The Murder Beat

This is an interesting clip I found on the New York Times...basically, the video talks about the violence dominating Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. So much so that local Mexican reporters find themselves busy every single night, trying to cover as many stories as possible. Often such stories entail deaths, murders, and plain danger to which the reporters are realistically vulnerable of as well.  The video explains the dangerous atmosphere Ciudad Juarez is known for given the infamous drug cartels "fighting" to control.

While I find this clip kind of intriguing, (the caption right before the video says the following: "A local news crew in Juárez, Mexico covers the murder beat -- as many as ten to fifteen times a night.") at the same time I can't help but think what effect this style of reporting has on the public. I mean, it raises a question of what is the purpose? The public has a right to know, of course, but if the coverage leans in this direction so much could it somehow fuel that reputation of it being dangerous territory? I don't know. 
At the same time,  I guess we do need this type of coverage, as painful and as horrifying as it may be perhaps it's a dimension that just can't be omitted.


Check out the video by clicking the link:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/16/world/americas/1247464962911/ju-rez-mexico-the-murder-beat.html



That is staggering to me-