Writing Sample: Analytical Report

As part of my Technical Writing Class at The University of Texas at El Paso, we were

asked to create an analytical report on a topic relating to our area of study. Due to the fact that I
am studying Communication Studies with a minor in Rhetoric and Writing, I decided to
incorporate these two things together. I did research on the differences on news reporting in the
sister cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. I conducted extensive secondary
research of news reporting in both countries and the area specifically. My primary research
consisted of a case study of an event that happened exactly at the border line, interviews with
experts from both cities, and surveys from residents of both cities.
This sample showcases my ability to do research, both primary and secondary, while
incorporating the different skills I have learned from both Communication Studies and Rhetoric
and Writing.
Differences in News Reporting in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua and El Paso
Texas
Estefania Castillo
December 4, 2015
ecastillo11@miners.utep.edu

Executive Summary
The cities of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas are interrelated due to their close
proximity and shared community. Information is constantly shared between these two cities, but
there is a difference in the way that the news is reported to the residents of the area. I wanted to
find out why the differences exist, how they affect the news that is reported, and how the
differences can be reduced. Qualitative research methods were used to gather information about
the subject that would answer the research questions. Extensive secondary research was done
first in order to get important background information about the current situation. The violence
in Mexico affected the way that information was reported due to growing fear from journalists
because of threats and killings that occurred. Journalists adopted self-censorship in order to
protect themselves (Relly & Gonzalez de Bustamante, 2013). In El Paso, journalists adopted
peace journalism which focused on presenting stories from a neutral and more positive
perspective (Lacasse & Forster, 2012). The frequent use of yellow journalism in Mexico also
affects the news that people receive. Yellow journalism is when graphic and explicit stories are
printed in order to attract attention by the people (Iglesias Ortiz, 2013). Yellow journalism is not
commonly used in news outlets in the United States because it is frowned upon. Both of these
things are reasons why news varies in the two cities, and the residents ultimately end up with
missing or incomplete information from both cities. A case study was conducted with a news
event that occurred in the border region. News reports of the same event from different outlets
from each city were compared in order to see what the differences were. Even though the topic
that was discussed was the same, there was a big lack of detail in the El Paso reports that left the
reader without background information. This affects the amount of information people receive
from the news outlets about events in the area. Next, interviews were conducted with
professionals in the news media from both cities in order to obtain a professional opinion on the
issue. Both professionals pointed out that there are differences and they are mainly tied in with
the self-censorship that is implied in the news reports from Ciudad Juarez They also pointed out
that the use of graphic information also impacts what information is used, by printing what will
gain more attention (personal correspondence November 26, 2015; personal correspondence
December 1, 2015). Lastly, a survey was conducted with people in the area to gain the
perspective of the general public. The people in the area are aware of the differences that exist,
even though most people think news from El Paso is more reliable, they prefer to get their news
from Ciudad Juarez, who this think has more detailed information. This causes a problem
because people prefer detail over reliability. These issues do exist, and people in the area are the
ones that are the most affected by this situation. There needs to be more consistent distribution of
information in the two cities. In order to do this, news reporters from both cities should have
more direct communication in order to fully investigate an event or issue before reporting to the
public. Next, boundaries should be set up by news outlets in both cities in order to ensure the
safety of the reporters. Once reporters feel that they will be safe, they will be able to report
without censoring themselves. Lastly, there needs to be more awareness about yellow journalism

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so that people are aware of the type of information that they are receiving. If more people are
informed that yellow journalism is not reliable information people will be able to consume their
news more wisely. If these recommendations were implemented, the information gap that exists
between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso would become smaller, and people in the area would be
better informed.

Introduction
The cities of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas are located right next to each other
on the border region between Mexico and the United States. Due to their close proximity events
and information are constantly shared between the two cities. Even though the two cities are next
to each other and the topic of the news reports are the same, people are still receiving different
information through news outlets in both cities. The news outlets in both Ciudad Juarez and El
Paso have different ways of reporting news causing disparity in the news that people are
receiving from each city. The purpose of this report is to inform the residents in these cities of
the differences that exist in news reports so that they can consume their information wisely as
well as to inform news outlets of the differences so they can provide consistent information for
the border community. It is important for news outlets to provide consistent information to the
public so that people can be well informed about situations that affect and concern them directly.
Residents should be aware that the information they get may be different depending on the city
where they got their news so that they can be properly informed.
Current Situation
The neighboring cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are an interrelated community, and because
of this it is inevitable to separate information between these two cities. Events belonging to one
city quickly become news in the other, but the information that is reported is different in each
city. News outlets in each city report information differently, and this is mostly due to existing
laws and self-censorship. Laws dictate what can and cannot be reported, and they are different
for both cities. Ciudad Juarezs news outlets are known for using yellow journalism, which tries
to attract viewers by publishing gruesome images (Iglesias Ortiz, 2013). The violence in Mexico
really affected both cities and the information that they report due to safety concerns. In Ciudad
Juarez journalists received constant threats from both the government as well as other groups.
Journalists in Ciudad Juarez feared for their safety because of the pressure they were under and
ultimately they had to censor themselves when investigating and reporting stories (Gonzalez de
Bustamante & Relly, 2015; Relly & Gonzalez de Bustamante, 2013). El Paso journalists
responded differently to the pressure they received. Journalists in El Paso decided to use peace
journalism in order to portray themselves as a neutral party while still providing professional
information (Carter & Kodrich, 2012; Carter & Kodrich, 2013; Lacasse & Forster, 2012) The
differences in the information are a problem because people may end up being misinformed or
sometimes even uninformed about issues in the border region. Residents need to know how the
information that is being reported is different so that they can be fully informed about issues in
both cities. There is a need for news outlets in both cities to provide more consistent information
to the people in the area.
Research Questions
There is an information gap that exists in the cities of Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua and El Paso
Texas. The information that people receive is different when it is reported in each city. It is

