THE NEWS (MEXICO CITY)

'''The News''', published in Mexico City, is a Mexican English-language daily newspaper that is scheduled to re-open its doors in September 2007. The newspaper brand is almost 60 years old, having been founded in 1950.
'The origins'
''The News'' was created by Novedades Editores, SA de CV, which published a Spanish-language newspaper, ''Novedades.'' Excerpts from ''Novedades'' are cited prolofically in John Womak's biography of Emiliano Zapata (''Zapata and the Mexican Revolution'', Vintage Books 1970) that is widely conisdered the best biography on the revolutionary hero. The Spanish-language daily created local editions in Acapulco, Cancun and elsewhere.
''Novedades'' was instrumental in the launch the first television network in Mexico, which grew into today's powerful Televisa. Novedades Editores' cash cow was the publication of its comic ''novellas'', which are still popular reading material for Mexico's lower classes. The company also had a the license to publish a number of high-end magazines, such as ''Vogue''. Poor management of the magazines resulted in their closure.
In the 1990s, the popularity of ''Novedades'' declined as it was widely considered to be an advocate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico's longest ruling political organ until Vicente Fox's presidential victory in 2000. The nickname for ''Novedades'' was ''Noverdades'', which translates as "No truths". ''Novedades'' faced stiff competition from ''Reforma'', which launched in 1993, and specialized daily publications such as ''El Economista''.
'Roller-coaster Ride'
The English-language daily's most important role happened before the growth of the Internet. It was the primary source of English-language information (and comics) for ex-pats and travelers. Wire service stories from the U.S. and elsewhere were the primary sources of news for the niche readership.
Roger Toll, the editor during most of the 1980s, obtained the rights to insert ''The New York Times Week in Review'', which was very popular with readers. In 1991 (with the first Gulf War) under the direction of a different editor, ''The News'' published an afternoon edition with the latest information from the Middle East (and related stories from Mexico).
From its beginnings in the 1950s through the late 1980s, domestic information ranged from national business stories to garden parties hosted by members of the foreign community. Roger Toll also created a weekly supplement called ''Encuentros'', which provided cultural information. The daily newspaper occasionally carried a staff written story from outside the nation's capital. Stringers contributed local stories about ex-pats and community activities from Acapulco, San Miguel del Allende, Chapala and elsewhere. Those local stories appeared in the weekly travel supplement called ''Vistas'', which was edited for years by Joe Nash.
Some stories gained more attention. For example, as the air quality declined in Mexico City, ''The News'' ran more stories about the smog's impact on the population. This type of reporting, as well as the occasional business piece, earned some respect for the tabloid. The large diplomatic corp in Mexico City read the English-language daily carefully and many embassies used clippings in their reports back to their respective home countries.
Like its Spanish-language sister paper (and many dailies in the nation's capital), ''The News'' tended to toe the official government line in its editorial policy, specifically in its national news coverage. Hoping to change that trend, then-editor Roger Toll hired Pete Hamill in 1986 to take over ''The News.'' Hamill, a former ''New York Post'' columnist, was fired after six months on the job for covering a student protest on Mexico City's main university, the UNAM.
A few staff members broke away in the late 1980s and started ''The Mexico Journal'', which was published by the Spanish-language daily newspaper ''La Jornada.'' ''The Mexico Journal'' had great content but it could not generate enough advertising to stay afloat. It closed, leaving ''The News'' as the only domestic English-language news source.
Following Pete Hamill's departure, ''Novedades'' hired a business columnist named Roberto Mena to take over the daily. Mena stepped down as editor but continued to write a business column. Patricia Nelson, who ran the paper's finance section, took over as editor.
There were moments when the newspaper opened up, particularly when Mexico was negotiating NAFTA with the United States and Canada.
In the early 1990s, with the appointment of a new general manager at Novedades Editores (and following criticism of the English-language paper's coverage), another editor was hired. Michael J. Zamba (a Washington, D.C., journalist and author of two published books on Mexico) joined the organization in 1990 and immediately made changes to the paper's design and staff. He instituted classes for the staff, created a code of ethics and convinced Novedades to loosen up on the restrictions. He also oversaw marketing of the daily.
Talented writers -- such as Elizabeth Malkin, Eduardo Garcia, Laurence Iliff and others, as well as then first-time writers like David Luhnow -- were brought into the newspaper. More analytical pieces on Mexico were published and the writers were praised for their work. Business coverage was increased. Circulation grew.
Nonetheless, Zamba left in frustration in 1992. Novedades Editores couldn't live up to its promises. Zamba started an English-language fortnightly magazine called ''Mexico Insight,'' which circulated 20,000 copies. The magazine lasted for two years, until the transition from President Salinas to President Zedillo was followed by a major devaluation. In 2000, he launched ''Express'', a daily newspaper of ''The Dallas Morning News'' that circulated some 60,000 copies in six Mexican cities. That daily closed in 2002 as a result of the economic impact of Sept. 11, 2001.
Long-time employee Dan Dial, formerly of Oakland, Calif., took over as the editor of ''The News'' in 1993. Dan had worked his way up in the organization and was trusted by the owner. Novedades Editores fired the General Manager of the organization as the owners took more control of the Noveades Editores' operations. Dan Dial kept the peace, ensured the newspaper was published on time and avoided tough stories.
During the historic 2000 elections, the publisher banned the publication of photographs of Vicente Fox, the PAN presidential candidate who was contesting the PRI's long-standing dominance. Articles on homosexuality, abortion and AIDS were also prohibited. An assistant managing editor, Daniel Schechter (not to be confused with media writer Danny Schechter) published a front page article from the ''New York Times'', authored by Julie Preston, on gay rights in Guadalajara. He was fired for the decision to publish this article, but it was a conscious move on his part to break from the prohibition on certain content.
'Launching pad for correspondents'
In spite of its censorship, ''The News'' was a unique springboard for budding foreign correspondents, a way to immerse in foreign news coverage. The newspaper helped to nurture some well-known correspondents, including The ''Miami Herald'' reporter Alfonso Chardy — who was key to breaking the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s — was another ''News'' alum. Other journalists currently working in international correspondence also passed through the doors of ''The News'' early in their careers.
Novedades closed its doors in 2003 due to financial problems related to the Spanish-language daily. Due to labor laws, it would have been prohibitively expensive to shut Novedades while maintaining other publications of the house. Novedades had about 800 employees while the much smaller ''News'' had less than 50. ''The News'' was reportedly profitable even as it was shutting down.
Another paper tries it: ''The Herald Mexico,'' published by ''El Universal'' circulated in Mexico City. It was published through a joint-venture between ''The Miami Herald'' and ''El Universal.'' It was a much smaller publication than ''The News'' and closed on May 31, 2007.
Roll of News Staff

