Violence in the media

Impunity and corruption are at the heart of the problem as Mexico's news professionals are hard hit by violence and threats from many angles in the nation's tangle of rising crime. Journalists Marco Lara Klahr and Francisco Gómez Flores discuss the challenges ahead as new reports try to pinpoint causes and solutions.

133 journalists died in 2009, according to the International News Safety Institute, and most journalists die of attacks committed in peacetime, because of their trade. 9 out of 10 these murders around the world go unprosecuted. Comunidad Segura spoke to Rodney Pinder, head of the institute that is the first of its kind to focus on preventing the risks journalists run, and keeping track of those who fell in the line of duty.

Media professionals, journalists, editors, investigative reporters, blog writers, their decisions on how to report on violent events in the media affect what you see and what you read. A meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, brought into focus not violence, but how the media treats violence, and how the public relates to reporting on security.

"Conventional journalism covers conflict poorly; it highlights violence, it under represents complexity, and omits information on peace-based initiatives" says Australia's Jake Lynch, a proponent of Peace Journalism, in an exclusive interview given to Comunidad Segura.

New tools for teachers take Human Rights and Peace education to classroom via the web. "We are not looking to create mind sets, what we do is offer educators and students tools so that they can gather and use information themselves", said author Peter Lucas.

It took filmmaker Maria Augusta Ramos two years to prepare "Juízo", a movie about juvenile justice in Rio de Janeiro, depicting the real stories of youths in conflict with the law and how they enter the justice system.

In exclusive interview to Comunidad Segura, Marco Lara Klahr explains how Mexico's NGO Insyde promotes the professionalization of media executives and journalists on public security, justice and law enforcement. All this while championing human rights and democracy.

In Brazil's most violent state, journalists make sophisticated body count information available in independent blogs. Along with opinion articles on public security issues and carefully researched stories, the Pernambuco Body Count shows today 1.598 deaths since May 2007.

In Brazil's Paraná State, a project developed by journalism students helps portray life inside a young offender detainment center.

Journalists covering public security  for media outlets increasingly step across internet boundaries, posting work related information in their personal blogs. Why do it? To get closer to their readers, they say.