Reforma

Reforma is a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City. It has 276,700 readers in Mexico City.[1] The paper shares content with other papers in its parent newsgroup Grupo Reforma. Reforma is named after the Mexico City avenue of the same name, Paseo de la Reforma, which is in turn named after "La Reforma", a series of liberal reforms undertaken by the country in the mid-19th century.

For other uses, see Reforma (disambiguation).

Reforma
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Grupo Reforma
EditorJuan Pardinas
Founded1993 (1993)
LanguageSpanish
HeadquartersWashington 629 Ote.
64000 Monterrey,
Nuevo León, Mexico
Sister newspapersEl Norte
Websitewww.reforma.com

The newspaper emphasizes its design, variety of columnists, and editorials that denounce political corruption.

The paper features weekly translations from selected articles of local interest from US and other foreign newspapers. These include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the People's Daily.[2] The Sunday edition of Reforma formerly included a supplemental magazine titled Top Magazzine, which covered celebrity gossip, Hollywood previews and interviews.

History
Reforma's headquarters in Mexico City

Reforma was launched in Mexico City in November 1993 by Alejandro Junco de la Vega as an offshoot of his successful Monterrey paper, El Norte. Soon after the paper's launch, he brought Reforma and El Norte together with his other newspapers--El Sol and Metro—to unite them under a single publishing company, which he named Grupo Reforma.[3]

Like Grupo Reforma's other publications, Reforma took great pains to separate its commercial division from its journalism division. Journalists were forbidden from taking bribes and the paper was forbidden from selling advertising space to the subjects of its news stories.[4]

Junco believed that commercial success through selling newspapers and advertising was a fundamental aspect to establishing free press. To this end, he began offering food and fashion sections in Reforma and the newspaper became popular among the middle class.[5]

A new journalism model

In 1991, Junco implemented a model of community editorial boards that would eventually become the standard for Grupo Reforma. He invited hundreds of readers, thought leaders, and experts to participate in editorial boards that helped set the newspapers' editorial agenda. Not only did this promote community involvement in civic matters, but it also ensured a diversity of viewpoints.[6] Junco has described the editorial boards as promoting democracy and objectivity because its members are politically balanced and come from a wide variety of backgrounds. According to Junco, the system puts the power in the hands of the readers.[7]

Independent distribution

In October 1994, Mexico City's government-affiliated newspaper carrier union boycotted delivery of Reforma. Junco led his reporters in the streets to sell the papers themselves. Junco also hired his own vendors to create an independent distribution system in Mexico City.[5]

Transparency laws and judicial reform

In the early 2000s, Junco and the staff of Reforma worked with the Oaxaca Group (an initiative that brought together media outlets, legal experts, academics, and NGOs) to convince Mexico's political leaders to approve a landmark federal transparency law.[8] The freedom-of-information legislation gave journalists, investigators, and ordinary citizens access to government information that had been denied to them for decades.

Reforma was also part of a campaign against government censorship during the early 2000s. The paper publicly denounced defamation charges that government officials (such as former Mexico City Mayor Rosario Robles) had levied against Junco and his reporters.[9] These efforts persuaded legislators to decriminalize the expression of ideas.

The news coverage provided by Reforma and other Grupo Reforma publications[10] eventually persuaded Mexican legislators to approve a 2008 judicial reform that instituted public trials and put greater emphasis on due process rights.[11]

Awards

In 2001, Junco and Reforma were awarded Spain's Ortega y Gasset Award for Journalism, which is presented annually to journalists whose work has demonstrated a "remarkable defense of freedom, independence, and professional rigor."[12]

Accusations of bias

The newspaper insists, like the other publications of the editorial group, that it is non-partisan, with an editorial style favoring an ostensibly neutral point of view and publishing opinions from journalists of all political positions (such as Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa from the left, and Sergio Sarmiento from the right). Additionally, the newspaper alleges to have many fail-safes in place to prevent any partisan point of view.

Despite its avowed independent editorial style, Reforma has been labeled as a right-wing newspaper in references by The Guardian, the Clarin, the San Antonio Express-News, the University of Miami school of communication and the Princeton Progressive Nation.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (as a presidential candidate in 2005) also accused the paper of this bias, and even denounced the paper of being a "press bulletin for the PAN".[22]

Notable columnists

Affiliations

Reforma is part of the Grupo Reforma. Grupo Reforma is a collection of Mexican media outlets. Within Grupo Reforma, Reforma is an offshoot of El Norte.

Famous sections
  • Mario Netas is an animated cartoon airing weekly and depicting a talk show about a dummy named Mario who invites Mexican and foreign newsmakers to explain current news.

See also

References
  1. "Según el informe de Bimsa... en tercer sitio aparece Reforma con 276,700" Archived April 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Young, Ellie; Ludwig, Jessica. "Mexico: Beijing's Global Media Influence 2022 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. "Group Reforma". Media Owner Monitor Mexico. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  4. Seaton, Edward (2019). Heroes and Scoundrels: Five Decades of Flashpoints, Conflicts, and Compromises Supporting Press Freedom in Latin America. Seaton Publishing Company. pp. 170–71. ISBN 978-1733332903.
  5. Preston, Julia; Dillon, Samuel (2004). "Chapter 14: Opening Minds". Opening Mexico: The Making of a Democracy. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 0374529647.
  6. "Quienes somos - Cronologia". Grupo REFORMA. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  7. "The Role of the Media in the Consolidation of Democracy in Latin America". International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  8. Gabriel Torres Espinoza (January 11, 2021). "INAI: conquista social". Milenio. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  9. Ann K. Cooper (May 22, 2001). "Mexico: Former mayor files criminal defamation lawsuit against journalists". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  10. "Efectividad, Agilidad y Transparencia Daran Mayor Seguridad Juridica: de la Fuente". Boletin UNAM-DGCS-365. May 16, 2006. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  11. Martin Carlos Sanchez Bocanegra (February 2011). "La Reforma Penal y el Nuevo Sistema" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  12. "Reconocimiento al periodismo de investigación del diario 'Reforma'". El Pais. May 9, 2001. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  13. Mexico | newsguide | Guardian Unlimited. Guardian. Retrieved on November 28, 2011.
  14. Archived October 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  15. MySA.com: Beyond the Border Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  16. Archived September 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Burla y humillación. Clarin.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2011.
  18. Worldandnation: Winner declared in Mexico election. Sptimes.com (September 6, 2006). Retrieved on November 28, 2011.
  19. Progressive Nation. Princetonprog.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2011.
  20. El rediseño del periódico Reforma Archived December 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  21. Contenidos de pago. Isopixel (September 29, 2003). Retrieved on November 28, 2011.
  22. Favorite in Mexican presidential race battles against pollsters | The San Diego Union-Tribune. Signonsandiego.com (November 30, 2005). Retrieved on November 28, 2011.
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