News (Media Awareness Project) - US: Narco News And The International Media |
| Title: | US: Narco News And The International Media |
| Published On: | 2001-08-16 |
| Source: | Boston Phoenix (MA) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-25 10:38:29 |
NARCO NEWS AND THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
We at the Phoenix knew we had something special on our hands when,
more than two years ago, we published a major expose by Al Giordano on
the alleged drug-trafficking activities of one of Mexico's richest and
most powerful bankers (see " Clinton's Mexican Narco-Pals, " News, May
14, 1999). What we didn't know was that the story and its aftermath
would turn Giordano into an international cause celebre.
There he is inside the current issue of Rolling Stone (the one with the
August 30 cover date), characteristically enveloped in an outrageously
thick cloud of tobacco smoke he has just exhaled, accompanied by the
headline hot muckraker -- part of the magazine's " Hot List. " Giordano and
his Web site, the Narco News Bulletin (www.narconews.com), are being sued
for libel in New York City by Mexican banker Roberto Hernandez Ramirez -- a
suit that has attracted the attention of media outlets from London to
Chicago to San Francisco. Giordano tells Rolling Stone's Mim Udovitch: "
Narco News is the canary in the coal mine, and if that bird stops singing,
then all manner of authentic journalism will have to evacuate the mine. "
To back up: Giordano, a long-time anti-nuclear activist, friend of the
late Abbie Hoffman, and former political writer for the Phoenix,
reported in his 1999 Phoenix article on the findings of Mario Menendez
Rodriguez, the publisher of the Mexican newspaper Por Esto! According
to Menendez's reporting, Hernandez used illegal drug-trafficking
profits to finance his 1991 purchase of Banamex, Mexico's biggest
bank, which recently merged with Citigroup.
In 2000, after having been based in Latin America more or less
full-time for several years, Giordano founded Narco News, an online
publication dedicated to covering the war on drugs from a
pro-legalization point of view. Not long after that, while in New
York, he and Menendez repeated their charges against Hernandez in
interviews with the Village Voice and WBAI Radio, and during an
appearance at Columbia University. Giordano also published those
charges in Narco News.
Hernandez struck back with a libel suit. But though the suit was
reported on by the Village Voice, the Boston Globe, and the Phoenix
(see " Don't Quote Me, " News and Features, April 13), the case did
not attract wider attention until July, when the parties appeared in a
New York courtroom to argue defense motions for dismissal. A decision
is not expected for at least several months. But, suddenly, the media
are calling. The outlets that have covered the story include the
London Guardian, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago-based
magazine In These Times, the Online Journalism Review, and the Web
site Wired News, of San Francisco. A Wall Street Journal story is said
to be in the works. Razor Wire, which is distributed within the US
prison system, recently published a story. And, of course, there's
Rolling Stone.
" It's a frivolous lawsuit, without merit, meant only to harass and
chill speech, " Giordano told the Phoenix in an e-mail this week. " I
would like to thank Roberto Hernandez and all his new colleagues on
the Citigroup board for being such litigious assholes. Before Banamex
sued me I had only 3000 hits a day. Now I've got 25,000 daily hits.
Only in America! "
[sidebar]
What follows are a list of articles pertaining to the lawsuit brought
against Al Giordano and his Web site, the Narco News Bulletin
www.narconews.com , by Mexican banker Roberto Hernandez Ramirez.
Stories By Giordano
CLINTON'S MEXICAN NARCO-PALS
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n000/a007.html ]
The untold story behind February's Yucatan summit redefines the enemy
in the war on drugs. (Boston Phoenix, May 14, 1999.)
This expose, published exclusively in the United States by the
Phoenix, lays out the reporting of Mexican journalist Mario Menendez
Rodriguez, who alleged that Roberto Hernandez Ramirez financed his
1991 purchase of Banamex through illegal drug-trafficking. When
Giordano and Menendez repeated those charges in New York a year later,
Hernandez sued them.
COME TO CHIAPAS
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a020.html ]
An open letter to Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz. (Boston
Phoenix, September 12, 1997.)
BORDERLINE BEHAVIOR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n000/a008.html ]
In the '70s, US diplomat Jeffrey Davidow helped cover up the
atrocities of Chile's Pinochet regime. Today he consorts with drug
traffickers. Is this who we want representing US interests in Mexico?
(Boston Phoenix, December 17, 1999.)
REBEL RAINMAKERS
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n000/a168.html ]
After seven years in the Chiapas jungle, the Zapatistas are finally on
the road to Mexico City. (Boston Phoenix, March 9, 2001.)
