Tracy Wilkinson of the Los Angeles Times has explained the new word in the Mexican news industry: narco-censorship. "It's when reporters and editors, out of fear or caution, are forced to write what the traffickers want them to write, or to simply refrain from publishing the whole truth."

"We don't like the silence. But it's survival." News events are either omitted, or heavy euphemisms used. For example, newspapers reported a heavy battle between the army and some henchmen in Ciudad Juarez as "soldiers" engaging "armed civilians."

The casualty rate of reporters increased in 2006 when President Felipe Calderon declared a war against the drug cartels, but the situation recently escalated. "A ferocious increase in violence, including the July 26 kidnapping of four reporters, has pushed the profession into a crisis never before seen, drawn renewed international attention and spurred fresh activism on the part of Mexican newsmen and women."

Mexico is currently one of the most unsafe countries for journalists and reporters came together to protests this fact by holding demonstrations on August 7. The UN has recognized the situation by sending a Mission to report on the existing dangers to freedom of expression

In the words of Wilkinson, "Few killings are ever investigated, and the climate of impunity leads to more bloodshed." This is a really frustrating work environment, as journalists remain "haunted by the knowledge that they are failing in their journalistic mission of informing society."

Source: Los Angeles Times