The Narco News Bulletin
August 15, 2018 | Issue #67  
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I've Been a Witness to Ten Years of History in Mexico, a Story that Narco News Continues to Tell More Truthfully than the Rest

By Bruce Miller Earle
Class of 2010, School of Authentic Journalism

October 14, 2010
This report appears on the internet at http://www.narconews.com/Issue67/article4233.html

It was the spring of 2000, and I was still seething after reading the hatchet-job that Sam Dillon from the New York Times had done on my friend Ninfa Deandar Martinez.


Bruce Miller Earle (right) receives his diploma from Al Giordano (left) at the 2010 School of Authentic Journalism, Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
DR 2010 Noah Friedman-Rudovsky.
Ninfa, is the owner and publisher of El Mañana newspaper in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She and her son Heriberto Cantu, the editor of El Mañana, had been arrested and briefly jailed on orders from then Tamaulipas Governor Manuel Cavazos Lerma. Ninfa, long critical of a corrupt state government, published a series of articles not to the liking of the governor, so off to jail she and her son went for a few days to teach them a lesson.

Things continued to escalate after their release from jail and finally this flair-up caught the attention of the New York Times. In turn, the Times sent Sam Dillon to Nuevo Laredo, to interview all of the players involved and then write a story. I was in her office and at her side during the entire interview that Dillon conducted. Then came the article in the Times, that was so distorted and misquoted, that I wondered if we had been in the same interview. Okay, I am biased and protective of Ninfa, but I know of the true dynamics that surrounded this episode, and I thought the Dillon article was malicious and had dragged my friend through the mud.

This incident was yet another nail in the coffin as far as the sour taste I had been developing over the years for the highly manipulated, so-called mainstream media. I decided one day to do a "Feeling Lucky" Internet search related to the likes of Dillon, Narco Medios, etc., and up popped a link to Narco News. As I recall, I was like visitor seven-hundred-eighty-something to this recently born online newspaper in April of 2000. I was instantly hooked. And there has not been a week since then that I have not visited Narco News. lt was almost with the same intrigue of having read the mystical journeys of Don Juan Matus, and his Yaqui shaman travels written by Carlos Castenada, that Narco News founder Al Giordano peaked my interest.

Here I found a guy that had had enough with the hypocrisy of the bought-and-paid-for mainstream media in the US. He chucked it all, packed up his meager belongings, and headed off to Chiapas to establish an uncensored way of reporting the truth about the so-called war on drugs. A the same time, his efforts planted the seeds for what would become the quest to seek out and offer training and guidance to young people who wanted to become honest non-compromised writers and reporters. This of course led to the creation of The J-Schools of The School Of Authentic Journalism.

It would be in 2003 after establishing a home in Oaxaca, that I would, one day quite by accident, have the opportunity, to meet Al Giordano face to face. The chemistry between us was good then as it continues to be to this day. I am a telecommunications engineer by trade. In my own way I decided to chuck almost all of it by pursuing the majority of my work in Latin America. Since meeting Al, I have had the opportunity to help him and his Narco News team with telecommunication problems and offer advice from time to time. I was truly humbled and honored when I was asked to participate in the 2010 School of Authentic Journalism in the Mexican Yucatán. I offered a presentation to the J-School Class of 2010 on utilization of cellular and similar handheld devices while covering their stories. The basic theme was your that your cell phone can be your best ally to keep one safe and out of a potential jam, or it can be your worst enemy where you can be tracked until you're history, and how to avoid those pitfalls.


Left to right: Natalia Viana (Brazil), Bruce Miller Earle (US-Mexico)
and Noah Atef (Egypt) at the 2010 School of Authentic Journalism on
Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.
(Photographer unknown.)
My time at the J-School gave me a chance to see the younger generation of people who are keyed in to making a difference in the present and future of true Investigative Journalism. There were young people attending from many diverse countries where if you report the truth your life can sometimes be over in a heartbeat. It was good for my soul to give something back to this new generation, but more importantly, this experience gave me the opportunity to bond with the students, and listen to many of their stories of what peril they face in their countries, and how thankful they were to have been given scholarships to attend the J-School. I literally was in tears at the closing ceremony of the J-School. It was kind of like watching members of a graduating class from College saying goodbye as they each left to embark on the next phase of their lives.

But here it was more about hearing about how each of them was going home with better skills to report, write and film the uncompromised truth with what they had received from attending the J-School. While not a journalist per se, my time in and around the controlled state run media has shown me how important that the work of continuing to offer inspiring journalist the opportunity to learn at the J-Schools must be permitted to go on. And of course, that can only happen if Narco News keeps publishing every day to shine the beacon light that attracts so many young and idealistic journalists from across the world.

As readers of Narco News, and the affiliated organs of its Authentic Joumalism movement, you know that Narco News has never received on penny from any form of paid advertising and the commercial interests who "support" the manipulated media while expecting something in return. No sir, Narco News and the School for Authentic Journalism can only continue to happen because of donations from people like you and me. Whether you are new to these pages, or are a longtime reader of Narco News, I would hope you could find your way clear to make a tax-deductible donation to help keep Narco News and The School for Authentic Journalism afloat.

Please make a contribution today via this link:

http://www.authenticjournalism.org

Or send your donation to:

The Fund for Authentic Journalism
PO Box 1446
Easthampton, MA 01027
United States

In closing, I wish I were an articulate wordsmith who could do a better job of expressing my true admiration, and being able to express how important I feel about what it means for this movement being afforded the opportunity to continue with it's important mission.

Nonetheless, these thoughts and words are sincere and from my heart. I hope that you, dear reader, can find it in your heart to help this very worthy cause.

Bruce Miller Earle



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