón (2006-12) has feared, and that’s Carmen Aristegui, one of Mexico’s most influential and fearless journalists. Known for her sharp, tough demeanor and relentless investigative journalism, Aristegui has become a powerful voice against injustice, corruption, and attacks on press freedom in Mexico.

    Aristegui’s 20-plus-year career is marked by an unwavering commitment to truth, transparency and accountability. She has worked in every facet of journalism, print, radio and television. Most notably, she anchored the news program Aristegui on CNN en Español and currently hosts a daily CNN podcast of the same name. In 2012, she started her own news website, Aristegui Noticias, a highly renowned news program in Mexico and Latin America, with a vast viewership of over 45 million people each month.

    One of the most notable aspects of Aristegui’s career is her refusal to stay silent in the face of adversity. Shockingly, Mexico has the highest death rate of journalists in the world. When asked about this in an interview, Aristegui said, “It’s a disgrace that persists because it goes hand in hand with the impunity of a country without a justice system willing to punish those responsible. Few of the perpetrators have been prosecuted, which is almost an invitation to murder for those who feel threatened by journalism.”

    During her acceptance speech in 2023 for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Grand Prize for Press Freedom, Aristegui stated: “Mexico is one step away from being considered a country with high restrictions on press freedom, significantly related to the ‘constant’ attacks by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador against the media, journalists, critics and other powers of the Republic.” She went on to say, “When a journalist is murdered, a person is murdered, a professional is murdered, but society’s right to be informed and to know what that journalist had to report is also murdered.”

    Throughout her illustrious career, Carmen Aristegui has faced numerous challenges and has been a constant target for those who seek to silence her. Her fearless pursuit of truth and unwavering commitment to investigative journalism have made her a thorn in the side of those in power. Her illegal termination from MVS Radio in 2015, following her report on the conflict of interest concerning home purchases by then-President Enrique Peña Nieto, was a glaring example of the pressures she faced. The termination, widely regarded as an act of censorship, sparked outrage and widespread public protests that resulted in Aristegui’s reinstatement a few days later, but nonetheless drew attention to the vulnerability of journalists in Mexico who dared to expose corruption at the highest levels of government.

    Aristegui’s resilience in the face of adversity became even more apparent as she endured not only censorship but also personal attacks and ridicule throughout her career. At the end of last year, she was once again at the center of the high-profile “Pegasus” spyware, used by the Mexican government for covert surveillance of Mexican citizens. She was called to give testimony about how she and her teenage son were allegedly spied on during the years Enrique Peña Nieto was in office.

    Her sharp and critical reporting style, aimed at holding those in power accountable, has made her a lightning rod for criticism, yet Aristegui has weathered the storm with grace and determination, refusing to be deterred from her journalistic mission.

    Despite the many attempts to undermine her credibility and silence her voice, Aristegui has emerged as a symbol of journalistic integrity and resilience. Her ability to persevere in the face of censorship and ridicule underscores the importance of a free press and the crucial role of journalists in holding the powerful accountable.