On Monday, a journalist was killed in Mexico — at least the fifth this year. Javier Valdez, an award winning reporter who defiantly covered the country’s drug cartels, was shot in the middle of the day in the northern city of Culiacán, in the state of Sinaloa.VICE News Mexico wrote the following editorial in solidarity with other media trying to draw attention to the ongoing violence. We, at VICE News Canada, echo their outrage.**Today at VICE News, we’ve decided to add our voices to the #NiUnoMas protest, as a show of solidarity with Mexican journalists. Mexico is the third most deadly place to practice journalism in the world, with 105 journalists murdered since 2000.Yesterday, on May 15, the fifth journalist was killed this year: Javier Valdez, founder of the weekly newspaper Riodoce and a correspondent for la Jornada.Mexico is a country where freedom of the press has its exceptions. Information that is uncomfortable and vigilant is accompanied by assaults, intimidation and even death. That’s why, this Tuesday, several Mexican media outlets have organized a strike as a way of making the issue visible and refusing to allow violence to be normalized.With a black and white web page as a sign of mourning, VICE News is part of the media adding to calls for justice and security.In Mexico, 99 percent of assaults against journalists are never solved. And the combination of impunity, corruption, and a wave of unprecedented violence has created an overwhelming environment in which to practice journalism.Our commitment is to the information and with our audience. An informed society is fundamental to a democracy and for this a free, plural and independent press is necessary.
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