AP's Mark Stevenson: We Need to Level the Playing Field for Reporters in Mexico Teresa Mioli - Knight Center for Journalism
go to original October 22, 2015

Mexican journalists fleeing for their lives find asylum hopes in “El Paso” (Artegios)

Associated Press journalist Mark Stevenson’s reporting from Mexico showcases the country’s natural beauty, rich history and modern struggles for readers around the world. His ability as an investigator has led to concrete results for residents of his adopted country where misdeeds often go unpunished.

The Cabot Prize recognized Stevenson and three other journalists for outstanding reporting in the Americas during a ceremony at Columbia University in New York City on Oct. 14.

“He has ventured into some of the most remote and dangerous corners of the country, stepping surefootedly in areas where others fear to tread,” the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism said in the award announcement.

The prize highlighted a recent report the journalist produced about a mass killing in the rural south-central Mexican town of Tlatlaya. In June 2014, Stevenson and his colleagues followed up on a government press release that said 22 drug gang members were killed and just one army solider was injured in a confrontation. The journalists went to the site, interviewed witnesses, and according to the AP, “found little evidence of an extended shootout.”

Subsequent investigations have pointed to possible extrajudicial killings of the suspected gang members and others and several soldiers have been charged, though some have since been released.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas spoke with 2015 Cabot Prize recipients Lucas Mendes, Raúl Peñaranda and Simon Romero about their careers and the state of journalism. For the final installation of the series, we spoke with Stevenson about investigative reporting and challenges faced by the Mexican press.

Read the interview at Knight Center for Journalism

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