On October 10, 2021 and 2022 Cabot Prize Winners met with Columbia Journalism School’s Assistant Dean of Academic Programs and Communications Elena Cabral to discuss news coverage under dangerous conditions. Deputy Events Editor Julia Tolda writes about the riveting experience.

The talk was titled “Reporting Under Fire,” but that does not begin to describe the conditions under which the journalists featured work. The speakers were Javier Garza Ramos, from Mexico, whose journalist safety protocols have been replicated all over the Americas; Brazilian Eliane Brum, one of the founders of SUMAÚMA, who has covered social and environmental justice in the Amazon over her 30-year career; Adela Navarro Bella, Mexican reporter and editor of weekly magazine ZETA, which focuses on governmental corruption and cartel activity in Baja California; UK born journalist Ioan Grillo, who has written over 1,000 stories covering the Mexican war on drugs; and Honduran Jennifer Avila, editor of Contracorriente, a multimedia news website covering indigenous rights, corruption and migration, amongst other topics. All five are recent winners of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize, described by Columbia Journalism School’s Elena Cabral as “on par with the Pulitzer.”  

Over the course of the evening, speakers were asked individual questions about their work, to which they were invited to respond in the language they felt most comfortable. Adela Navarro Bella reflected on the considerations taken while writing in Mexico, due to the double persecution suffered by journalists from the cartels and the government. To ensure utmost reliability, for example, every piece of information must be confirmed by at least three sources. She also underscored the crescent struggle of writers, who write under death threats yet continue to demand for investigations on their fallen peers. Out of the 32 years she has been a journalist, Bella has needed an official escort for 13 of them. 

Ioan Grillo spoke on how the motivation of sources factors into his work, acknowledging the lengthy process of creating and maintaining connections with those involved in the drug trade. Much of Grillo’s work depends on understanding the sources’ interest in speaking to him, and evaluating what that means for the reporting. He mentioned the importance of using sources while writing, as they allow for deeper access into cartel activity and mentality, instead of simply giving violence a voice. 

When asked about the need to contextualize Brazil in her reporting, Eliane Brum paused. According to her, the Amazon is where the fate of humans and other species will be decided. To cover the Amazon is to cover the climate crisis, the 6th mass extinction; it is to cover topics that affect the whole world. Although her reporting prizes the perspective of those who live in the forest, the Amazon is destroyed for the consumption of Americans and Europeans. Recently, Brum finds it has become even harder to be a journalist. The deaths of Don Phillips and Bruno Pereira (an English journalist and a Brazilian indigenist) marked the first time environmentalists were murdered in the deep forest, as opposed to in Amazonian urban centers. The rise of the far-right, the strength of the drug traffic, and the rampant impunity for violence are all weapons in the global war against nature.   

Javier Garza Ramos manifested the need for trust within the journalistic community, as he believes readers have been getting better at verifying news in multiple sources on their own. Cohesion and solidarity between journalists needs to be maintained, so that establishing oneself is not undermined by one’s peers. And how do writers establish themselves? Sometimes by suffering attacks, but most times by showing the public what they would be missing otherwise, by sharing accurate, important, and interesting information. Speaking about the challenges of independent news organizations in Latin America, Ramos pointed to the battle against public news and conglomerates, and the limited budgets under independent newspaper’s work. 

For Jennifer Avila, distrust towards journalists in Honduras starts once businesses become more powerful than the state. If the government can’t protect its citizens, it is the corporations that create hospitals, schools, and churches. But they are not interested in community development, only in violence and division. Under their watch, journalists become enemies of the people. Threatened by violence and political propaganda, plagued by expenses and the digital gap, journalism becomes almost inaccessible. That is why Avila advocates for offline events, which aim to teach citizens about media consumption and resisting authoritarian speech.

During the open discussion section of the event, speakers were questioned by the (incredibly well-prepared) Columbia Journalism School students. A fruitful discussion on what kind of support can be offered by international journalists to sustain this work was had and the answers were simple: economic support, exposure, and community organization. The issue of sensibility when dealing with victims of violence was also brought up, to which the speakers highlighted the need for humanity and respect. If there are 300,000 deaths, that means 300,000 families have lost loved ones. Journalists should offer them a voice, but at the end of the day, their lives are worth more than a story. 

As an amateur journalist, listening to the speakers was incredibly inspirational. These five writers have put their lives on the line for the sake of their countries, and of their fellow citizens. Their commitment to freedom of speech and justice is unparalleled, and their thoughtful answers were a testament to how much care they put into their work. 

The Speakers via Julia Tolda.