Stories About The Lawsuit
PRESS CLIPS: DRUG WAR GOES ON TRIAL
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1900/a07.html ]
Mexican banker sues Narco News.
By Cynthia Cotts, the Village Voice, December 20, 2000.
DON'T QUOTE ME: THE INTERNET ON TRIAL
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n643/a11.html ]
The war on drugs, a powerful Mexican banker, and a libel suit add up
to a big threat to independent online journalism. Plus, a conversation
with Al Giordano. By Dan Kennedy, the Boston Phoenix, April 13, 2001.
HACKS HIT IN DRUGS WAR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1128/a05.html ]
An American investigative journalist is being sued over his Web site's
reports of drug-trafficking in Mexico. So what are the implications
for freedom of speech?
By Sean Dodson, the Guardian (London), June 25, 2001.
DOES MEXICAN SUIT FIT IN NY?
By Mark K. Anderson, Wired News, June 25, 2001.
PRESS CLIPS: DRUG WAR ON THE WEB
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1134/a05.html ]
Narco News ready for libel suit in New York. By Cynthia Cotts, the
Village Voice, June 27, 2001.
NARCONEWS.COM V. BANAMEX
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n000/a169.html ]
A David v. Goliath drug-war story in a NY court.
The Razor Wire, July 2001.
NET REPORTING AT STAKE
By Mark K. Anderson, Wired News, July 23, 2001.
LIBEL SUIT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY ONLINE
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1339/a04.html ]
By Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor, July 24, 2001.
CROSS-FIRE IN THE DRUG WAR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1462/a03.html ]
Narco News editor warns of libel action's chilling effect on free
speech.
By Amy Langfield, Online Journalism Review, July 29, 2001.
LIBEL, PAN-AMERICAN STYLE
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1462/a06.html ]
How did Al Giordano land in the middle of the hottest First Amendment
case in years?
By JoAnn DiLorenzo, the Valley Advocate, August 9,
2001.
CHILL FACTOR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1448/a07.html ]
Dubious lawsuit forces Narco News to shut down. (Actually, after a
temporary shutdown, the site is up and running again.)
By Ben Winters, In These Times, August 20, 2001.
HOT MUCKRAKER
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1462/a04.html ]
By Mim Udovitch, Rolling Stone, August 30, 2001.
We at the Phoenix knew we had something special on our hands when,
more than two years ago, we published a major expose by Al Giordano on
the alleged drug-trafficking activities of one of Mexico's richest and
most powerful bankers (see " Clinton's Mexican Narco-Pals, " News, May
14, 1999). What we didn't know was that the story and its aftermath
would turn Giordano into an international cause celebre.
There he is inside the current issue of Rolling Stone (the one with the
August 30 cover date), characteristically enveloped in an outrageously
thick cloud of tobacco smoke he has just exhaled, accompanied by the
headline hot muckraker -- part of the magazine's " Hot List. " Giordano and
his Web site, the Narco News Bulletin (www.narconews.com), are being sued
for libel in New York City by Mexican banker Roberto Hernandez Ramirez -- a
suit that has attracted the attention of media outlets from London to
Chicago to San Francisco. Giordano tells Rolling Stone's Mim Udovitch: "
Narco News is the canary in the coal mine, and if that bird stops singing,
then all manner of authentic journalism will have to evacuate the mine. "
To back up: Giordano, a long-time anti-nuclear activist, friend of the
late Abbie Hoffman, and former political writer for the Phoenix,
reported in his 1999 Phoenix article on the findings of Mario Menendez
Rodriguez, the publisher of the Mexican newspaper Por Esto! According
to Menendez's reporting, Hernandez used illegal drug-trafficking
profits to finance his 1991 purchase of Banamex, Mexico's biggest
bank, which recently merged with Citigroup.
In 2000, after having been based in Latin America more or less
full-time for several years, Giordano founded Narco News, an online
publication dedicated to covering the war on drugs from a
pro-legalization point of view. Not long after that, while in New
York, he and Menendez repeated their charges against Hernandez in
interviews with the Village Voice and WBAI Radio, and during an
appearance at Columbia University. Giordano also published those
charges in Narco News.
