|
Slow
News Day in Mexico
By Li Rapkin
A slow
news day in Mexico forced that country’s news organizations
to focus on the trivial and absurd. With the elections over,
the President at an economic conference in Switzerland, and
only one escaped prisoner, hard news was hard to find.
Jose Alvarez,
a reporter for a daily paper in Mexico City, was forced to
cover the story of an elephant illegally crossing the border
at Matamoras.
“I hate
doing that human interest shit,” said Alvarez. “I didn’t spend
four years in journalism school to report on the world’s biggest
wetback.” Journalists and reporters all over Mexico lodged
similar complaints. “If this news slump continues, I’m going
to end up covering fashion week in New York,” bitched news
anchor Pedro Garcia. “Somebody’s got to do something, you
know? We need a good sex scandal or an earthquake. Right now,
I’m really hoping for the new American President to say something
stupid. When it’s a slow news day, you have to fall back on
your resources.”
Even the
weather in Mexico was dull. According to meteorologist Pilar
Gutierrez-Gonzales, predicting the weather at this time of
year is a piece of cake. “We won’t have anything good until
hurricane season. Once the butterflies arrive in the fall,
we’re usually hard up for anything interesting.”
The United
States seems unable or unwilling to assist its southern neighbor
resolve the burgeoning lack of news. When President Bush was
asked how he intended to help, he smiled broadly, said “Buenos
Dias, y’all,” and cued a mariachi band. Unaware that the microphone
was still on, he turned to an aide and asked “Isn’t this election
over yet?”
In the
mean time, national news organizations are pooling their resources.
Jose Alvarez suggests a news-for-electricity trade with California,
and international reporters are working overtime to cover
the news gap. Until something happens, stay tuned for further
lack of details.
|
