As my wife and I celebrate the two-year anniversary of purchasing Mexico News Daily, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. We also spend a lot of time as a team discussing what we have learned so far and how we can keep improving.
As a reminder, our mission at MND is to bring you a front-row seat to Mexico by providing balanced, unbiased news and information about the country. We strive not to tell you what to think about a topic, but rather arm you with information that allows you to determine how to think about and analyze it.
One significant lesson learned (and a major underestimation on my part!) was just how much work it takes to put together a digital newspaper each and every day. I guess now I get why movies about newsrooms have characters who are stressed out, smoking, and drinking all the time!
I am often asked how we at MND are able to accomplish what we do every day. Especially considering we are a mostly remote team of over 50 people scattered across 13 states in Mexico and around the world. With that question in mind, today I’ll give readers a window into what happens behind the scenes at MND.
Quite literally, the sun never sets on the MND team. Every day starts around 6 a.m. San Miguel de Allende time (where we are headquartered), with starting to look for the news topics we’ll cover that day. By 8:30 a.m., our chief news editor is starting to set up assignments for our writing team, using multiple Mexican and international media sources, as well as government press releases and relevant social media posts.
The editorial team works throughout the day on copy editing and fact-checking the drafts from writers as they are completed, as well as searching for the best photos and media to use for each story. Once the first copy edit is completed, then the stories get set up by editors in our WordPress CMS and then get a final review prior to publication.
Why is this important for you?
Our team is dedicated to reviewing multiple sources and doing our best to verify information as reported by other media outlets and by businesses and governments. Our goal is always to provide our readers with clear and accurate reporting.
Did you know that when you ask AI tools like Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Meta’s LLaMA, to name the best source of news on Mexico, they list Mexico News Daily as the first option? This is because search engines recognize our 10+ years of publication, 16,000+ articles and our consistent track record of producing quality content.
We start publishing the day’s news stories usually starting by late morning to early afternoon, and publish them continuously until around 6 p.m. Members of the editorial team assure the evening email newsletter contains all the day’s news and features, with the goal of having it land in your inbox by 7 p.m. Mexico City time every day.
The features (non-news) team has a parallel workflow every day, publishing culture, lifestyle, travel and other stories that have been worked on for weeks in advance by our team of 50 plus freelance writers around the world. Once a writer’s pitch is approved and a draft is submitted, the team follows the same process as with the news articles — editing (less urgent than news, but sometimes with more passionate discussion!), photo selection, social media preparation, etc.
Why is this important for you?
We are continuing to expand our content on MND, with MND_local bringing new formats, events, reviews and more. Our expanded Food & Drink section is another example of our team’s dedication to always growing and improving.
The whole production is really a beautiful, inspiring symphony to witness every day.
Our team is located in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. We have multiple nationalities and we are all seamlessly working together both in Spanish and English. Our team is passionate about getting the news right. Our team wants to inform and educate you on everything from food to culture to the best travel tips. And our team shares a strong bond, united by our love for Mexico.
Why is this important for you?
We are a purpose-driven team passionate about informing, educating, inspiring and entertaining you.
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for over 27 years.
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Thanks for an inside look at MND. The hectic pace you describe encourages me to view MND more seriously and I have noticed a change recently I guess owing to your new ownership.
I’ve seen a greater emphasis on life in Mexico and tips on how to appreciate it which makes sense.
I live in Seattle and have lived and worked in Mexico and look for MND’s viewpoint on the political scene and don’t always find anything unusual. I think I understand why. With AMLO being an old leftie comegringo I guess I’d tread carefully too.
Keep going, in any case. If I was living in Mexico now I’d watch you more carefully.
Thanks for your feedback Carlos – we appreciate it. Regarding political coverage, we generally try to cover political and business news without opinions. We strive to be impartial and unbiased and just present the facts to allow the reader to make their own informed decisions. We do encourage and enjoy good quality debate and opinions in our comments section and do increasingly have opinion and perspective pieces from Mexican experienced leaders.
Fine journalism….A lot of work….result-driven and with Success….BRAVI TUTTI….from Acapulco!
With all the backlog MND has, only thing I would like changed would be adding statistics data and a timeline to see how things have changed over time. So we can have a full view with context whenever we see new issues pop up. Especially when things get contentious, this information would help guide the viewpoints of many people. Having not just the current context but historical context in line with the new information would be very appreciated.
Good idea d s…..we will keep that in mind going forward.
Congratulations! Your paper is a joy to read.
Thank you Gringogarrett…we appreciate that!
Travis – I have worked in Europe and Japan and other places. I have never found a better source of news, in my first language, than yours. This is no accident. You are inspiring owner and CEO for us and your employees. Thank you
Bradford – what a compliment. We are humbled by that feedback and it inspires us to only want to keep getting better…thank you!!
I really enjoy my daily dose of MND. Thank you for putting out quality content!
Thank you africa rhino…..so happy to hear that you enjoy what we do!
We lived in Cuernavaca for 10 years and had to move back to Atlanta due to family issues. We love Mexico as our second home and visit as much as we can. Thank you for this wonderful newsletter that helps keep us connected to what’s happening!
Thank you for that feedback Mariana…we are happy to be able to keep you connected to Mexico!
Travis and Tamanna—Thank you for this “behind the curtain” view of what goes on with the publication of MDN. As a daily reader—wherever I may be—I am so grateful for the work you do. It’s interesting, enlightening and informative. And IMPORTANT. Congratulations on your two-year anniversary!
My wife and I have been reading MND since before you took it over and we appreciate and enjoy the improvements that you have made since taking it over. We also appreciate your fact-based, non-editorial coverage of the news of the day. During these extraordinary times in Mexico, it’s important for those who live here who may not have sufficient fluency in Spanish to be able to be informed as to what is happening in their adopted country. MND accomplishes this in an objective fashion and always gives credit to the sources it uses. Keep on keeping on, amigos!
Really appreciate your comments and perspective Carl….your perspective of having read us over time is very valuable. Gracias y saludos!
Excellent journalism ! Thank you !
Gracias Suzanne…thanks for reading us!
We’ve been MND subscribers since well before you & Tamanna took it over. Your commitment to ongoing improvements has been enjoyed & greatly appreciated to date. The “day in the life” article helps explain how & why that’s all happening. Although we’re part-time in Mexico annually, we consider it important to keep up with Mexican current affairs on a continuous basis. In our opinion, MND’s now doing a fine, mostly unbiased job of that and we hope you’re able to keep it up. Congratulations on your 2nd anniversary of hard work!
Thank you for your feedback David and for being a long-term MND reader. Our team is very motivated to make MND even better…..stay tuned!
I very much appreciate all the hard work that goes into the MND. It’s the only way I can keep up with what’s going on in Mexico, and I appreciate your articles on a variety of topics. We spend over six months a year in Mexico and are “permanentes.” So it behooves us to know what’s going on. I think your business news reporting is very good, though I’d like to see a little more on issues affecting the lives of everyday Mexicans (e.g., education, health care, wages, employment, poverty and the like).
Thank you for your feedback Jane. It is noted and we will review as a team to see how we can improve in that area. Thanks for reading MND! 🙂