The aim of this paper is to analyze the state of the investigative journalism in Mexico, especially the one practiced at the local level in the provinces. That is, rather than considering the so-called national press – located in Mexico City - which might not offer an accurate picture of the country as a whole, this study is based upon a case study conducted in Morelia, the capital city of the state of Michoacán. The empirical evidence will show that there is an evident divergence regarding the practice of the investigative journalism: on the one hand, journalists are aware of what this concept involves and they consider that they practice it on a regular basis; but, on the other, the content analysis prove otherwise. In other words, the account of what is actually printed significantly differs from the news workers’ perceptions, because the former shows a poorly developed journalistic investigation practice. Furthermore, this is also the opinion of their sources, who argue that local press lacks of investigative stories and shows an evident “press release dependence”. As a result of this situation, this paper argues that journalism in Morelia is instrumentalized by the political power, which is also a reflection of the Mexican media system. In sum, the Morelia case will demonstrate that the investigative journalism in the provinces of Mexico oscillates between ideals and realities. As a result, reporters show low levels of professionalization

Watching television serves a wide range of purposes ranging from entertainment to information seeking. Human beings require too fulfil certain psychological needs throughout the day; one of them is the need to locate themselves within a larger psycho-social context. This is one of the main reasons behind news in general and television news shows in particular. They assist people in evaluating their environment through visual and verbal information. Television news production follows journalistic criteria which incorporates media agendas fostered by political, financial and also aesthetic values. The study looks at the way television news making in three national networks portrays organized crime stories. By conducting a longitudinal content analysis in four different years (i.e. 1997, 2000, 2009 and 2013) of news stories covering organized crime in Mexico, this work allows to compare over time and across television networks they way crime news are framed on Mexican television. The study finds helps to understand how different social contexts might correlate to the way crime news are located within the news shows and also how different State institutions are related to this issue.