Reporting news in Mexico – a risky business
Generally, press freedom index in Mexico does not fare well, and the country remains among the nations with the worst press freedom index in Latin America. One of the reasons for such poor results is the lack of diversification in the press and media market, with a large number of newspapers, radio stations, and websites concentrated under one company – Organización Editorial Mexicana. Interestingly, the share of people in Mexico who trust journalists stands at 33 percent, the sixth highest in a ranking of 28 countries worldwide and above Malaysia, Turkey, and the U.S. as well as a number of EU member states. So, despite the government’s effort to discredit journalists, Mexicans maintain a level of faith in their work. The risks and hazards associated with this profession in Mexico are nevertheless substantial. Sadly, Mexico ranks as the world’s most unsafe country for journalists and has kept this status for at least a decade, with 80 journalists killed in the country since 2012.Digital news consumption in Mexico
Despite the troubles within the industry, news consumption in Mexico remains high, especially via digital platforms. Early 2023 data shows that the internet, including social media, is the go-to news source for 80 percent of respondents in the country. In comparison, only 20 percent of news consumers in Mexico used print media for this purpose and 42 percent watched TV to get the news. Facebook leads the pack among other social networks used to access news, followed by YouTube and WhatsApp. However, when it comes to popular online news brands, the ones associated with offline media, such as TV Azteca or longstanding newspaper El Universal, are the most popular sources of information for people in Mexico.Mexican news agencies – state of the industry
Official statistical office data points to a decline in the press agencies sector in Mexico. While the number of establishments in the news agencies industry has remained stable since 2017, both the workforce and revenues decreased in recent years. Between 2020 and 2021 the number of people working in news agencies in Mexico declined by more than a thousand, and in relation to the highs of 2017, employment shrank by 35 percent. On the financial front, news agencies have also been seeing consistently lower revenue results, with the latest figures falling below 175 million Mexican pesos, down by over 100 million from 2017. News syndicates’ revenues in the United States on the other hand have been on the rise since 2017 and surpassed 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.
