Sons of well-known reporters are latest deaths in violence against Mexican journalists

Two men were killed by gunmen in Chihuahua, Mexico, Saturday morning who are both sons of different well-known Mexican journalists, Reuters reported. A spokesman told Reuters that the deaths of the two men were unrelated to their parents' professions. The incident prefaced another later that weekend in which authorities found seven people dead in a car in a suburb near Mexico City Sunday morning, according to the Reuters article.

"Mexican journalists are often targeted and killed by drug cartels for reporting on their activities." Reuters reported. A recent story in the Texas Observer reported on the unsolved murder of El Diario reporter Armando Rodriguez, for which authorities have been criticized for ignoring. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a total of 28 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992.

This issue of Mexican journalists' safety will be central at the 2013 IRE Conference in San Antonio. Marcela Turati will be the keynote speaker and will discuss the current situation. Turati co-founded Periodistas de Pie, which looks to support reporters covering the drug war and also seeks to protect freedom of speech.