Since the government has stepped up its offensive against drug cartels, violence has substantially risen in Mexico. Since 2006, more than 35,000 people, including at least 22 journalists have been killed in drug related violence. Many journalists have attempted to flee Mexico in fear for their safety. John Burnett of National Public Radio says:
"Figures from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services show that in 2007, asylum officers recommended 58 Mexican cases for approval; already, by the third quarter of this year, they have recommended 176."
Some of these drug cartels are attempting to control the media. According to John McCormack of the San Antonio Express, the Mexican paper La Tarde published gruesome photos of a decapitated woman under orders of the drug-gang the Zetas. He also says that in other areas of Mexico, the mafia have become the bosses in media, using newspapers to publish propaganda.
A further result of this ongoing violence is that news publishers across the country are imposing self-censorship in their newspapers, radio, and television programs. Most of Mexico's largest news media outlets have agreed to set national guidelines for drug-war reporting. These guidelines state that the glorification of drug traffickers, the publishing of cartel propaganda, and the revealing of information that could endanger police operations is prohibited. President Felipe praised the accord, calling it:
"a clear example of the responsible way in which the participating media outlets treat criminal organizations and the violence they create."
The guidelines were agreed to by officials of Mexico's two largest TV networks, a number of large radio stations and several of Mexico's most influential newspaper groups, in an attempt to create a safer working evironment for journalists in that country.