The municipality of Papantla in the northern part of Veracruz, Mexico, is a quiet and peaceful town in the eastern region of the country. However, all of the peace changed on March 30. The tranquil streets of the town transformed into a combination of blood and death when a reporter named María Elena Ferral Hernández was shot with a gun in broad daylight.

She lost her life in the hospital a few hours after the incident. She was the first journalist in Mexico to have died in the year. Mexico is one of the deadliest places in the world for journalists.


A Threat to People in the News Industry

The news industry of Mexico is overwhelmed by violence, impunity, and instability. Since 1992, at least 120 journalists have been murdered in the country.

 According to information from various sources, including Article 19 and the Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ, it is estimated that the impunity rate for deaths caused by murder to workers in the media in Mexico tops 90 percent. The majority of these groups see the job of a reporter in Mexico as more dangerous compared to other countries not involved in a war. Mexico ranks 144th in RSF's Press Freedom Index out of 180 nations.


Decreasing Interest among Potential Journalism Students

Most of the classrooms that once were filled by people like María Elena Ferral Hernández are now empty. Hernández had been in the news industry for thirty years. She was the founder of a local news outlet located in Veracruz.

The news industry had seen deaths and disappearances of the very few journalists that Mexico has. A lot of Mexican journalists continue to put their lives at risk while on the streets. This problem is typically displayed in classrooms where there is a decreasing interest in journalism among prospective students due to the low wages and increased occupational risk.

However, those who are left serving the people by providing news and reports about current events are keeping the news industry in the country alive. But for how long?


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Schools and Their Journalism Programs

In 2012, two universities in Mexico, Universidad de Morelia, and Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla or UPAEP, announced the termination of their journalism programs. Universidad Veracruzana has also been reporting a declining number of enrollment in their journalism programs.  

The program of UPAEP had more or less ten enrolled students during the time of the termination of the program. In comparison to the United States of America colleges, it is typical for U.S. colleges to have at least ten students per semester.

Recently, the trend had revealed a little sign of reversal. After eight years, the surviving journalism programs in Mexico, such as in Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City is seeing good enrollment numbers.