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important to know the reason the differences exist and how they affect the information that
people receive in order to find a way to provide consistent information to the residents of the
area. The research will be conducted to answer the following questions:
Why do differences in the way news is reported in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso exist?
How do these differences affect the news that people receive from both cities?
How can the differences be reduced?

Methods
In order to gather data about the differences in the way that news is reported in both Ciudad
Juarez and El Paso both secondary and primary research needed to be conducted. This section
demonstrates the methodology that was used to gather information about the subject so that it
could later be analyzed. Secondary research was conducted by using online databases to find
scholarly articles and journals that related to the problem. Primary research was done by first
conducting a case study on an event that happened in the border area to compare the way it was
reported by both cities. Next, interviews and surveys were conducted in order to obtain the
opinion of both professionals and the general public. First my research questions will be
presented and then the methods that were used to gather research will be discussed in four steps.

Research Questions
The research questions that I focused my research on were:
Why do differences in the way news is reported in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso exist?
How do these differences affect the news that people receive from both cities?
How can the differences be reduced?
These questions all call for qualitative research. From these questions, first a case study about a
specific event in the borderland was conducted. Next, I conducted both interviews with
professionals and surveys with the general public in order to get more information from the
people directly involved with the issue of the border region.

Step One: Secondary Research

The gathering of information about the news differences in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso began
with secondary research methods. This was used to get background information about the issue
in the border region and each country individually. The Academic Search Complete and Google
Scholar search engines were used with different search terms. First, information about the border
area itself was gathered. The search terms news reporting, journalism, El Paso, Texas, and
Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua were used. Next, the search terms journalism and Mexico were
used to gather more general information. Similar terms were used, journalism and United
States in order to get more general information about the countries separately. Lastly, search
terms yellow journalism, sensationalist journalism, Mexico, and United States were
used in order to gather information about the use of yellow journalism in both countries.

Step Two: Case Study

After the secondary research was done and there was more understanding of the subject, a case
study was conducted with an event that occurred in the border region. I decided to choose an
event that happened on October 26 of 2015 at the Americas International Bridge. The
international bridge was closed for a day due to a protest taking place. This event affected both
cities because it stopped traffic from one city to the other. I looked for coverage of this event on

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the internet websites for different news outlets in both cities. For El Paso news outlets I looked at
reports from El Paso Times, Kvia El Paso, CBS 4 El Paso, and KFox 14. From Ciudad Juarez
news outlets I looked at reports about the same event from El Diario de Juarez, El Norte Digital,
and Canal 44. I read the reports to see what information gas given in each. I recorded the
differences, what was missing in the reports from each city that was talked about in the other.

Step Three: Interviews with Professionals

Next, I decided to interview professionals who were involved in media outlets in the border
cities. It was important to contact people involved in the media in both cities so that both points
of view could be taken into consideration when looking into the differences of news reporting. I
contacted Genaro Cruz, a technical director from Univision in El Paso, Texas and Jose Sanchez,
a radio reporter from Grupo RadioNet in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. I emailed them interview
questions because their busy schedules did not allow them to meet in person. I asked questions
about where they went to college and what they studied. The next questions were about how they
got involved in news outlets as well as where they are currently working. Next, I asked their
opinion on the differences in news reporting in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, if they thought they
existed, what they were and why they existed. The next questions regarded censorship laws in
their city and the effect they had on the news. From there the next questions regarded the
violence in Ciudad Juarez and the effect that has had on their work and the news in general.
Lastly, I asked them for any recommendations on how this problem can be addressed. Their
responses were compared to see if they differed depending on the city they reported news in.

Step Four: Survey for the General Public

Lastly, a survey was created on SurveyMonkey in order to get the opinion of the general public
about news reporting in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. This survey was showed on social media and
was meant for people living in the border area. The questions asked were first about where they
lived, which city they preferred to get their news from, and where they got their news from. Then
the questions focused on the differences of news reporting, if they thought differences existed,
what differences they had seen, and why they though those existed. Next, I asked which city had
more missing or incomplete information, if censorship laws had an impact on the news, and
which city they believed was more reliable. Lastly, I asked for any recommendations they could
think of to make news more consistent in both cities. These results were analyzed to see which
answer in the multiple choice questions was the most popular. The answers to the open ended
questions were grouped into different categories based on the different ideas.

