Mexico's Drug Lords Target Reporters

The epidemic of violence related to Mexico's drug trade has spilled over into media coverage of the situation, with drug lords attempting to scare journalists out of doing their jobs. Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world for reporters, reports the Christian Science Monitor: Eleven died in 2008. A TV station received a blunt message this week in the form of a grenade and a note that read "Stop reporting on us."

Some journalists have dropped their bylines for anonymity, and many others have shunned the drug beat. The government—itself responsible for many threats—has dragged its feet on protective action. "We risk becoming a blind and deaf country, because the messengers are not telling us what they are observing out of sheer fear," says a legislator. (More Mexico stories.)