Anonymous - 11-11-2002 at 11:57 AM
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20021111-9999_1m11c...
November 11, 2002
TIJUANA ? An international newspaper association has condemned the Baja California state government for retaliating against a Mexicali newspaper that
published articles critical of the administration of Gov. Eugenio Elorduy.
State government spokesman Alejandro Caso said no censorship has taken place and his agency wants to clear things up with the Inter American Press
Association, which fights for freedom of expression throughout the North and South American hemisphere.
"Our policy has always been that of total respect regarding criticism, because it can help us determine what we need to improve," Caso said.
La Cr?nica is a 15,000-circulation paper in the Peri?dicos Healy chain, which includes three papers in northwest Mexico including Frontera in Tijuana.
La Cr?nica recently won an award from the Inter American Press Association for articles on smuggling rings and the exploitation of undocumented
Mexican workers in the United States.
The newspaper reported in May that the Mexicali city government bought 50 cars from a car dealership owned by Elorduy without conducting a thorough
bidding process. The paper also has published stories alleging nepotism and other irregularities in the administration.
Fernando Ru?z, La Cr?nica's assistant news director, said that because of these stories, the amount of advertising the government buys for official
announcements has dropped by about 80 percent.
Ru?z said the newspaper isn't going to go belly up without the ads, because government advertising represents only about 2 percent of the paper's
advertising revenue. But "what is worrisome are these tactics," he said.
Caso disagrees. He said the government regularly rotates its placement of announcements in several publications.
"We haven't decreased our presence, but we can't publish in all (newspapers) because our budget won't stretch that far," Caso said.
La Cr?nica appealed to the Inter American Press Association for assistance, which found "proof in their documentation," said Rafael Molina, president
of the association's commission of freedom of information. The documents included copies of the articles in question, letters between the newspaper
and the government regarding requests for information, and a tally of advertising totals compared to another local newspaper, La Voz de la Frontera.
The Miami-based association sent a letter to Elorduy last month, arguing that "the concession or suppression of government advertising cannot be used
as a tool to reward or punish the media or journalists, since it is a form of indirect censorship that hinders the people's right to information."
Baja California's state Congress is drafting a freedom of information law that would determine what kind of information should be made public and
provide an appeals process. The federal government approved such a law earlier this year, but it only applies to federal agencies.
Caso said the association was too quick to condemn the government.
"There are always different points of view, and we have let the (association) know that we are willing to go to their offices and clear it up," he
said.
Caso said his government has remained open to journalists and recently granted La Cr?nica an interview with Gov. Elorduy.
Ru?z said the governor didn't respond to questions on important issues such as nepotism.
"There was an interview, but with no information," Ru?z said.