Results
From the data that was gathered with the different research methods different results were able to
gather that addressed the research questions. This section will provide all the raw data that was
gathered from the secondary and primary research that was conducted. The secondary research
indicated that there has been an issue with the way that news is reported in the border region due
to the violence in Ciudad Juarez which lead to self-censorship as well as yellow journalism that
is used in Ciudad Juarez, but not in the United States. The case study showed that there was
missing information in both of the news reports, but the information that was missing was
different. The interviews and the survey both concluded that most of the people in the border
area are aware of the differences that exist due to the two main causes, and are cautious with
their information. I will discuss the results that were obtained from the different stages of the

5
investigation in different steps beginning with the secondary research, then the case study, the
interview, and lastly the survey.

Secondary Research
The research that was done through online databases was focused on the border region or
Mexico independently. The primary reason that issues have risen in the border cities of Ciudad
Juarez and El Paso is because of the violence in Mexico. The violence that began to escalate in
Ciudad Juarez affected both cities in different ways.
In Ciudad Juarez, journalists faced pressures and direct threats from different groups due to the
escalating violence in Mexico. Relly and Gonzalez de Bustamante (2013) explain that reporters
in the city were pressured and threatened by the government as well as other non-governmental
groups. The pressures included policies by governments as well as other institutions as well as
financial arrangements made in companies and institutions (Relly & Gonzalez de Bustamante,
2013). Threats were made by government officials as well as people related in the drug violence
in order to silence people about what was actually happening. All of these things influenced the
way that journalists were reporting information, because of safety concerns for their families and
for themselves, journalists eventually self-censored themselves (Relly & Gonzalez de
Bustamante, 2013). Estevez (2010) explains that many journalists were threatened and even
killed because they reported something they were pressured not to do. Due to the fact that their
safety was in jeopardy, reporters changed their view on what was thought to be professional.
Gonzales de Bustamante and Relly (2015) say that journalists knew that they had to tell the truth
about what was actually happening, but they did not know if their safety was worth being
truthful. There are many contradictions between what they think is the correct way to report
things and the way that they are pressured into reporting things (Gonzalez de Bustamante &
Relly, 2015). Journalists self-censoring themselves lead to a new way of reporting news. Correa-
Cabrera and Nava (2011) explain that self-censorship due to violence led more people to express
themselves of social media. The internet became a safe place for people to discuss the news
without any intervention from the government or other non-governmental groups. Lastly, the
use of yellow, or sensational, journalism is a big part of the way that news is reported in Mexico.
Marquez Ramirez (2012) explains that yellow journalism is the distribution of information that is
not based on anything relevant. Most of the information comes from rumors, any video or audio
leaks, or just pure speculation (Marquez Ramirez, 2012). Iglesias Ortiz (2013) says that explicit
images and videos are constantly used purely for entertainment purposes and to attract attention.
The constant use of explicit material desensitizes the people about the issue, making violence
seem like a normal thing ultimately making the issue become unimportant (Estevez, 2010). All
of these issues affect the way journalists report news on a day to day basis.
The same issues affect El Paso as well due to the fact that the two cities are right next to each
other. Carter and Kodrich (2013) say that journalists in El Paso are still at risk of threats and
pressures from groups in Ciudad Juarez. Even though they may put themselves in danger, they
want to stay as professional as possible (Carter & Kodrich, 2013). They need to do this while
still protecting themselves and their sources on both sides of the border. Carter and Kodrich
(2012) say that journalists do this by trying to be as objective as possible. It is difficult for them
to be completely objective due to the fact that it is difficult to discuss the view point of the
people inflicting the violence (Carter & Kodrich, 2012). The pressures that the journalists are
constantly under may lead them to experience trauma, and there are no resources available to

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them for helping them cope with the situation (Carter & Kodrich, 2013). Lacasse and Forster
(2012) explain that the violence in Ciudad Juarez led to the news outlets in El Paso to adopt
peace journalism. This means that news outlets try to be overall less pessimistic and negative
about the situation due to their relationship with the Ciudad Juarez community (Lacasse &
Forster, 2012). News outlets in cities that are further away from the violence are not as close to
the situation and therefore do not adopt peace journalism. With the use of this approach, there is
less division between who is considered to be good or bad in the violent situation in Ciudad
Juarez (Lacasse & Forster, 2012). Yellow journalism is prevalent in the news outlets in Mexico,
but in the United States this is looked down upon. Ward (2009) explains that journalists try to
fight yellow journalism by being objective when reporting information. Journalists stay objective
by being impartial and just reporting facts rather than reporting explicit information for attention
(Ward 2009). Even though El Paso is across the border from the violence, the issue still affects
the way that reporters talk about the news in the area.

