Shattering Barriers to Reveal Corruption
Barriers to reporting on corruption are numerous. Pushing past them can be risky, especially in countries where powerful interests are entrenched in business, media organizations, and government. Arrest. Legal action. Forced exile. Threats. Murder. Journalists face such dangers where the fear of what reporters might discover creates a climate of censorship and caution in newsrooms. Journalists describe the toll taken to tell stories about the corruption in their own backyards. Those who support their efforts speak to emerging strategies of training and assistance.
2010 has been a violent year for journalists in Mexico in terms of murders and attacks.
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“The Mexican Press: At the Crossroads of Violence”
- Elia Baltazar and
Daniela PastranaA report by the Center for Journalism and Public Ethics (Centro de Periodismo y Ética Pública) recorded attacks against 139 journalists and 21 media organizations—13 of which involved guns or explosives—in 25 states throughout Mexico. In addition, that report, "State of Freedom of Expression in Mexico 2010" (Situación de la Libertad de Expresión en México 2010), affirmed that two journalists were forced to flee the country after receiving death threats.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ),"Ten [Mexican] journalists were killed, at least three in direct relation to their work." Arrests have been made in only one case.
Although the lack of legal investigations makes it hard to find accurate figures, the National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos) reports that 36 journalists have been murdered in the course of their work since President Felipe Calderón took office on December 1, 2006.
While it is difficult to track the disappearances of journalists, a continuing and painful expression of the violence is that nine journalists remain missing. The earliest case dates to 2005; three journalists disappeared in 2010, according to CPJ.
RELATED ARTICLE
“The Mexican Press: At the Crossroads of Violence”
- Elia Baltazar and
Daniela PastranaA report by the Center for Journalism and Public Ethics (Centro de Periodismo y Ética Pública) recorded attacks against 139 journalists and 21 media organizations—13 of which involved guns or explosives—in 25 states throughout Mexico. In addition, that report, "State of Freedom of Expression in Mexico 2010" (Situación de la Libertad de Expresión en México 2010), affirmed that two journalists were forced to flee the country after receiving death threats.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ),"Ten [Mexican] journalists were killed, at least three in direct relation to their work." Arrests have been made in only one case.
Although the lack of legal investigations makes it hard to find accurate figures, the National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos) reports that 36 journalists have been murdered in the course of their work since President Felipe Calderón took office on December 1, 2006.
While it is difficult to track the disappearances of journalists, a continuing and painful expression of the violence is that nine journalists remain missing. The earliest case dates to 2005; three journalists disappeared in 2010, according to CPJ.
