Press Freedom Day Mexico USAGM
Metadata
- Press Freedom Day Mexico USAGM
- May 3, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV - PRESS-FREEDOM-DAY-MEXICO HEADLINE: Impunity, Violence a Threat to Media Freedom in Mexico TEASER: Seeking justice and an end to deadly violence confronting Mexico’s journalists PUBLISHED AT: 05/xx/2022 at --:--xm BYLINE: Erika Grothe, Cristina Caicedo Smit CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Mexico City, Mexico VIDEOGRAPHER: Ramiro Palma VIDEO EDITOR: Cristina Caicedo Smit SCRIPT EDITORS: KE, cobus VIDEO SOURCE (S): PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_ TRT: 3:23 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: FOR VOA press freedom. HFR May 3 World Press Freedom Day)) ((INTRODUCTION)) [[The Committee to protect journalists says that Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world to practice journalism outside of an active war zone. Erika Grothe has more from Mexico City. ]] ((NARRATOR)) Investigative journalist Anabel Hernández has weathered attacks and threats to her life for doing her job as a journalist, digging into corruption. ((Anabel Hernández, investigative journalist)) ((IN SPANISH)) “I have lived in involuntary exile since 2014, because the Mexican government has not had the capacity of the state to protect me.” ((NARRATOR)) ((Add map graphic eight deaths 2022, Jessica)) With eight journalists killed so far in 2022, families of victims and international bodies are saying enough is enough. ((Radio: Adela Navarro is director of the news magazine Zeta Weekly)) ((Adela Navarro, Zeta Weekly)) ((IN SPANISH)) “What it means is that we do not have rule of law in Mexico. If we had rule of law, the killers of journalists would be in prison, but in 98 percent of cases, it is not like that.” ((NARRATOR)) Organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists say a big part of the problem is that organized crime has corrupted local and state governments. ((For radio, Jan-Albert Hootsen is the Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists)) ((Jan-Albert Hootsen, Committee to Protect Journalists)) “The existence of organized crime in the vast majority in the regions and states in Mexico their collusion with public officials is extremely important because it means that journalists are not only vulnerable through this, but they also constantly have to deal with extreme power players who are willing to use deadly force against them.” ((NARRATOR)) The press relations office of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told VOA that “progress is being made in the eradication of impunity in crimes against journalists.” Action is being taken against suspects in at least six of the cases from this year, the statement says. ((NARRATOR)) But critics of the government response say that’s not good enough and are addressing the violence through a People's Tribunal on the Murders of Journalists. The tribunal is set up by legal and media rights experts as a way to push for accountability in cases worldwide. ((NARRATOR)) In April, the tribunal came to Mexico City to hold hearings on three cases where prosecutors say the state had direct involvement or was negligent in securing justice. One of the cases is that of Miguel Ángel López Velasco, a journalist from Veracruz, killed alongside his wife and son in 2011. ((Anabel Hernández, investigative journalist)) ((IN SPANISH)) “I think that Miguel, like many other journalists, was isolated, trapped in his own duty, in his own sense of duty. I am sure that he knew perfectly well that what he was doing was dangerous, but nevertheless he prioritized the interest of society.” ((NARRATOR)) Now, more than a decade after his death, the tribunal is trying to raise awareness about the deaths of Velasco and other journalists. ((Radio: Almudena Bernabeu is lead prosecutor People’s Tribunal)) ((Almudena Bernabeu, People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists)) ((IN SPANISH)) “Several aspects that we want to highlight in this process: First, the human tragedy and the brutality of the murder in which we must remember that this journalist Miguel Ángel was murdered with his wife and son.” ((NARRATOR)) The tribunal doesn’t have power to prosecute anyone but instead works to highlight the circumstances of killings and raise awareness. The hope is that by keeping these cases alive, the tribunals can begin to build an environment where journalists can feel a bit more safe doing their jobs. ((For VOA News Erika Grothe, Mexico City))