Case Study
In the case study one specific event that happened in the border land was chosen in order to find
reports from different outlets from the two cities and compare them to find differences. The
event that was chosen occurred at the Americas International Bridge on October 26, 2015. A
group of farmers from the state of Chihuahua decided to protest by blocking the international
bridge until the Mexican government agreed to meet with them to talk about their current
situation (Carrasco, 2015). There was also a group present that was protesting for the forty three
students from Ayotzinapa (Gonzales, 2015). The situation was resolved on the same day, but it
greatly affected the residents of the border area.
The news reports about the event from El Paso were from El Paso Times, Kvia El Paso, CBS 4
El Paso, and KFox 14. All of these reports were very similar in length and in content and had
pictures from far away or videos that were taken in Juarez. They were very short in length, no
more than five paragraphs of about three sentences each. The CBS 4 El Paso and KFox 14
articles were exactly the same; there were no differences between them because they were
written by the same author. They both discussed the current situation, the bridge being closed
and who was present, a brief explanation of why there was a protest, and the consequences of the
protest (Gonzalez, 2015). The Kvia El Paso article cited El Diario de Juarez on the information
about the reason behind the protest. It talked about the current situation, the consequences of the
protest, and went more into depth about the reasons behind the protest (Bridge of the Americas
open again after protest, 2015). The El Paso Times article was the longest one out of the El Paso
reports. This report discussed the current situation, the reasons behind the protest with a little
depth, and talked about the consequences of the protest (Figueroa, 2015). Only the articles by
Gonzales (2015) discussed the fact that there was a group protesting for the forty three students
in Ayotzinapa, the other articles did not mention that piece of information. Overall these articles
gave a broad overview of the situation while going very little into depth on the situation, or just
giving a brief explanation.
The reports from Ciudad Juarez about the situation were from El Diario de Juarez, El Norte
Digital, and Canal 44. The reports from both El Diario de Juarez and El Norte Digital were a lot
longer than the reports from El Paso they had pictures from far away as well as videos taken at
the bridge. They were both over ten paragraphs of about three sentences each. El Diario de
Juarez went into a lot of depth of the situation behind the protests and there was a lot details

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about the situation that happened at the bridge. This article discussed background information,
explained the situation in a lot of detail, and talked about the consequences of the protest
(Carrasco, 2015). In El Norte Digital the actual incident at the bridge was not reported, what was
reported was the farmers warning that they would block the bridge during their protest. This
report only discussed extensive background information about the reason behind the protests
(Garcia, 2015). The report in Canal 44 was not as long as the other two reports from Ciudad
Juarez because the reports contained multiple videos from the actual television segment. The
report talked about the situation that had happened and the resolution that had been agreed on by
the farmers and the Mexican government (Lopez, 2015). A second report by Canal 44 showed
the mayors reaction to the protest, showing that he was not pleased with the situation because of
the bad press it was going to create (Lopez, 2015).

Interviews
I interviewed professionals involved in media news outlets from both cities in order to get the
opinion of someone involved directly with news reporting. I asked both professionals the same
questions regarding news reporting in the border area. The first professional was Genaro Cruz, a
technical director at Univision in El Paso. The second professional was Jose Sanchez, a news
reporter at Grupo RadioNet in Ciudad Juarez. Both of these professionals answered questions
regarding the way that news is reported in the border area.
Genaro Cruz (personal correspondence, December 1, 2015) studied TV and radio broadcast
production at El Paso Community College where he got an Associates degree. When he
graduated he began with an internship at Univision, and was later offered a position as a
technical director. He believes that there are differences in the way that news is reported in
Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. Cruz (personal correspondence, December 1, 2015) says that the
news in Ciudad Juarez are motivated by the opinions of the people who are reporting on the
situation. He also believes that time is an issue with El Paso news reported on television because
of the need for commercials, this allows for less time to report actual news (personal
correspondence, December 1, 2015). He also believes that censorship laws in the United States
are not an issue in news reporting because there are just laws that prevent obscenity in the news.
Cruz (personal correspondence, December 1, 2015) thinks that the violence did not affect news
outlets in El Paso the same way that they did in Ciudad Juarez. He explains that it is a known
fact that there is incomplete or even missing information in news reports from Ciudad Juarez
because there is an informal agreement with the government that is kept under wraps to only
report certain amounts of violent incidents a year (personal correspondence, December 1, 2015).
Lastly, he believes that news outlets in both cities need to continue to report any news that
affects the community.
Jose Sanchez (personal correspondence, November 26, 2015) studied at a special school for
people who wish to study education called Normal Superior. He got involved in the media
because he always had an interest which led him to pursue a career as a reporter. Sanchez
(personal correspondence, November 26, 2015) believes that there are differences in the way that
news is reported in both cities. He believes that reporters and journalists in Ciudad Juarez are a
lot more careful about what they report on due to fear from threats that they receive concerning
their safety. It was also mentioned that he believes that El Paso news outlets do not go into depth
on the issues that are reported (personal correspondence, November 26, 2015). Sanchez explains
that in Ciudad Juarez yellow, or sensational, journalism is very common and this affects the

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news that gets reported because journalists usually report things that will create more impact. He
also explains that even though there is supposed to be freedom of speech, there are limitations to
what a person can say due to threats the reporters get from different groups (personal
correspondence, November 26, 2015). One of the consequences of the violence was that
journalists and reporters were afraid to show their names and their pictures on social media as
well as other platforms because they were concerned for their safety. For a while no pictures of
them were shared to help protect them (personal correspondence, November 26, 2015). There is
missing or incomplete information because people actively avoid reporting certain parts of a
situation to protect themselves. Sanchez (personal correspondence, November 26, 2015) thinks
that it would be difficult for both cities to have consistent information, but he believes direct
communication between the two cities would help close the gaps of information.

