Norte editor tells readers the paper is closing because the safety of reporters cannot be guaranteed

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This article is more than 2 years old

A newspaper in the Mexican border city of Juárez has announced that it is shutting down because the unpunished killings of journalists in the country have made it too dangerous to go on.

Oscar Cantu Murguia, the editor of Norte, informed readers of his decision in a farewell letter titled “Adios!” that was published on the paper’s front page and online.

Journalist fatally shot while lying in hammock at car wash in Mexico Read more

He cited the recent murder of journalist Miroslava Breach in the city of Chihuahua, which like Juárez is in Chihuahua state. Breach was a reporter for the national newspaper La Jornada and had also collaborated with Norte.

Breach was shot eight times in her car. One of her children was in the vehicle at the time but was not hurt. The gunmen left a note saying: “For being a loud-mouth.”

Announcing the decision to close the paper, Cantu wrote: “On this day, esteemed reader, I address you to report that I have made the decision to close this newspaper due to the fact that, among other things, there are neither the guarantees nor the security to exercise critical, counterbalanced journalism.

“In these 27 years ... we fought against the tide, receiving attacks and punishments from individuals and governments for having exposed their bad practices and corrupt acts that only played to the detriment of our city and the people who live in it.

“Everything in life has a beginning and an end, a price to pay,” he went on. “And if this is life, I am not prepared for any more of my collaborators to pay it, nor with my own person.”

Cantu also mentioned ambiguous financial concerns that he blamed on authorities – “the arrogant refusal to pay debts contracted for the provision of services”.

He vowed to continue “fighting from other trenches, always contributing and being loyal to my ideals and my city”.

A spokesman for Norte told the Guardian that the organisation’s news website would continue to operate.

Juárez, which has a population of 1.3 million people, currently has five local newspapers: El Diario, El Norte, El Mexicano, El PM and Hoy. Norte’s print run was 30,000 copies from Monday to Thursday and 35,000 from Friday to Sunday.



In Mexico, government advertising is a major source of revenue for many news outlets, and media critics say reliance on that often leads to tame coverage and self-censorship.

At least 38 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992 for motives confirmed as related to their work, according the Committee to Protect Journalists. The New York-based media advocacy group says 50 more were slain during the same period for reasons that remain unclear.

“Mexico is clearly going through a deep, full-blown freedom of expression crisis,” said Carlos Lauria, senior program coordinator for the Americas at CPJ. “It’s affecting Mexicans, not only journalists, because the fact that a newspaper closes is depriving people of information that they need in order to take informed decisions.”

The country saw a spate of attacks on journalists in March.

In addition to Breach, who was gunned down as she left home 23 March, two other journalists were killed in Guerrero and Veracruz, both states that are hotspots of drug cartel violence.

Another journalist was shot in Poza Rica, Veracruz on 29 March, leaving him in a critical condition. And an armed attack on a journalist in San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, left his bodyguard dead.</s>If the price of publishing is life, 'I'm not willing to pay,' says publisher

A regional daily newspaper based in Ciudad Juárez, one of whose correspondents was murdered 10 days ago, has ceased publication due to insecurity.

The last edition of Norte, published yesterday, carried a simple but bold headline that said “Adiós!” under which appeared a letter from owner Óscar A. Cantú Murguía, who explained his reasons for putting an end to the 27-year-old publication, whose circulation was about 30,000.

“I have made the decision to close this newspaper due to the fact that, among other things, there are neither the guarantees nor the security to exercise critical, counterbalance journalism . . . . This copy that you have in your hands will be the last edition that Norte of Ciudad Juárez publishes.”

Cantú Murguía wrote “the tragic and heartfelt death of Miroslava Breach Velducea, a contributor to our newspaper, has made me reflect about the adverse conditions under which the practice of journalism currently takes place. High risk is the main ingredient.”

He continued, “Fatal attacks as well as impunity are evidence that we are prevented from freely carrying out our work.”

Breach Velducea, who was also Chihuahua correspondent for the newspaper La Jornada, was gunned down in her car outside her home in the state capital on March 23. A message left at the scene said, “For being a snitch.”

Three journalists were killed in Mexico in March, making it a particularly bloody month for the profession.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Cantú stated, “For me, a free press is a pillar of democracy. If I can no longer do the type of journalism I want to do, I cannot accept it anymore. Enough.”

He added, “ It is an act of protest, it is my way of protesting with silence.” Cantú hopes to help the estimated 150 people who will lose their jobs to find new employment.

