March 10, 2014
Melissa del Bosque, an investigative reporter for The Texas Observer since 2008, spoke to students and faculty on March 7 about her coverage of the economic, political and institutional violence in the US-Mexico border region.
“The Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication has been working hard to get documentation on what’s happening on the border and how the violence is affecting the entire region,” said Journalism Professor José Luis Benavides. “The work of Melissa del Bosque stands out because she is able to write stories that nobody else is spending the time to do in the border region.”
Del Bosque shared stories about child immigration, drug cartel control, government corruption and the struggles she faced as a reporter in the region. Del Bosque admitted that the psychological toll of writing about these topics occasionally forced her to take a break and focus on lighter subjects. However, her passion lies in reporting on the border region and telling the stories of the thousands of men, women and children who live in fear and desperation daily.
“One of the difficulties of writing about the conflicts happening right now is getting reliable information,” said del Bosque. “So many incidents go unreported and there’s also covered-up information on behalf of the government and drug cartels.”
After the presentation, students asked del Bosque what it would take for Mexico to change its current situation.
“It’s tough to realize that it might take a revolution against Mexico’s government for things to change,” said Karen Ramirez, a CSUN student. “Mexico is so closely intertwined with America, and yet we have no idea of the problems they face and how they can be alleviated.”