Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Reflections from our CEO on 10 years of Mexico News Daily

I would like to take a moment to thank all of our readers and reflect on 10 years of Mexico News Daily.

Over these past 10 years, MND has published over 16,000 articles on news, business, politics, culture and more, to give you a front-row seat to Mexico. Our team is deeply committed to helping positively contribute to the future of Mexico. We believe in the very bright future of the people and the country, and we are certain that we can have an important impact on that future by providing balanced news and information and inspiring informed and objective debate.

This will bring better economic and political decisions, which in turn will bring more investment and confidence in the country. And that will lead to better outcomes for everyone — better education, better healthcare, better infrastructure, etc.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 65% of new businesses fail by their tenth anniversary, and in Mexico, reportedly 75% of small businesses fail within two years of launching. I am sure that the percentage is even higher for media companies like MND. So with that backdrop, our team wants to celebrate this milestone and take a moment to share with you why we think what we do is more important and more relevant than ever.

We are living in dynamic times — to say the least. We are all struggling with an information overload, and the frustrations of having to sort through a highly polarized and often ultra-opinionated news feed. As I spend an average of 4-5 hours per day reading news from throughout Mexico, the U.S. and the world, I must say I am increasingly shocked and saddened by the state of the news today. Most mainstream media outlets don’t even attempt to present an unbiased, balanced perspective in their coverage of Mexico.

To make matters worse, it has become far too easy to scroll our way through Facebook, Instagram or X feeds to get our “news.”  The problem is, as we know, it often is not news, but opinions — and usually highly divisive ones that we get “fed.”

We increasingly don’t even understand why we are even being shown the stream that we get.

Just recently, Jack Dorsey, the remorseful founder of Twitter, expressed how conflicted he felt about his creation and said: “Five companies are building tools that we will all become entirely dependent upon. And because they’re so complicated, we have no idea how to verify the correctness, we have no idea how to verify how they work, or what they’re actually doing.”

He went on: “Because people have become so dependent on it, it’s actually changing and impacted the agency we have. We can resist it all we want, but it knows us better than we know us, because we tell it our preferences implicitly and explicitly all of the time, and it just feels super dangerous to continue to rely on that.”

We at Mexico News Daily are deeply concerned about the world Dorsey describes, which arguably is one we already live in.

We are a team of 50+ passionate, motivated and inspired professionals committed to Mexico — committed to providing our readers with the best platform to learn about this country and its people.

Our team has a culture of doing the best we can to bring you objective reporting on the news and allow you, the reader, to come to your own conclusions.

We are not perfect at this, but it’s important for you to know that we take the issue very seriously and work very hard at it.

I guess you could think of us a little bit in a Star Wars context…we are The Resistance. The Resistance to being told what to think. The Resistance to being told how to think. The Resistance to being told what to read. The Resistance to media outlets that prioritize click-bait over real news. The Resistance, as Dorsey said, “to being programmed” by the media giants.

Here’s to another 10 years of MND and beyond! We feel that we are just getting started and have lots of great improvements coming soon. Thank you for being a reader and please support us by becoming a paid subscriber.

Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for over 27 years.

38 COMMENTS

  1. I am all in !!
    “I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.” JD Rockefeller

  2. Congrats! I’ve been a reader for at least 5 years and enjoy the changes and added content. Please try to stay balanced regarding political content.

    Thanks,

    Scotty

  3. I have lived in Mexico part time for the past 4 years or so. I really enjoy Mexico Daily. As someone trying to learn Espanol in my senior years, I obviously cannot access the local media. Your news offerings, perspectives and insights are invaluable to me as I navigate living here, a country and people that I have grown quite fond of. Keep up the good work! All the Very Best!

    • Don’t give up on learning Spanish. Just immerse yourself in the language. Spend some days not reading anything in English. Wander round a town asking everyone you meet on the next street corner the way to the post office. Keep the TV on constantly tuned to Mexican channels. Listen to Mexican chat programmes on your car radio. You will get there. Believe me. I had to do that when I started working in Mexico!