Survey
A survey was created for the general public in the border area in order to obtain the opinion of
residents. The people who are directly affected by this problem are aware that the problem exists
because they experience it on a daily basis. Forty one people living in the border area filled out
the survey. Sixteen of the people lived in El Paso, Texas while twenty-five people lived in
Ciudad Juarez.
The majority of the people that were surveyed prefer to get their news from Ciudad Juarez than
news from El Paso. From the people who took the survey, a small amount their news from
television, the majority get their news from social media, very few people from press websites
and one from all the news outlets. The majority of the people surveyed think that there are
differences in news reporting in the border area while a small amount people do not think there is
a problem, and one person did not answer. El Paso news was described as professional, formal,
serious, and relevant. At the same time it was also described as being dramatic, missing
information, or sugarcoating the truth. The news in Ciudad Juarez was described as detailed,
descriptive, and having more statistics. It was also described as dramatic, highly graphic,
manipulated, inaccurate, and gruesome. More general descriptions explained that the focus of the
report and how they are formed cause the differences. The people who took the survey said that
they thought differences existed because of the location, which involved the governments
involvement as well as the censorship and use of yellow journalism. Journalists personal
opinions and their safety were also mentioned as reasons for the existing differences. The most
mentioned explanation was the culture differences. The majority of the people responded that El
Paso has more missing information while less people thought Ciudad Juarez had more missing
information. Almost all the people surveyed believe that censorship laws affect the news while a
few people think that it has no effect. The majority of the people say that El Paso news is more
reliable and the others say that Ciudad Juarez is more reliable. People believe that the way to
improve these differences is by stressing the importance of education and professionalism in
both cities. From there it is important for reporters to conduct complete investigations and report
information without yellow journalism. The most repeated answer was to have similar
censorship laws in the two cities. People living in the area are aware that there is a problem that
affects the way they receive information that needs to be fixed.

Discussions
After gathering information from the different research methods, I was able to analyze the
information to answer the research questions that I had provided. This section will provide my
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discussions on the information that I gathered in my research. Secondary research showed that
there are different issues existing in the border area that were directly involved with the violence
in Ciudad Juarez as well as the practice of yellow journalism. The case study that was conducted
showed a direct example of reports from the area that were different and had missing
information. The interviews and the surveys showed that both professionals and the general
public know that there is a gap of information due to the violence in Juarez and the use of yellow
journalism. I will be providing my discussions on the results in sections of secondary research,
the case study, the interviews, and finally the survey.

Secondary Research
The scholarly research that was done through the internet databases showed that there are several
reasons why the differences in news reporting in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso exist. First, violence
in Mexico greatly changed the way that news was handled in the border area. Journalists in
Ciudad Juarez suffered from threats and other pressures that caused them to censor themselves
when discussing news (Gonzalez de Bustamante & Relly, 2012). Journalists worried about their
safety and decided to avoid certain topics in order to remain safe (Relly & Gonzalez de
Bustamante, 2013). This caused self-censorship to become more common among journalists, and
it was even expected from them. The threats are an important factor because they compromise
the reporters ethics because they fear for their lives. El Paso adopted peace journalism in order
to avoid conflicts by being more positive and neutral about the issues in the border region
(Lacasse & Forster, 2012). By doing this the journalists in El Paso reporters can abide by
journalism ethics by still providing objective information (Ward 2009). This is an issue that
affects the entire border community. Journalists are in danger and people end up missing
information that directly affects them. Yellow journalism is also a big problem because it allows
the information in Ciudad Juarez to be a lot more graphic than in El Paso in order to sell more
(Iglesias Ortiz, 2013). People are seeing more exaggerated news that may sometimes be based on
pure speculation (Marquez Ramirez, 2012). Residents of the area should be getting information
that is based on facts and researched correctly, not getting information that may not even be
correct. These differences in the way that news is reported ultimately affect the general public
who rely on news outlets to get their information about issues that involve them. Yellow
journalism needs to be controlled so that more accurate information is distributed rather than
information that will sell.

Case Study
In the case study that was conducted, I found that there are similarities as well as differences in
news reports from both cities. The reports were similar because they talked about the same
situation. The topic that was discussed was the same, and the basic information was presented in
the reports from both cities. They all discussed at least some of the background information,
some more in depth than others, about the reasons behind the protests. They all talked about the
protest shutting down the international bridge on that day. Reports from both cities had either
videos or pictures of the bridge from far away. The reports differed mainly in detail of
information. In this case study, the news outlets from Ciudad Juarez were a lot more detailed
than the reports from El Paso. El Diario de Juarez and El Norte Digital both went into depth on
the background information of the incident at the Americas International Bridge. This allowed
for the audience to be well informed on the situation, rather than just giving them two sentences
about why the incident happened. This is important because providing details and background
information will avoid missing or incomplete information. The El Paso reports were a lot shorter

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because they lacked detail. Some El Paso reports also said that a group related to the forty three
students from Ayotzinapa was present, and the reports from Ciudad Juarez did not mention that
(Lopez 2015). This is probably an example of censorship about events concerning the violence in
Mexico. This missing information is important, but it was never discussed in many of the reports.
Overall, there was information missing on the reports from both cities and this should be avoided
by investigating the events of the border land more thoroughly.