In addition to the security concerns, Cantú also cited financial reasons for the paper’s closure, saying all three levels of government left unpaid debts. Government advertising was an important source of revenue for the paper.

Cantú thanked the paper’s readers and advertisers and stated that he was satisfied that he had created hundreds of jobs in the border region and provided experience for people who have gone on to successful careers in both the public and private sectors.

“We fought against the tide, receiving an onslaught of attacks from individuals and governments for exposing their bad practices and acts of corruption which were detrimental to our city and its inhabitants,” Cantú said.

“I fulfilled my duty as a human being and as a citizen as I thought fit to do so and with conviction and love for my city,” he said. Cantú vowed to fight on “from other trenches” but said “everything in life has a beginning and an end and a price to pay. If that price is life, I’m not willing to pay it with the life of one of my collaborators or my own.”

It is expected that the newspaper’s digital site will also soon close.

One hundred and four journalists were killed in Mexico between 2000 and 2016.

Stories from our archives that you might enjoy</s>Norte de Ciudad Juarez is set to shut down due to ongoing violence against journalists, director says.

A Mexican newspaper has announced it will no longer publish after 27 years in existence because of increasing insecurity along the border with the United States.

The director of the newspaper, Norte de Ciudad Juarez, in the state of Chihuahua announced the plans on Sunday to suspend publication in an editorial, saying the decision was made in part due to a lack of guarantees for critical journalism.

The announcement by Oscar Cantu comes just weeks after the shooting to death of a journalist who worked for Norte.

Miroslava Breach, 54, wrote about organised crime for Norte and the publication La Jornada.

She was shot dead in her car by one or more unknown gunmen.

Her death occurred just days after the killing of the director of the news portal El Politico in the state of Veracruz.

Mexico is ranked 149th in Reporters Without Borders' list of countries based on press freedom, which is the most dangerous of any country that is not experiencing war.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said that at least 38 journalists have been killed since 1992 in Mexico with a motive confirmed to be their work.

While Cantu cited security as the main reason for the newspaper closing down, he also referred to economic reasons.

The 'farewell' was also published at the newspaper's website.

"We have always tried to report with the greatest possible amount of truth, objectivity, honesty and transparence."</s>A regional newspaper in northern Mexico has announced it will shut down for security and economic reasons, shortly after one of its journalists was gunned down. The editor said he was not willing to have people pay for reporting with their lives.The Norte de Ciudad Juarez newspaper announced that its Sunday issue would be its last, after more than 27 years in print. Editor Oscar Cantu Murguia informed readers of his decision in an editorial titled " Adios! ", published on the front page and on Norte's website."Everything in life has a beginning and an end, and a price to pay, and if the price is life, I am not prepared for any more of my collaborators to pay it, nor am I prepared to pay it either," he wrote.Breach worked for the national newspaper La Jornada and collaborated with Norte.Announcing the closure of the paper, Cantu said there were "neither the guarantees nor the security to exercise critical, counterbalanced journalism" in the current environment. He also cited financial concerns as a factor, without going into details.Norte was one of five regional newspapers in Juarez, a city with a population of 1.3 million. Its print run was 30,000 copies from Monday to Thursday and 35,000 from Friday to Sunday, according to the Guardian. Norte told the British newspaper that its website would continue to operate for some time.Breach was one of three journalists killed in Mexico in March. Two others survived attacks last month, with one seriously injured.According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based group,</s>The final print edition of Mexican newspaper Norte, closed due to a lack of security after the murder of a reporter who investigated drug gangs (AFP Photo/STR)

Mexico City (AFP) - The Mexican newspaper where a reporter who investigated drug gangs worked until she was murdered has announced it is closing its print edition due to a lack of security.

The director of the Ciudad Juarez-based newspaper, Oscar Cantu, wrote in an article titled "Adios!" that Miroslava Breach's slaying last month led him to reflect on the dangers of practicing journalism in the region, where "high risk is the main ingredient."

Breach, 54, who wrote for the newspapers Norte and La Jornada, was found dead in her vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds to the head on March 23 in the city of Chihuahua, capital of the state of the same name.

Ciudad Juarez, located in Chihuahua state on the US border with Texas, was for years one of the bloodiest battlegrounds in Mexico as drug cartels fought over lucrative smuggling routes into the United States.

