The Mexican Press and Civil Society, 1940-1976: Stories from the Newsroom, Stories from the Street

Description

Mexico today is one of the most dangerous places in the world to report the news, and Mexicans have taken to the street to defend freedom of expression. As Benjamin T. Smith demonstrates in this history of the press and civil society, the cycle of violent repression and protest over journalism is nothing new. He traces it back to the growth in newspaper production and reading publics between 1940 and 1976, when a national thirst for tabloids, crime sheets, and magazines reached far beyond the middle class. As Mexicans began to view local and national events through the prism of journalism, everyday politics changed radically. Even while lauding the liberty of the press, the state developed an arsenal of methods to control what was printed, including sophisticated spin and misdirection techniques, covert financial payments, and campaigns of threats, imprisonment, beatings, and even murder. The press was also pressured by media monopolists tacking between government demands and public expectations to maximize profits, and by coalitions of ordinary citizens demanding that local newspapers publicize stories of corruption, incompetence, and state violence. Since the Cold War, both in Mexico City and in the provinces, a robust radical journalism has posed challenges to government forces. Cover Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Used in the Text Introduction Part I: The Reading Public​ Chapter One. Who Read What? The Rise of Newspaper Readership in Mexico, 1940–1976 Part II: The Mexico City Press​ Chapter Two. How to Control the Press: Rules of the Game, the Government Publicity Machine, and Financial Incentives Chapter Three: The Year Mexico Stopped Laughing: The Press, Satire, and Censorship in Mexico City Chapter Four. From Catholic Schoolboy to Guerrilla: Mario Menéndez and the Radical Press Part III: The Regional Press​ Chapter Five. How to Control the Press (Badly): Censorship and Regional Newspapers Chapter Six. The Real Artemio Cruz: The Press Baron, Gangster Journalism, and the Regional Press Chapter Seven. The Taxi Driver: Civil Society, Journalism, and Oaxaca’s El Chapulín Chapter Eight. The Singer: Civil Society, Radicalism, and Acción in Chihuahua Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z