Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels that have basically run Mexico for years, our neighbor has been bogged down in violence that is bringing more immigrants to the U.S. and severely undermining the government of a country that is extremely important and extremely close.
But you wouldn't know this from the coverage these problems receive in our nation's newspapers. When four teenagers were savagely killed in Tijuana, including a young man who attended school in my girlfriend's hometown of Chula Vista, California, most newspapers ran a short brief, if anything at all. The L.A. Times and brave reporter Richard Marosi, however, went in-depth to tell their readers about the savagery directed at children and women in this town just across the border from San Diego.
This morning, when Mexico finally captured the man most likely responsible for much of the Tijuana violence, the Times splashed it as their lead item on their website, as it deserves.
What do other newspapers believe is more important in the world?
The New York Times and Washington Post are leading their world coverage with the news that an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed by a bike bomb. Does this matter as much as the stability of our closest neighbor and NAFTA partner? Not to me.
The Wall Street Journal believes the most important world news to Americans is that China is cutting the amount banks can lend. Considering how much money we make and spend in our trade with Mexico, internal Chinese financial dealings are not as important.
The most prominent world story at the San Francisco Chronicle's sfgate.com? This piece of drivel.
The death and destruction in the Mexican drug wars is immensely important to the United States. Violence will send more and more immigrants across our borders illegally, turning the Southwest into a refugee camp for innocent Mexicans attempting to protect their families from the narcos and overzealous soldiers who are destroying their lives.
Eventually, a nation spiraling out of control on our Southern border will destroy trade and create a law enforcement nightmare, with some of these gangs spilling over into Texas, Arizona and California. Even if that doesn't happen, Americans are already being targeted in Mexico, and that will only increase.
Unfortunately, only the people who read the Los Angeles Times will know about these issues. With newspapers cutting back on foreign bureaus, world news has taken a gigantic hit from the cutbacks of the 21st century. In particular, Mexico has been ignored, possibly because the narcotraficante gangs target reporters who accurately portray their brutalities and ties to local government officials.
But being a journalist means standing up to those who would threaten you in order to report to the people necessary information. And even those newspapers that can not afford a reporter in Mexico rarely play up the Associated Press stories detailing the atrocities that play out every day, ignoring our neighbor to the south for stories about Asia and the Middle East.
Most towns, especially in the West, have a substantial Mexican population that needs to know what is happening in their ancestral home, but their local newspapers continue to ignore them and this important story. Whether because of fear or ignorance, the news editors of these papers turn their back on a story that will have more of an effect on this country than any not involving American service members at work overseas.
Thank you, L.A. Times, for bucking this trend and providing readers who know the importance of your work with timely and informative updates. I hope Richard Marosi and his cohorts are well-rewarded for their work, and I hope it shames other papers into following your lead.
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