Breach reported on organized crime, drug-trafficking and corruption during a 20-year career as a journalist in northern Mexico.

She had recently published a report about a conflict between leaders of the La Linea group, part of the powerful Juarez cartel.

"Deadly attacks as well as impunity in crimes against journalists have become evident, preventing us to freely continue to do our job," Cantu wrote.

"This newspaper that you have in your hands will be the last print edition that NORTE of Ciudad Juarez will publish."

Cantu also blamed the shuttering on the "irresponsible non-compliance" of government offices that had failed to pay for ads in the paper.

"Everything in life has a beginning and an end, a price to pay. And if this is how life is, I'm not willing to have another journalist pay for it" with their life, Cantu wrote.

Breach is the third reporter murdered in one month in Mexico, the third most dangerous country in the world for journalists after Syria and Afghanistan according to the rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

A fourth journalist was fired upon in the eastern state of Veracruz just days after Breach's murder, RSF said.

A record 11 journalists were murdered in Mexico in 2016, according to the rights group Article 19.</s>A Mexican newspaper in the border city of Juarez announced it was closing on Sunday following the violent death of a journalist, saying not one more of its reporters would pay a deadly price for their work.

Oscar Cantú Murguía, the owner of Norte newspaper in Juarez, said in a farewell address to readers that the "tragic" killing of journalist Miroslava Breach on March 23, other "deadly assaults" and the overall lack of security for journalists had made it too dangerous for the publication to continue working freely and safely.

Cantú said Sunday's paper would be the final print edition.

Breach, who was a correspondent for national newspaper La Jornada and also collaborated with Norte, was shot eight times outside her garage and died while she was being taken to the hospital, according to The Associated Press.

La Jornada said Breach was with one of her three children at the time of the attack.

Cantú said that throughout its 27 years, Norte was attacked and punished for exposing acts of corruption. But he said he "was not willing for any more" of his collaborators to pay the price of their lives for their work as journalists under his watch, nor to pay that price himself.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas said at the time that Breach's death was one of three in Mexico in March alone.

Cecilio Pineda Birto, director of the newspaper La Voz de Tierra Caliente, and journalist Ricardo Monlui Cabrera were also gunned down last month, according to the center.

And the Center to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for a thorough investigation of the shooting of veteran journalist Armando Arrieta Granados.

Citing local reports, the CPJ said Arrieta, the editorial director of the Veracruz newspaper La Opinión, was shot as he returned home last week in the city of Poza Rica. He remains in serious condition, according to the center.

The CPJ has identified at least 38 journalists who have been killed in Mexico since 1992 with the motive confirmed to be related to their work.

Fifty more have been killed under circumstances in which the motive was unclear but it was possible they were killed because of their work.</s>Click the photo above to view the print edition for March 30!</s>By Peter Orsi, The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — A newspaper in the Mexican border city of Juarez announced Sunday that it is shutting down because the rampant, unpunished killings of journalists in the country have made it too dangerous to go on.

Norte executive Oscar Cantu Murguia informed readers of his decision in a farewell letter titled “Adios!” that was published on the paper’s front page and online.

He cited the recent murder of journalist Miroslava Breach in the city of Chihuahua, which like Juarez is in Chihuahua state. Breach was a reporter for the national newspaper La Jornada and had also collaborated with Norte.

“On this day, esteemed reader, I address you to report that I have made the decision to close this newspaper due to the fact that, among other things, there are neither the guarantees nor the security to exercise critical, counterbalance journalism,” Cantu wrote.

“Everything in life has a beginning and an end, a price to pay,” he continued. “And if this is life, I am not prepared for any more of my collaborators to pay it, nor with my own person.”

Cantu also mentioned ambiguous financial concerns that he blamed on authorities: “the arrogant refusal to pay debts contracted for the provision of services.”

In Mexico, government advertising is a major source of revenue for many news outlets, and media critics say reliance on that often leads to tame coverage and self-censorship.

At least 38 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992 for motives confirmed as related to their work, according the Committee to Protect Journalists. The New York-based media advocacy group says 50 more were slain during the same period for reasons that remain unclear.

“Mexico is clearly going through a deep, full-blown freedom of expression crisis,” said Carlos Lauria, senior program coordinator for the Americas at CPJ. “It’s affecting Mexicans, not only journalists, because the fact that a newspaper closes is depriving people of information that they need in order to take informed decisions.”

The country saw a spate of attacks on journalists in March.

