VOA慢速英语2021--新闻团体在合作中找到安全

Journalism¹ Collective Finds Safety in Collaboration²

Eight years ago, investigative journalist Regina Martínez was found beaten and dead in her home in Veracruz, Mexico. A well-known reporter, she was investigating power and corruption³, including the state government's alleged⁴ relationship with violent drug organizations.

Her death frightened many journalists in Veracruz.

"It was one of the most brutal⁶...murders of Mexican journalists in the past 20 or 30 years," said Jan-Albert Hootsen. He is the Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Martínez's killing⁷ is the subject of a new investigation⁸ published this month by "The Cartel Project." It is the work of a worldwide organization of investigative journalists called Forbidden Stories. Their piece examines the investigation into her death and the mistakes made by the police. It also looks at a social media disinformation campaign about the killing, and the reporting Martínez was doing at the time she was killed. She was reporting "on thousands of people who had mysteriously disappeared in Veracruz."

Forbidden Stories founder⁹ Laurent Richard described the organization as a group of reporters who are "continuing the work of journalists who have been killed, jailed or under threat."

The larger goal, Richard said, is to say "to enemies of the free press that even if you kill the messenger you will never kill the message."

Yet with the lack of arrests for journalist killings¹⁰ in Mexico, the continuing violence, and the anti-press comments from President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, the future of journalism in the country is "bleak¹¹," Hootsen says.

More than 30 journalists were killed directly for their work worldwide in 2020, including at least five in Mexico, the CPJ reports. That number makes Mexico as deadly as Afghanistan, which is the deadliest country in the world for reporters. And those killings almost never end with arrests.

López Obrador has agreed that journalism is important and he has spoken out against the killings. But any attempts to bring arrests have failed, and he is often angry and uncooperative with reporters.

The president often criticizes news organizations for providing what he sees as unfavorable coverage¹². He once told reporters, "If you go too far, you know what will happen." López Obrador later said he was talking about a loss of public support.

Hootsen says Mexican journalists believe the president's language adds to the climate of violence that exists online, including death threats. Journalists also fear the new threat of doxing, which is posting personal information about journalists online. This can include their address or other personal information about their families.

Government measures have been taken to protect reporters, including a special prosecutor¹³'s office to investigate attacks, as well as the use of bodyguards¹⁴. However, at least six journalists who had the government protections were killed.

Safety in numbers

The lack of effective protection measures is a problem for journalists around the world. They often find they are left to face threats alone. Forbidden Stories is trying to change that. It was founded following several attacks on journalists, including one that received wide news coverage.

In January 2015, gunmen killed 12 people and injured several others at the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Richard worked as a journalist in another office on the same floor. "This was a very traumatic event for all of us," he said.

Richard decided¹⁶ the best way to protect journalists was for them to work together. He started Forbidden Stories in 2017 to connect journalists around the world. It offers protection as well as assistance in investigations¹⁷. It also shows how the stories of journalists are interconnected.

"What we wanted to do with ‘The Cartel Project,'" Richard said, "is to show that when a reporter in Mexico is killed it's not only a Mexican story." The drug cartels have international political connections.

Following leads from Martínez's work, Forbidden Stories followed the cartels' reach to countries around the world. The final project had five investigative news articles published at the same time by several international news organizations.

Hootsen believes such journalism efforts are important, especially when investigating things like organized crime or corruption. These are subjects that many Mexican journalists cannot work on without being targeted.

It is often impossible to find out who is behind the threats and the killings.

"It might be organized crime," Hootsen said. He added that it could also be local officials or the two working together.

Words in This Story

collaboration – n. the act of working with another person or group in order to achieve or do something

journalist – n. someone whose job is to collect, write and edit news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

allege⁵ – v. to state without proof that someone has done something illegal

brutal – adj. violent and cruel

cartel – n. a group of business that agree to fix prices to make more money

bleak – adj. cold, unfriendly

prosecutor – n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

satirical – adj. criticizing people or ideas in a humorous way, especially in order to make a political point

trauma¹⁵ – n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time

1 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

2 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

11 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

13 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

14 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

15 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。