Abstract

SALAZAR REBOLLEDO, Grisel. Practicing journalism in violent contexts: an empirical analysis of Mexico’s zones of silence. Perf. latinoam. [online]. 2021, vol.29, n.58, 00001.  Epub June 19, 2023. ISSN 0188-7653.  https://doi.org/10.18504/pl2958-001-2021.

Previous studies have shown that criminal violence has pervasive effects on journalists who report it. In Mexico, the so-called “zones of silence” have proliferated. In these places the media have quit reporting about organized crime. In violent contexts some local newspapers have opted for self-censorship while others remain actively reporting. How can we explain these variations? I argue that criminal violence has a deterrence effect over the media only when and where government censorship strategies are undertaken simultaneously, as it is common in hybrid regimes. The evidence comes from an original database of the main local newspapers in Mexico.

Keywords : subnational authoritarianism; media freedom; repression; violence; local media.

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