In addition to Breach, who was gunned down as she left home March 23, two other journalists were killed in Guerrero and Veracruz, both states that are hotspots of drug cartel violence.

Another journalist was shot in Poza Rica, Veracruz, March 29, leaving him in critical condition. And an armed attack on a journalist in San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, left his bodyguard dead.</s>There was the freelance writer, slain at a car wash. Then, the columnist who was shot twice as he left a restaurant with his wife and son. And on March 23, a 54-year-old journalist and mother of three, Miroslava Breach, was fatally shot eight times outside her home while she was in her car with one of her children. A rolled-up piece of cardboard was left with a chilling reason for the crime: “being a tattletale.”

Three Mexican journalists were killed last month in an “unprecedented” wave of violence against the press. The job of a journalist has become so dangerous in the nation that one Mexican newspaper owner has decided he is no longer willing to take on the risk.

In a front-page letter published Sunday with the massive headline “Adios!” the editor of Norte, a newspaper in the Mexican border city of Juarez, announced it would be ending its print publication as a result of the ongoing violence against journalists, killings that often go unpunished.

“On this day, esteemed reader, I address you to report that I have made the decision to close this newspaper due to the fact that, among other things, there are neither the guarantees nor the security to exercise critical, counterbalance journalism,” Norte’s owner, Oscar A. Cantu Murguia, wrote.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Cantu said he also planned to announce the closure of the digital version of the newspaper Monday in a meeting with the publication’s staff. Though the newspaper has faced mounting financial woes, the decision to end its operations came after the killing of Breach, a correspondent for national newspaper La Jornada and collaborator for Norte, a colleague with whom Cantu said he was close.

“Everything in life has a beginning and an end, a price to pay,” Cantu said in the letter, which was also published online. “And if this is life, I am not prepared for any more of my collaborators to pay it, nor with my own person.”

The tragic news of Breach’s death made Cantu angry, tired and “fed up,” he said. Over the course of its 27 years in publication, the newspaper’s reporters have been in “the line of fire” and have faced a number of risks as a result of their coverage, risks that are heightened because of the newspaper’s close proximity to the border, Cantu said. But with the death of Breach, the realities of the profession hit closer to home than ever before.

“For me, a free press is a pillar of democracy,” Cantu said. “If I can no longer do the type of journalism that I want to do … I cannot accept it anymore. Enough.”

Shutting down the print and digital operations will eliminate about 150 jobs, he said, adding that he hopes to help employees relocate to other publications or companies. The closure was a difficult decision, he said, but added, “I would rather they lose their jobs than lose their lives.”

Cantu also attributed the decision to ambiguous financial concerns that he blamed on authorities: “The arrogant refusal to pay debts contracted for the provision of services.” In Mexico, government advertising is a major source of revenue for many news outlets, including Norte. But Cantu said the financial troubles paled in comparison to the dangers.

The risks are especially high for smaller, locally-focused publications such as Norte, Cantu. Killings of journalists who work for national outlets like La Jornada, one of Mexico’s main daily newspapers, are relatively uncommon.

In general, reporters in the country are often “treated as the evil of society,” in a similar way that Trump referred to journalists as the “enemy of the people,” Cantu said.

“It is an act of protest,” Cantu said of the newspaper’s closure. “It is my way of protesting with silence.”

Norte, which printed about 30,000 copies of its newspaper during the week, and 35,000 on the weekend, was one of five local newspapers in Juarez, a border town of 1.3 million people, just south of El Paso, Texas.

At least 38 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992 for motives confirmed as related to their work, according the Committee to Protect Journalists, a media advocacy group based in New York. Fifty more journalists were slain during the same period for reasons that remain unclear.

“Mexico is clearly going through a deep, full-blown freedom of expression crisis,” Carlos Lauria, senior program coordinator for the Americas at Committee to Protect Journalists, told the Associated Press. “It’s affecting Mexicans, not only journalists, because the fact that a newspaper closes is depriving people of information that they need in order to take informed decisions.”

Lauria said he had no evidence that the three killings of journalists last month were linked, but he called Breach’s death “very alarming” and part of a pattern of journalists being murdered with impunity in the country.

Breach was a highly respected, veteran reporter who covered crime, politics and other issues, according to Committee to Protect Journalists. Her death prompted scores of journalists and supporters of free speech to protest in Mexico City.