Interviews
The interviews with both professionals showed that there are also similarities and differences in
what news reporters think about the situation in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. Both Genaro Cruz,
from Univision, and Jose Sanchez, from Grupo RadioNet, believe that there are differences in the
ways that news is reported. This shows that journalists are aware of the differences, but there is
nothing being done in order to reduce the differences. They both expressed how self-censorship
is an issue in Ciudad Juarez because of the safety issues. This affects the news that is reported to
the public because a lot of information is left out. Safety concerns are a big part of missing or
incomplete information and this should be addressed in order for reporters to feel safe when
discussing an issue. They also discuss the issue of yellow journalism and the use of personal
opinion when reporting news. Reporters know that yellow journalism does not provide accurate
and reliable information, which stresses the fact that this issue needs to be addressed in order to
have more consistent information. This issue is not seen in the news reports in El Paso because it
is not something that is perceived well by audiences in the United States. This disparity of
information for attention gives readers either speculations or actual reliable information. If the
residents of the area constantly focus on yellow journalism news then there is a big chance that
the information they are getting is not accurate or reliable. Yellow journalism needs to be
controlled in order for news in Ciudad Juarez to leave more space for information that is actually
investigated.

Survey
The opinion of the general public of the area also demonstrated that people are aware of the
information gap that is created by different ways of reporting news. With the survey I found that
the majority of the people preferred to get their news from Ciudad Juarez, because they thought
it was more detailed and descriptive. At the same time a lot of people believe that news outlets in
Ciudad Juarez are less accurate, highly manipulated and graphic. People described El Paso news
outlets as professional, formal, and serious, but they still preferred news from Ciudad Juarez.
This was interesting because people know that the information from Ciudad Juarez may not be
completely accurate, but they like it better anyway. People also expressed how they believed that
El Paso had more missing or incomplete information, but when asked they responded that El
Paso news was more reliable. It seems like residents of the border area are aware of the self-
censorship of the media in Ciudad Juarez, so they believe news in El Paso are going to be more
reliable. This is very important because there seems to be a preference of more detail than
accuracy. People in the border area seem to be getting either or instead of getting both detail and
accuracy in their news.

Conclusions and Recommendations

To conclude there are differences in the way that news is reported in the cities of Ciudad Juarez,
Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas. The differences exist because of the different methods that were

11
adopted by each city in order to deal with the violence in Mexico. Journalists in Ciudad Juarez
censored themselves as a precaution and journalists in El Paso took a positive and neutral stance
on news regarding the violence. Yellow journalism also affects the way that news is reported in
both cities. This type of journalism is permitted in Ciudad Juarez and is constantly used to get
attention by being graphic and in El Paso this is frowned upon. Reporters and residents of the
area are aware that there is a gap of information between the two cities. Due to these differences
people sometimes get news reports with missing or incomplete information or information meant
to entertain people. The public is not fully aware of what is happening around them because the
news outlets they rely on for information do not provide it to them. Confusion and unawareness
need to be addressed by both news outlets in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso.
From the research that was conducted, I recommend that there needs to be more direct
communication between news outlets in both Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. These cities are
connected in many ways, and there is no way to separate events and information from each other.
There needs to be better communication set in place so that the residents of the area will receive
more consistent information. Communication can be established in person or online, but it is
important so that news outlets can investigate information more in depth. This could lead to
small economic costs from setting up meetings in person. The benefits of open communication
between the two cities are going to affect residents from both cities. People will finally be able to
have more consistent information that they can rely on. My second recommendation is that due
to remaining safety concerns boundaries should be set up about what is considered a risk for the
reporters safety. This will be beneficial because if the reporters know that they are safe then
they will be more open to report information without having to worry. This will lead to social
and cultural costs in both cities. They each have different cultures and social norms so it may be
difficult to come to an agreement. Both cities must be willing to cooperate. My last
recommendation is that campaigns be set up in both cities that inform the residents of the area
about yellow journalism and the effect it has on the news that they receive. If more people are
aware that what they are reading is not reliable then they will be able to consume information
more wisely. This can be done through social media or even at college campuses in both cities
were people are learning about journalism. This will also have social and cultural costs because
people are so used to this type of journalism that it may be hard for people to understand that it is
not reliable information.
This research is very important because it actively affects the people who live in the Ciudad
Juarez and El Paso area. The border community is very connected in many ways, and the people
living here should be properly informed about the issues and events that involve and concern
them. There needs to be more in depth research done about news reports involving the violence
in Ciudad Juarez and reports involving yellow journalism in order to understand more
completely the information that people are receiving.
Thank you for taking the time to read this report on an important issue involving the border area.
I can be contacted at ecastillo11@miners.utep.edu.