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV - PRESS-FREEDOM-DAY-MEXICO HEADLINE: Impunity, Violence a Threat to Media Freedom in Mexico TEASER: Seeking justice and an end to deadly violence confronting Mexico’s journalists PUBLISHED AT: 05/xx/2022 at --:--xm BYLINE: Erika Grothe, Cristina Caicedo Smit CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Mexico City, Mexico VIDEOGRAPHER: Ramiro Palma VIDEO EDITOR: Cristina Caicedo Smit SCRIPT EDITORS: KE, cobus VIDEO SOURCE (S): PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_ TRT: 3:23 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: FOR VOA press freedom. HFR May 3 World Press Freedom Day)) ((INTRODUCTION)) [[The Committee to protect journalists says that Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world to practice journalism outside of an active war zone. Erika Grothe has more from Mexico City. ]] ((NARRATOR)) Investigative journalist Anabel Hernández has weathered attacks and threats to her life for doing her job as a journalist, digging into corruption. ((Anabel Hernández, investigative journalist)) ((IN SPANISH)) “I have lived in involuntary exile since 2014, because the Mexican government has not had the capacity of the state to protect me.” ((NARRATOR)) ((Add map graphic eight deaths 2022, Jessica)) With eight journalists killed so far in 2022, families of victims and international bodies are saying enough is enough. ((Radio: Adela Navarro is director of the news magazine Zeta Weekly)) ((Adela Navarro, Zeta Weekly)) ((IN SPANISH)) “What it means is that we do not have rule of law in Mexico. If we had rule of law, the killers of journalists would be in prison, but in 98 percent of cases, it is not like that.” ((NARRATOR)) Organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists say a big part of the problem is that organized crime has corrupted local and state governments. ((For radio, Jan-Albert Hootsen is the Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists)) ((Jan-Albert Hootsen, Committee to Protect Journalists)) “The existence of organized crime in the vast majority in the regions and states in Mexico their collusion with public officials is extremely important because it means that journalists are not only vulnerable through this, but they also constantly have to deal with extreme power players who are willing to use deadly force against them.” ((NARRATOR)) The press relations office of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told VOA that “progress is being made in the eradication of impunity in crimes against journalists.” Action is being taken against suspects in at least six of the cases from this year, the statement says. ((NARRATOR)) But critics of the government response say that’s not good enough and are addressing the violence through a People's Tribunal on the Murders of Journalists. The tribunal is set up by legal and media rights experts as a way to push for accountability in cases worldwide. ((NARRATOR)) In April, the tribunal came to Mexico City to hold hearings on three cases where prosecutors say the state had direct involvement or was negligent in securing justice. One of the cases is that of Miguel Ángel López Velasco, a journalist from Veracruz, killed alongside his wife and son in 2011. ((Anabel Hernández, investigative journalist)) ((IN SPANISH)) “I think that Miguel, like many other journalists, was isolated, trapped in his own duty, in his own sense of duty. I am sure that he knew perfectly well that what he was doing was dangerous, but nevertheless he prioritized the interest of society.” ((NARRATOR)) Now, more than a decade after his death, the tribunal is trying to raise awareness about the deaths of Velasco and other journalists. ((Radio: Almudena Bernabeu is lead prosecutor People’s Tribunal)) ((Almudena Bernabeu, People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists)) ((IN SPANISH)) “Several aspects that we want to highlight in this process: First, the human tragedy and the brutality of the murder in which we must remember that this journalist Miguel Ángel was murdered with his wife and son.” ((NARRATOR)) The tribunal doesn’t have power to prosecute anyone but instead works to highlight the circumstances of killings and raise awareness. The hope is that by keeping these cases alive, the tribunals can begin to build an environment where journalists can feel a bit more safe doing their jobs. ((For VOA News Erika Grothe, Mexico City))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date May 3, 2022 08:02 EDT
- Byline Cristina Caicedo Smit
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America