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Facing impending countrywide protests, Mexican president promises to support media against violence

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  • August 6, 2010

By Ingrid Bachmann

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Calderón said the government could help media outlets in analyzing and adopting security protocols, spearheading anti-violence campaigns, and promoting content that does not help criminal groups, among other proposals, La Crónica de Hoy adds. However, the president failed to state any specific plans to protect journalists, prompting criticism from media workers and the opposition, Milenio explains.

This comes at a time when journalists, citizens, and human rights and press freedom groups have launched the “We want them alive” campaign – through TwitterFacebook, and traditional media outlets – in response to the situation faced by media workers, specifically the recent kidnapping of four Mexican journalists by suspected drug traffickers. The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) has come out in solidarity with the movement, saying that the violence and climate of self censorship restricts citizens’ rights to be informed and the media’s right to report.

massive protest is scheduled for noon, Aug. 7, in Mexico City. Journalists are also organizing similar protests in other parts of the country, like the border city of Juárez.

Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.

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