Appendix A: Interview Data

Genaro Cruz, December 1, 2015
Where did you go to college and what did you study?

12
I graduated with an Associates degree in TV/Radio broadcast production from EPCC and I am
now a senior at UTEP in Multimedia Journalism.
How did you get involved in a news outlet?
I started with an internship when I finished at EPCC, I learned as much as I could and when a
position opened they called me.
Where do you work and what type of news do you report on?
KINT- El Paso, Univision Affiliate in El Paso, TX
I am a Technical Director and I work closely with producers and reporters that report on local
issues as well as national issues that have repercussions at a local level.
Do you think that there are differences in the way that news is reported in both Ciudad Juarez
and El Paso?
Yes they are very different
What do you think is different? Why?
Mexican news is very driven on opinion and anchors/reporters are usually allowed to talk about
what they personally think of a story, in addition time is not as short.
News here only have a 30 minute spot with commercials at 5 and 10, this comes to only around
20 minutes of real news without commercials.
What censorship laws exist in your city?
Censorship usually involves a violation of freedom of speech which is one of the very basic
principles of journalism so there aren't any real censorship laws. However there are laws in
existence that guard the audience against obscenity in public broadcasting television.
How do you comply with censorship laws that are in place in your city?
As I stated earlier I do not have any personal experiences with said laws.
Did you experience any trouble or problems in your work area with the violence in Ciudad
Juarez?
In my personal life yes, but not in my work area.
Do you think the violence affected what was reported in the border cities?
Yes because border bureaus reporting on both sides of the issue had to be really careful about
the stories they covered.
Do you think there is a problem with missing or incomplete information in any of the cities?
Yes it is a known fact that there was an informal agreement between the government in Mexico
and the number of violent crimes that are covered each day/month/year; however there is not
a lot of information about this, because it is said to be very informal.

13
What do you think can be done to reduce the differences on information that is distributed?
I think that even though both sides of the border are similar they are also very different in
terms of laws and content that is broadcasted.
Do you have any recommendations about what can be done in the area?
Just keep reporting issues that affect the community.

Jose Sanchez, November 26, 2015

A qu Universidad asisti y que carrera estudio?
Asist a la escuela Normal Superior, la cual es una escuela que forma maestros. Ah estudie
educacin.
Cmo se involucr en los medios de comunicacin?
Debido a que siempre tuve inters en el rea de los medios de comunicacin busque trabajo en
una cadena de estaciones de radio.
En dnde trabaja actualmente y que tipo de noticias reporta?
Actualmente trabajo en grupo RadioNet y reporto sobre noticias de Ciudad Jurez y El Paso.
Piensa usted que existen diferencias en la manera de reportar noticias en Ciudad Jurez y El
Paso?
S, yo pienso que si existen diferencias en la manera de reportar noticias.
Cules diferencias piensa usted que existen? Por qu?
Pienso que los reporteros Mexicanos son ms precavidos al dar noticias por temor a represalias.
La situacin en Ciudad Jurez ha hecho que todos seamos ms consientes a la hora de hablar de
ciertas noticias. Tambin pienso que los medios del Paso no profundizan en las noticias.
Qu leyes de censura existen en su ciudad?
Aqu en Ciudad Jurez es muy comn usar amarillismo para vender ms. Esto afecta las cosas
que se vuelven noticias, porque los medios escogen lo que ms impacte a la gente y se enfocan
en eso.
Qu hace usted para cumplir con las leyes de censura que existen en su ciudad?
A pesar de que existe la libertad de expresin los periodistas sabemos que hay lmites que no
debemos cruzar por seguridad.
Ha tenido usted algn problema en su rea de trabajo debido a la violencia de Ciudad Jurez?
Si, durante un tiempo no se publicaban fotografas de los reporteros por seguridad. Era riesgoso
trabajar en los medios porque haba amenazas para no decir ciertas cosas.
Piensa usted que la violencia afecto lo que se reportaba en la frontera?
Claro que s, muchos acontecimientos no se reportaban por temor a las represalias.

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Piensa usted que existe algn problema de informacin incompleta o extraviada en alguna de
las dos ciudades?
Si, informacin sobre todo de los aos que aumento muchsimo la violencia aqu en Ciudad
Jurez.
Qu piensa usted que se puede hacer para reducir las diferencias en la informacin que es
distribuida?
Pienso que es muy difcil porque son dos ciudades distintas de dos diferentes pases.
Tiene usted alguna recomendacin de lo que se podra hacer en el rea?
Que hubiera comunicacin directa entre los medios de comunicacin, ya se radio, televisin, o
medios impresos, de las dos ciudades.

