Knight Center for Journalism offers Mexican journalists training in how to cover drug trafficking

Posted by Christie Silk on July 6, 2009 at 9:33 AM

Mexican journalists are being offered the opportunity to follow specialist training in "Covering Drug Trafficking". The online course, offered by the US-based Knight Center for Journalism, "combines conceptual problems and practical elements that will help journalists understand and provide responsible coverage of the complex topic of drug trafficking".

According to the programme's instructor, Columbian journalist, Álvaro Sierra, there are currently deficiencies in the way the drug situation is treated; the focus on the most scandalous and bloody aspects distracts from more productive discussions, such as anti-drug policy, monitoring the complexity of drug movement and the existing literature on the topic.

The training is co-sponsored by the Mexico City-based Center for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET). The online course was first offered by the Knight Center last April and was followed by over 50 journalists from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Training programmes such as this one underline the importance of background knowledge and issue-specific training for reporters charged to deal with particularly dangerous stories. The endemic drug trade in Mexico, like a variety of other situations across the globe, could be directly affected by the nature of the journalistic coverage it receives. The campaign to end the drugs trade, indeed, necessitates responsible, informed and independent reporting. Moreover, journalists investigating such stories do so at great personal danger and greater training could help to reduce the chances of unnecessary risks.

In May, a journalist was murdered by a drug cartel- the 50 journalist to be killed in Mexico since 2000, a number of which have been related to the narcotic scene. Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

Sources: The Guardian
              The Knight Centre for Journalism
              Earth Times
              Reporters Without Borders