Abstract

This Independent Study studies how violence against journalists could affect the portrayal of the United States in Mexican news media in the context of the War on Drugs. By qualitatively analyzing articles collected from Durango, Sinaloa, Mexico City, and Yucatán, this study measures the portrayals of the Biden and second Trump administrations against rates of reported aggressions against journalists in order to measure whether regions with higher rates of journalist intimidation are more likely to have positive coverage of the United States despite shifts in its policy. This study’s results were mixed, with the findings from Durango and Yucatán somewhat supporting the hypothesis while those of Sinaloa and Mexico City not. Given these results, this study recommends more future research into this topic that could yield more insight.

Advisor

Kille, Kent

Second Advisor

Garonzik, Rebecca

Department

Political Science; Spanish

Disciplines

Political Science | Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature

Keywords

Journalist Intimidation, Media Portrayal, Mexico, United States, War on Drugs

Publication Date

2026

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2026 Zachary Goode