Reporters

Mark Stevenson (subsequently Mexico AP correspondent)

Elizabeth Malkin (subsequently NYT writer)

David Luhnow (subsequently WSJ correspondent)

Laurence Iliff (subsequently with The Dallas Morning News)

Ted Merz (subsequently managing editor at Bloomberg News)

Eduardo Garcia (former Bloomberg News reporter and founder of Sentido Comun)

Monica Gutschi (subsequently Dow Jones)

Jason Lange (subsequently Reuters correspondent)

Jeffrey Wright (subsequently editor of Mexico Watch)

Mark Whitehouse (subsequently WSJ writer)

John Hecht (subsequently Hollywood Reporter correspondent)

Graham Gori (subsequently NYT writer)

Stevenson Jacobs (subsequently Caribbean AP correspondent)

Ron Mader (subsequently Transitions Abroad writer and Planeta.com host)

Reed Lindsay (subsequently freelance, Argentina & Haiti)

Michael O'Boyle (subsequently correspondent for Variety and NPR)

Ioan Grillo (subsequently Mexico AP correspondent)

Bianca Vazquez Toness (subsequently reporter for NPR station in Boston, WBUR)

Ricardo Castillo

Michael Tangeman

Catherine Craddock (subsequently commissioning editor for Mexico and Central America at Lonely Planet)

Editors of The News

Michael J. Zamba

Dan Dial

Daniel Parkinson

Roberto Mena

Patricia Nelson

Pete Hamill

Roger Toll

Managing Editors

Barry Grant

Anna Dawn

Kelly Garrett

Tom Buckley 2000 to 2002

Tom Bassing 2000

Assistant Managing Editors

Liam White

Chris Williams

Online Editors

Cindy Hawes 2000 to 2002 (subsequently editor The Herald Mexico)

Elliot Cartledge 2000 to 2002 (subsequently freelance, Argentina & Australia)

National Editors

Joshua Tuynman 1999 to 2000 (subsequently editor of MB magazine)

Finance Editors

Carmelo Lodise 1992 to 1994

Christopher Scott 2001 to 2002

Noel Randewich (subsequently Mexico Reuters correspondent)

Tiina Tapia

Living Editors

Eva Bengtson 2002

Diane Wild 2001-2002