Foreign Policy Blogs

Writers to Wrestle with Mexico Drama in Forum

Some heavy hitters will be in New York City from all over the world on Tuesday, October 19 to discuss the crisis for journalists in Mexico:

When: Tueday, October 19
Where: The Great Hall Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, New York City
What time: 7 p.m.


With readings by Paul Auster, Don DeLillo, Laura Esquivel, Francine Prose, Jose Zamora, and poets Víctor Manuel Mendiola and Luis Miguel Aguilar

Followed by a conversation with Carmen Aristegui (CNN en Español), Rocio Gallegos (El Diario de Juárez), and José Luis Martínez (Milenio Diario); moderated by Julia Preston (The New York Times)

Tickets: $15/$10 for PEN Members and students with valid ID. Visit www.smarttix.com or call (212) 868-4444. Tickets also available at the door. Seating is by general admission, on a first-come, first-served basis.

http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5242/prmID/1873

According to PEN’s website:


An Evening in Solidarity with Mexican Journalists

At least eight journalists have been murdered in Mexico in 2010 alone, and many more have been kidnapped, threatened, or disappeared. Still, in towns and cities throughout the country, journalists are daily defying Mexico’s “censorship by bullet” to expose critical truths. Renowned Mexican and American journalists and authors come together for an evening of readings and conversation to call attention to the silencing of Mexican journalists trying to investigate drug-related violence in their country, especially on the U.S./Mexico border.

What is the impact of soaring drug-related violence on freedom of expression and civil society in Mexico? Is the United States helping to promote or to counter the violence? What can human rights organizations and the international community do to confront criminal syndicates and other “non-state actors” that are operating with impunity in Mexico and around the world? Above all, what is it like to be a journalist in Mexico today, and what must be done to ensure that journalists can safely carry out their work?

Co-presented by PEN American Center, the PEN Club de México, and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Co-sponsored by The Cooper Union and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

 

Author

Genevieve Belmaker

Genevieve Belmaker is a freelance journalist and contributing editor with The Epoch Times (www.theepochtimes.com). She also contributes to Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists and Poynter.org. Her blog on journalism is http://artofreportage.com.

Genevieve has traveled throughout the U.S., Asia, Central America, Israel and the West Bank for reporting assignments, including major investigative reports on the recovery of New Orleans, the encroaching presence of China in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the dangerous import of melamine-contaminated milk into the U.S. and settlement outposts in the West Bank. She regularly reports on issues related to journalism, and the work of journalists.

She holds a BA from the University of Southern California in International Relations, and has been a member of several prominent national and international professional media organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the International Women’s Media Foundation, the New York Press Club, and the Newswomen’s Club of New York. She lives in Jerusalem, Israel with her husband and son.

Areas of Focus:
New Media; Journalism; Culture and Society