Professionalism Under Threat of Violence

Abstract

Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, as more than 100 journalists have been murdered between 2000 and 2014, with almost half of those killed in the country's northern states. Through an analysis of in-depth interviews with journalists in northern Mexico, this qualitative study examines the relationship between an environment of violence and journalists' perceptions about professionalism. Utilizing the concepts of professional reflexivity and collective professional autonomy, the authors analyze and discuss the complexities and contradictions of professional identity among journalists during a time of unprecedented violence.

KEYWORDS:

• collective professional autonomy
• journalists
• Mexico
• news media
• professionalism, reflexivity
• United States–Mexico border
• violence

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank all of the journalists who participated in this study. In addition, we acknowledge and appreciate the reviewers’ comments, which helped to strengthen the article. Finally, we thank Kedi Xia for creating the map for this study.

Notes

1. From the Red de Periodistas de Juárez website (http://reddeperiodistasdejuarez.org/).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies, Title VI Grant, US Department of Education; University of Arizona Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute; and the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy.