Alfredo Corchado, editor and correspondent for the Puente News Collaborative, called for collaboration between Mexican and American journalists on Tuesday in McCord Auditorium.
Corchado previously served as the Mexico bureau chief for The Dallas Morning News, covering U.S. policy in Latin America and drug-related violence along the U.S. and Mexico border. Beginning his career at The Wall Street Journal, Corchado has won several awards in journalism, including the Maria Moors Cabot Award from Columbia University.
SMU history professor Pablo Mijangos moderated the conversation with Corchado during Tuesday’s DCII Big Challenge Series event. The two discussed Corchado’s career covering immigration and the border region.
While at The Dallas Morning News, Corchado covered the rise of Los Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel that posed a threat to Mexican journalists reporting on the story.
“My challenge was that I’m an American journalist but I look Mexican, so that was my fear,” Corchado said.
Corchado expressed gratitude to the U.S. Embassy for protecting American journalists at the time, noting that Mexican journalists did not receive the same protection.
“It reinforced to me how vulnerable my colleagues in Mexico were,” Corchado said. “That my own colleagues in Mexico did not have this kind of protection.”
Corchado said the current climate of the media calls for collaboration between Mexican and American journalists to uncover the truth, address the challenges of disinformation, news deserts, and government actions and help Mexican journalists speak out despite fear and danger.
Corchado and Mijangos also discussed other issues affecting undocumented immigrants. Corchado says misinformation causes fear and anxiety.
“Families who leave for work put the name of their neighbor or the name of a relative in Mexico, and put the name in the shoe of the children in case they’re picked up while they’re at school,” Corchado said.
Attendees of the event, which was organized by the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute and SMU Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center, included SMU students, alumni, faculty and Dallas professionals.
NBC 5 News reporter Maria Guerrero attended the event to hear Corchado’s insights and emphasize the importance of journalism in today’s world.
“I feel like our calling is so important right now,” Guerrero said. She stated the truth must be embraced, no matter what it is.
“I take from him the perspective of someone who basically works in two very different worlds and how he navigates that,” Guerrero said.
Corchado closed by urging the public to fight misinformation and disinformation.
“In the end, it’s on us as a society and I think we have to take the extra steps,” he said. “Before we press a button to share — whether it’s WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram — it’s our responsibility to make sure that stuff is real.”