Appendix B: Survey
1. What city do you live in
El Paso: 16
Ciudad Juarez: 25
2. Which city do you get your news from?
El Paso: 17
Ciudad Juarez: 24
3. Where do you normally get your news from?
Skipped: 3
Newspaper: 0
Television: 8
Social Media: 27
Other: 4
Press Websites
All of the above
4. Do you think there are differences in the way that news is reported in Ciudad Juarez and
El Paso?
Skipped: 1
Yes: 34
No: 6
5. What differences have you seen in the information you get from both cities?
Skipped: 8
Information in El Paso is more professional
None
difference in what "important" information is
I don't know. I am just assuming it is different
El Paso's news are more formal
Juarez have more details about the event and El Paso is more superficial
Cd Juarez is more descriptive more raw
Well, I think that both cities share similar content on their respective news but I have
seen that elp and the US in general tend to make more dramatic reactions to negative
news from juarez than the other way around

15
 Juarez news only talk about how messed up the situation is in Juarez and how the
government never help
Buyist on behave of American press
They both hide facts. Only what they think is convenient comes out.
they sugar coat the truth
Juarez are more graphic
The way news are formed/shown
The way media gets expressed
Juarez news is manipulated
Juarez news is more manipulated by the government
Juarez is more dramatic and less objective
Juarez has more detail in their reports.
Juarez focuses on statistics and information about the crimes.
El paso gives incomplete info
El Paso covers more about both cities.
different things happen in both cities
Some Juarez newspapers and tv news tend to go to far with a note, sometimes reaching a
negative, simplistic and even grose manner of giving the news (not the ones I see).
Some Juarez newspapers and tv news tend to go to far with a note, sometimes reaching a
negative, simplistic and even grose manner of giving the news (not the ones I see).
In Juarez it's much less accurate. It looks at a scene and reports on it before even
confirming facts
the information is not 100% real
News in Jurez are cruder than in El Paso when it comes to newspaper or tv broadcast
El Paso is more serious and Juarez talks about more stuff
Less is reported about what happens in el paso area. Lots of feel good stories that
diminish the perspective that all is right in the city.
One's news is usually more violent than the other
News in El Paso are more relevant
The type of focuse they use
6. Why do these differences exist?
Skipped: 9
Government
censorship, and accessibility
The opinions of people and what they think is the right way to deliver news.
I think it's because of the different cultures. I believe that Mexican people are more
focused in entertainment.
Because it is what the tv companies and each city censorship/allow in the air
Reputation, safety, not to over alarm the city
Different culture, although an in deep analysis might actually show more similarities
Different governments
Yellow journalism.
Because only what politicians think has to be said, comes out.
Because of differences in culture and lifestyle
culture

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 Because of the different culture
Because of the different culture
Government interference
Government interference
cultural differences
The laws can affect what the news outlet can report. They differ in both cities.
Both are very manipuated
N/A
Probably to get more people, if there is a variety people will go with that.
because they are different places
Even though we have a very close economic and social interaction, we still live in
different countries and live under different circumstances.
Even though we have a very close economic and social interaction, we still live in
different countries and live under different circumstances.
Lack of professionalism. Trying to get news out in a hasty manner
because of the corruption in the media
Because people in USA are sissier. People in Mexico like morbid things better.
Culture
7. What city do you think has more missing or incomplete information?
Skipped: 3
El Paso: 22
Ciudad Juarez: 16
8. Do you think censorship laws affect the news you receive in each city?
Skipped: 1
Yes: 34
No: 6
9. Which City do you think has more reliable information?
Skipped: 4
El Paso: 21
Ciudad Juarez: 16
10. What do you think needs to be done to have more consistent information?
consistant censorship, or correlate information
To promote the importance of professionalism in the distribution of information.
Maybe the tv companies and each city could change the censorship laws and also could
try to change the way they give the news and find a more equal and consistent way.
Alow media to report details
Remove censorship if possible; if not, El Paso media could write better stories and
articles about Juarez
No idea, maybe creating greater competition might help, although I think elp already has
various news providers compared to jrz
good reporters better stories
Breakdown the 6 Corp. that own 90% of media.
That news outlets need to be complete informed about everything that happens in the city
so that everything gets reported
More investigation
Tell the truth without amarillismo

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 Focus on the facts and not the reactions the information may produce
Both cities need to be less biased
Educate the cities to slowly give more formality and importance to serious press
Give the press greater formality
Stop being "amarillista" just putting things to sell
Change laws
real free speech laws in both sides
Interchange information between reporters in both cities.
Both governments should give news outlets more freedom by leaving them alone
Mire research
I think journalist or reports should try to give the news not trying to get some rating
(probably the reason why they think it's okay to include a really crude pictures of a
murder or an accident), as well as being able to work without any censorship or fear for
doing their job.
I think journalists or reporters should try to give the news not trying to get some rating
(probably the reason why they think it's okay to include a really crude pictures of a
murder or an accident), as well as being able to work without any censorship or fear for
doing their job.
Check the facts before reporting!
less censor the media
Giving the right amount of information. not adding unnecessary details or omiting them.
not hiding the truth or "seasoning" it
Being able to talk about any subject related to the city
Do good investigation about the problems that are affecting the city. And follow the
ethics if being a good journalist. Not every piece of news need to be a fluff piece.
Be more open with stuff happening in the city and how certain reforms will affect it
To ignore the media and the showbiz news
More freedom of expresion

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