Hernandez struck back with a libel suit. But though the suit was
reported on by the Village Voice, the Boston Globe, and the Phoenix
(see " Don't Quote Me, " News and Features, April 13), the case did
not attract wider attention until July, when the parties appeared in a
New York courtroom to argue defense motions for dismissal. A decision
is not expected for at least several months. But, suddenly, the media
are calling. The outlets that have covered the story include the
London Guardian, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago-based
magazine In These Times, the Online Journalism Review, and the Web
site Wired News, of San Francisco. A Wall Street Journal story is said
to be in the works. Razor Wire, which is distributed within the US
prison system, recently published a story. And, of course, there's
Rolling Stone.
" It's a frivolous lawsuit, without merit, meant only to harass and
chill speech, " Giordano told the Phoenix in an e-mail this week. " I
would like to thank Roberto Hernandez and all his new colleagues on
the Citigroup board for being such litigious assholes. Before Banamex
sued me I had only 3000 hits a day. Now I've got 25,000 daily hits.
Only in America! "
[sidebar]
What follows are a list of articles pertaining to the lawsuit brought
against Al Giordano and his Web site, the Narco News Bulletin
www.narconews.com , by Mexican banker Roberto Hernandez Ramirez.
Stories By Giordano
CLINTON'S MEXICAN NARCO-PALS
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n000/a007.html ]
The untold story behind February's Yucatan summit redefines the enemy
in the war on drugs. (Boston Phoenix, May 14, 1999.)
This expose, published exclusively in the United States by the
Phoenix, lays out the reporting of Mexican journalist Mario Menendez
Rodriguez, who alleged that Roberto Hernandez Ramirez financed his
1991 purchase of Banamex through illegal drug-trafficking. When
Giordano and Menendez repeated those charges in New York a year later,
Hernandez sued them.
COME TO CHIAPAS
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a020.html ]
An open letter to Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz. (Boston
Phoenix, September 12, 1997.)
BORDERLINE BEHAVIOR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n000/a008.html ]
In the '70s, US diplomat Jeffrey Davidow helped cover up the
atrocities of Chile's Pinochet regime. Today he consorts with drug
traffickers. Is this who we want representing US interests in Mexico?
(Boston Phoenix, December 17, 1999.)
REBEL RAINMAKERS
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n000/a168.html ]
After seven years in the Chiapas jungle, the Zapatistas are finally on
the road to Mexico City. (Boston Phoenix, March 9, 2001.)
Stories About The Lawsuit
PRESS CLIPS: DRUG WAR GOES ON TRIAL
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1900/a07.html ]
Mexican banker sues Narco News.
By Cynthia Cotts, the Village Voice, December 20, 2000.
DON'T QUOTE ME: THE INTERNET ON TRIAL
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n643/a11.html ]
The war on drugs, a powerful Mexican banker, and a libel suit add up
to a big threat to independent online journalism. Plus, a conversation
with Al Giordano. By Dan Kennedy, the Boston Phoenix, April 13, 2001.
HACKS HIT IN DRUGS WAR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1128/a05.html ]
An American investigative journalist is being sued over his Web site's
reports of drug-trafficking in Mexico. So what are the implications
for freedom of speech?
By Sean Dodson, the Guardian (London), June 25, 2001.
DOES MEXICAN SUIT FIT IN NY?
By Mark K. Anderson, Wired News, June 25, 2001.
PRESS CLIPS: DRUG WAR ON THE WEB
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1134/a05.html ]
Narco News ready for libel suit in New York. By Cynthia Cotts, the
Village Voice, June 27, 2001.
NARCONEWS.COM V. BANAMEX
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n000/a169.html ]
A David v. Goliath drug-war story in a NY court.
The Razor Wire, July 2001.
NET REPORTING AT STAKE
By Mark K. Anderson, Wired News, July 23, 2001.
LIBEL SUIT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY ONLINE
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1339/a04.html ]
By Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor, July 24, 2001.
CROSS-FIRE IN THE DRUG WAR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1462/a03.html ]
Narco News editor warns of libel action's chilling effect on free
speech.
By Amy Langfield, Online Journalism Review, July 29, 2001.
LIBEL, PAN-AMERICAN STYLE
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1462/a06.html ]
How did Al Giordano land in the middle of the hottest First Amendment
case in years?
By JoAnn DiLorenzo, the Valley Advocate, August 9,
2001.
CHILL FACTOR
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1448/a07.html ]
Dubious lawsuit forces Narco News to shut down. (Actually, after a
temporary shutdown, the site is up and running again.)
By Ben Winters, In These Times, August 20, 2001.
HOT MUCKRAKER
[ http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1462/a04.html ]
By Mim Udovitch, Rolling Stone, August 30, 2001.
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