A T.V. crew for Milenio Televisión was attacked and restrained by a mob while working on an investigative report outside the ranch of the leader of an electricians union, in the town of Tetepango, north of Mexico City, reported local media.
Reporter Javier Vega and cameraman Juan Carlos Martínez were surrounded by a group of presumed ranch workers, who broke the windows and punctured the tires of the journalists' vehicle, and beat the journalists, according to the newspaper Milenio, part of the same media chain as the station where the attacked journalists work. According to the editorial director of Milenio Televisión, Roberto López, the journalists were not seriously hurt, and they were rescued by police, added the news agency Notimex.
The attorney general has initiated an investigation into the attack. Meanwhile, the union leader and ranch owner, Martín Esparza, filed a lawsuit alleging that the journalists invaded his ranch, reported SDPnoticias.com.
In another instance of agression against Milenio in the central state of Puebla, a local representative shoved Milenio photographer Luis Hernández during the legislative assembly. The newspaper reported that the legislator became angry when Hernández received a phone call on his cell during the event.
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.