On March 2, Cecilio Pineda Birto, a freelancer and the founder of La Voz de Tierra Caliente, was killed at a carwash in Ciudad Altamirano, in the state of Guerrero. On March 19, columnist Ricardo Monlui was shot twice near the city of Cordoba in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, a state plagued by warfare between rival criminal groups. At least 1,258 people were murdered in the state last year, according to news reports.

On Wednesday, veteran journalist Armando Arrieta Granados, the editorial director of the daily Veracruz newspaper La Opinion, was shot and gravely wounded by four bullets as he returned to his home in the city of Poza Rica, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Arrieta, a 51-year-old journalist with more than two decades of experience, remained in serious condition in the hospital after the shooting, media reports said.

In light of the news of Norte’s closure, many readers spoke out in solidarity with the owner’s decision, while some reporters lamented the loss of jobs and vital local journalism. Herika Martinez, a reporter and photographer for Norte, tweeted Sunday,”today, a part of journalism in Juarez died.”

One reader commented on the announcement on the newspaper’s website that local journalists “do not deserve to lose anyone else in this fight against those who only see our city, state and country as a bounty for their lust for wealth and power.

“The memory of their struggle will not be erased,” the reader wrote. “Citizens will always be grateful for their valuable dedication to make this world a better place for our children.”</s>With the headline “Adiós!” in large type emblazoned across its front page, a newspaper in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, announced on Sunday that it was shutting down after nearly 30 years, after three journalists from other news organisations were killed last month.

The newspaper, Norte, said in a letter printed on its front page that the killings and the increasing violence and threats against reporters meant that journalism had become a high-risk profession.

“Today, dear reader, I am speaking to you to inform you that I have decided to close this daily because the guarantee for the safety for us to continue journalism does not exist,” newspaper executive Oscar A Cantú Murguía wrote, adding: “Everything in life has a beginning and an end, a price to pay. If this is what life is like, I am not ready for one more of my collaborators to pay for it and I am not either.”

The announcement came after Miroslava Breach Velducea, a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, was shot eight times outside of a garage on March 23rd; a columnist, Ricardo Monlui Cabrera, was shot to death as he left a restaurant with his wife and son on March 19th; and Cecilio Pineda Birto, a freelancer and the founder of La Voz de Tierra Caliente, was killed at a carwash in Ciudad Altamirano on March 2nd.

Norte, which has been publishing for 27 years in Ciudad Juárez, a border city about 10 miles south of El Paso, Texas, had a circulation of about 30,000 daily and 35,000 on Sundays. Murguía wrote that he worked to promote a free press for decades and tried at Norte to “inform with veracity, objectivity, honesty and transparency”.

The deaths of the journalists “have become evidence of things that keep us from freely continuing to work on our jobs”, he wrote.

The Washington Post reported that he was going to announce the shutdown of the newspaper’s digital edition as well. He could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.

A commenter on the newspaper’s Facebook page, Erick Hernandez, wrote that the announcement “hurts in my soul”.

“The memory of your fight will not be erased,” he added. “The citizens will always be grateful for your bravery and effort in making the world a better place for our children.”

Carlos Lauría, a senior programme coordinator with the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Mexico was going through a “deep freedom of expression crisis”, adding that the killings and threats are having a chilling effect on the democratic process, reducing the flow of information to citizens and lawmakers and stifling Mexicans’ ability to engage in public debate.

“There is a climate of pervasive violence and a terrible record of impunity, which is creating a climate where journalists are terrified to go to work,” he said. The committee reported that since 1992, 38 journalists have been killed, with the motives for the slayings confirmed as reprisals for their work.

Based on that figure, the group ranked Mexico as number 11 of the 20 deadliest countries for journalists.

Organised crime is one source of the violence, but it sometimes colludes with public officials, so pinpointing responsibility is often difficult, Lauría said. In an extraordinary response to the violence targeting journalists, another newspaper in Ciudad Juárez, El Diario, in 2010 wrote a front-page editorial in the form of a letter directly to the drug cartels that have been deemed responsible for the deaths of thousands, including two journalists from the newspaper.

“Explain to us what you want from us,” the letter said. “What are we supposed to publish or not publish, so we know what to abide by? You are at this time the de facto authorities in this city, because the legal authorities have not been able to stop our colleagues from falling.”

Lauría said the closing of Norte sent “a terrible signal”, but added: “They are left without any options. You cannot blame them.”
Ciudad Juárez-based newspaper Norte closes its print edition, citing a lack of security in Mexico.