Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jul 2009 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2009 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/formnewsroom Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Sarah Tenorio Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/mexico BORDER CONTINUES TO DRAW NATIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS EL PASO -- Tourists may be less inclined to visit Mexico. Media outlets, though, are eager to send reporters and commentators to the border. A Philadelphia-based radio crew will be the latest when it arrives in El Paso next week. Talk-show host Dom Giordano of CBS Radio's WPHT will travel to El Paso for two shows about drug smuggling and immigration issues. In March, CNN's Anderson Cooper came to town, reporting on drug violence in a piece called "The War Next Door." In January the New York Times described the sides of the border as "one violent, one peaceful." Immigration will be on the minds of Giordano and his crew. They will be joined in El Paso by the owner of Philadelphia's Geno's Steaks, Joey Vento, who stood in the national spotlight in 2005 after hanging a sign on his shop that read, "This is America. When ordering, please speak English." Vento has become a loud voice against illegal immigration. In 2007 he donated $10,000 to the city of Hazleton, Pa., supporting its crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Hazleton's mayor pushed through ordinances to punish businesses and landlords that hired or rented to undocumented immigrants. The ACLU challenged the ordinances and won, but Hazleton has appealed. "America seems to be now for everybody but Americans," Vento said in an interview Monday with the El Paso Times. He said he was sponsoring the radio show's trip because he wants to bring awareness to immigration issues. The crew will be visiting four different cities, including Dallas and Phoenix. In El Paso, Giordano said, he will interview and ride along with border agents. His show will broadcast from El Paso on July 15 and 16. Alan Bersin, whom Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano named U.S. border czar in April, said media interest started in December 2008, when drug-related violence reached a crescendo. "During the first quarter of '09, one story after the other focused on the violence of Mexico," he said. "What happened was that the national media awakened to something we're used to on the border." Moira Murphy, a visiting professor in UTEP's border studies department, said that when national media come to El Paso, they have access to three big topics: the maquila industry, immigration and border-security issues. She said El Paso stands out as a border city because it is integrated with Juarez and it's right on the border, unlike other so-called border towns such as San Diego. But Zita Arocha, director of UTEP's student-run Internet newspaper, said sometimes the press can get carried away with the violence in Juarez, giving the public a one-sided perspective. U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, in a written statement, said national media outlets could misrepresent what's happening in El Paso. "If news outlets are careful and report the facts accurately, then I believe the coverage can be positive for our community's image because El Paso's law enforcement agencies have done an excellent job in keeping residents safe," he said. "Some news reports, however, have mischaracterized the El Paso community as dangerous, and that is simply not true." Bersin said the Obama administration has used the media's increased interest in the border as an opportunity to form a stronger alliance between the United States and Mexico. "The American community needed to be assured that that violence would not spill over," he said. For the first time, Bersin said, the United States has accepted responsibility with Mexico, acknowledging that America's demand for drugs has fueled the success of drug cartels in Mexico. Once that responsibility was acknowledged, he said, the countries could start working on solutions. As for Giordano, he said he hoped to interview the mayor of Juarez, at least by phone. He also said he hoped to talk to El Paso politicians during his border tour. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin