We Saw the Smoking Gun: Conflict, Audience Participation and Digital Journalism

Abstract

This article describes the context that the city of Chihuahua, Mexico witnessed during the years 2007-2012 regarding the war that took place between the Mexican government and organized crime groups; centering the analysis on the particular role that the different types of newspapers (digital and printed) played on informing the violence that resulted from such conflict. This peculiar context gave way to a particular form of seeking and informing the news (journalist point of view) and the way the audience participated, perceived and even witnessed the conflict first hand (the audience point of view). The main theoretical framework utilized to describe this case study is trough sociology of risk and uncertainty as well as the anthropology of violence and war. To fully comprehend the complexities of such context, and the social role the journalist and the audience played during the conflict, the main methodological approach utilized is ethnography as well as discourse and content analysis. This particular case provides a unique understanding of how a peculiar form of the free press was given way by a conflict that involved many sectors of society.