Bernardo Ruiz’s documentary on the dangers of reporting on cartel activities in Mexico premieres tonight on PBS.
“Reportero” follows veteran reporter Sergio Haro and his colleagues at Zeta, a Tijuana-based independent news weekly, as they work in one of the deadliest places in the world for members of the media.
Since Zeta was founded in 1980, co-founder Hector Félix Miranda and editor Francisco Ortiz were murdered and co-founder and publisher Jesús Blancornelas suffered a vicious assasination attempt. He later died in 2006.
Since December 2006, more than 50 journalists have been killed or disappeared in Mexico.
To prevent government censorship, Blancornelas opted for printing the weekly just outside of San Diego since Zeta’s founding, something which continues to this day.
Bernardo, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico, is the director/producer of the documentary. Claudio Rocha is the cinematographer. Patricia Benabe is co-producer and Carla Gutiérrez is the editor.
“Reportero” is a co-production of Quiet Pictures, ITVS, and Latino Public Broadcasting with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
You can learn more about the film and the documentary’s producers on their website.