Abstract

ESPINO SANCHEZ, Germán. Precarious Journalists in Mexico: Trapped between Market Forces and the Pressures from Local Governments. Rev. mex. cienc. polít. soc [online]. 2016, vol.61, n.228, pp.91-120. ISSN 0185-1918.

Reports issued on a number of Mexican states confirm that although competitive elections are held in all Mexican states, the intervention of state governments in local media is still customary. Journalist are hired under precarious labor conditions thus giving the local government much leeway to coopt their editorial line in exchange for economic resources. This research reveals how local media journalists have sustained an officials pro government editorial line, just as they did in the authoritarian days, and it analyses their current situation based on the "journalist professionalization" and "state control of local media" variables. The Mexican state of Queretaro was taken as case study for this research; journalists and former government officials were interviewed; content analysis was carried out, and a number of secondary sources were collected depicting the relationship between governors and local media in Mexico. Hence, data analyses suggest that the state of Queretaro can stand as an example of the control exerted by governors on local media.

Keywords : local media; authoritarianism; journalists; governors; precarious employment; governance alternation.

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