Reforma was launched in
Mexico City in November 1993 by
Alejandro Junco de la Vega as an offshoot of his successful
Monterrey paper,
El Norte. Soon after the paper's launch, he brought
Reforma and
El Norte together with his other newspapers--
El Sol and
Metro—to unite them under a single publishing company, which he named
Grupo Reforma. Like Grupo Reforma's other publications,
Reforma took great pains to separate its commercial division from its journalism division. Journalists were forbidden from taking bribes and the paper was forbidden from selling advertising space to the subjects of its news stories. Junco believed that commercial success through selling newspapers and advertising was a fundamental aspect to establishing free press. To this end, he began offering food and fashion sections in
Reforma and the newspaper became popular among the middle class.
A new journalism model In 1991, Junco implemented a model of community editorial boards that would eventually become the standard for Grupo Reforma. He invited hundreds of readers, thought leaders, and experts to participate in editorial boards that helped set the newspapers' editorial agenda. Not only did this promote community involvement in civic matters, but it also ensured a diversity of viewpoints. Junco has described the editorial boards as promoting democracy and objectivity because its members are politically balanced and come from a wide variety of backgrounds. According to Junco, the system puts the power in the hands of the readers.
Independent distribution In October 1994, Mexico City's government-affiliated newspaper carrier union boycotted delivery of
Reforma. Junco led his reporters in the streets to sell the papers themselves. Junco also hired his own vendors to create an independent distribution system in Mexico City. The
freedom-of-information legislation gave journalists, investigators, and ordinary citizens access to government information that had been denied to them for decades.
Reforma was also part of a campaign against government
censorship during the early 2000s. The paper publicly denounced defamation charges that government officials (such as former Mexico City Mayor
Rosario Robles) had levied against Junco and his reporters. These efforts persuaded legislators to decriminalize the expression of ideas. The news coverage provided by
Reforma and other Grupo Reforma publications eventually persuaded Mexican legislators to approve a
2008 judicial reform that instituted public trials and put greater emphasis on due process rights. ==Awards==