A dangerous profession: Journalism in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
As difficult of a job as journalism can be, many stick with it, letting their passion for the profession drive them to higher and greater heights. But how many can continue to persevere when their lives are constantly on the line? For this reason, no animosity should be held toward the individuals working for the now-defunct newspaper El Norte de Ciudad Juarez in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. As of April 2, 2017, the 27-year-old publication has cut its losses and shut down.
The country of Mexico isn’t particularly hospitable to journalists on the whole — according to Reporters Without Borders, Mexico came third on the list of “most dangerous countries to report in” of 2016 with 9 fatalities. Removing countries that are in a state of war from the list puts Mexico at the very top. This year’s shaping up to be just as bloody, if not more so — according to statistics, last month alone (March, 2017) three journalists died from causes related to their work, most often due to gang violence. As if gangs weren’t enough to contend with, many journalistic practices have to deal with the machinations of their own government. According to the Center for Analysis and Investigation in Mexico, most funding for newspapers comes directly from the government, upwards of 70 percent in some cases. If the papers don’t print what the government deems as acceptable, the government pulls its funding, forcing the papers to walk a thin line between actual news reporting and being able to pay their staff.
In Ciudad Juarez in specific, the papers have to balance between the hard limits of the government and the capriciousness of the gangs. The city is like a real-world Gotham, with different gangs leaving marks with those they’ve killed as a calling card, broadcasting different messages to the city written in blood. Many of these murders are perpetrated with the intent of getting a media source’s attention, which can put them in a difficult situation by reporting between rival gangs. In some cases, the mere act of reporting on the crime can send the message that the news organization is aligned with the gang who did the killing, painting a target on their back and getting their reporters killed. It’s a catch-22 either way, as not reporting on the crime is just as dangerous with reporters being kidnapped or injured until the original killing is covered.
El Norte de Ciudad Juarez had to deal with both of these issues: the government and gangs both leaving their mark on the organization and draining their resources. Losing three journalists in a month was the last straw — Miroslava Breach was the final victim, murdered on March 23 for “being a snitch,” according to the Los Angeles Times. A statement from the governor of Chihuahua (wherein Ciudad Juarez is located) said that “Miroslava denounced organized crime and also acts of corruption in the state Chihuahua, and that work is now our main line of investigation.”
This is an interesting statement coming from a governing member, as the information that Breach covered frequently pertained not only to murders committed by the gangs, but also the shortcomings of the government in dealing with the situation that has been plaguing the country for years. Breach’s final writings pertained to the discovery of clandestine graves, the deaths of several police officers killed in an ambush, and the bodies of three brothers that were discovered decapitated in a rural mountain town. Not only does this reflect poorly on the government, showing their utter lack of control, but also features calls to action against the local gangs, angering people on both sides of the legal spectrum. Some may say that the statement regarding her death is just the government saving face, as she was one of the louder voices against their incompetence.
At the end of the day, the closure of El Norte de Ciudad Juarez is a blow to journalism across the country as one of the longest established papers closes its doors for good. The final letter written by owner Oscar A. Cantú Murguía addressed the state of journalism in the country, containing a plea for justice for journalists. In pertinent selections translated to English, it reads “High risk is the main ingredient of journalism today. Deadly assaults, enacted with impunity against journalists, prevent us from continuing freely with our work. This day, … I am writing to inform you that I have taken the decision to close this morning because … there are no guarantees or security to exercise critical, counterweight journalism. Everything in life has a beginning and an end, a price to pay. And if this is life, I am not willing to be paid by one more of my collaborators, nor with my person.” Without any promise of safety for reporters in the country, the profession of journalism is becoming even less popular.
Source List:
I contacted 12 different newspapers across the Mexican border region, 0 responded even after repeated requests. El Norte de Ciudad Juarez was one of those papers, and due to the circumstances of its closure, I could get no interview from them. Instead, here are the stored sources I drew from.
nortedigital.mx/adios/ (Spanish)
http://rsf.org/en/news/2016-round-74-journalists-killed-worldwide
www.fundar.org.mx/mexico/pdf/LibertadDigitalOk.pdf (Spanish)
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-journalist-murders-20170323-story.html