  4. I have been living in Mexico for 9 years now. Happily retired on the beach, but working harder than ever. I have lived all over the world, and Spanish is now my sixth language. I am glad I saved the best for last.
    I love reading your insightful, informative articles that show a deep understanding and love for this beautiful country. Please keep it coming, and my heartfelt thanks.

  5. Travis, you and your wife deserve an extra thank you for making sure MND made 10 years and many more beyond. Having been a subscriber for the 7 years we have lived in Mexico and one of the first when there was a “volunteer” pay wall, I have an inkling how close MND was to failing….so for the both of you to commit to MND is wonderful. Not just that, but MND is infinitely better, more in depth, more interesting and worldly contributors (not slightly ANY of the many contributors who are fabulous with wonderful perspectives) and your personal perspective is always interesting. I love Mexico, its people, culture, geography, history and on and on. But I have learned so much of all of Mexico thru MND, not just our little area, that I can’t imagine a day without reading something from MND. Thank you. David Lea

    • David – that is so kind of you to say. It means so much to the whole team that our hard work is recognized. We really appreciate it! Thank you for being along for the Mexican ride with us!

  6. Congratulations! I’m glad to read that you are aware that Mexico’s mainstream media is extremely biased (against the current government) and don’t report the true state of current affairs. Having said that, I’m often surprised by some of the articles that come from US based think tanks and other articles from right wing media such as Reforma, Financiero, Millenio, Etc…
    Other than the political slant and often unbalanced reporting, the other non-political articles are “genial”. Que sigan los Ă©xitos y que sean más balanceados los artĂ­culos polĂ­ticos. Te recomiendo Contralinea, La Jornada, John Ackerman, Nancy Flores, Nacho RodrĂ­guez, Los Periodistas, los cartoneros del Chamuco. Gracias por abrir los comentarios. Felicidades y fuerte abrazo 🤗 amigo!

    • Thank you Diego. We are working to bring opinions from writers across the political spectrum. Stay tuned for more soon.

  7. It’s a shame what has happened to journalism. I get all my news from MND, Reuters, & the BBC. Even trade magazines from the US fail to remain neutral and the editorials are politically skewed. I feel MND delivers a quality product and the subscription price is very fair. The lifestyle pieces are great. Sarah DeVries is a fantastic writer and one of my favorite authors/journalists. I might be alone on this, but I miss the weekly breakdown of AMLOs daily mananeras/pressers. Keep it up. I appreciate the work you’re doing.

    • Thank you Norse Hombre for your comments and feedback. We decided to wind down the weekly AMLO mananera summary as his term comes to a close. We wanted to increase our focus on all of the candidates during the elections and now we are watching to see what Ms Sheinbaum does going forward to help us determine how to cover it. In the meantime, we are trying to cover all of the major political stories though other articles. Thank you for being a reader of MND!

  8. As a MND paid subscriber for the past 7 years, and part-time resident in Mexico throughout the same period, I look forward to receiving each daily edition of MND. Together, you have managed to raise the bar on factual & informational journalism in Mexico since you both assumed MND’s ownership. In today’s increasingly polarized world there is virtually no possibility for truly balanced journalism, but your ongoing efforts in striving to continuously achieve that balance are to be admired. Keep up the great work & you will hopefully achieve a wider base of well-deserved financial support for your work through increasing numbers of paid subscriptions.

    • David – thank you so much for being a subscriber and for supporting us. Your feedback truly helps motivate and inspire our very hard working team!

  9. I love being a contributor to this fabulous site! It’s a rare sane voice in the journalistic wilderness, and keeps getting better and better.

  10. Thank you for Mexico News Daily, Travis Bembenek. My University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication study abroad students and I are looking forward to meeting with you and learning from you next month. Here’s to the continuing success of MND, Peter Laufer

    • Thank you Peter. I am looking forward to hopefully inspiring alot of the kids with the work we are doing at MND and with my experience as a Mexico study abroad student!

  11. I am an Australian living, working and investing in Mexico. I have been involved in business here since 1994, currently we are Campeche state largest tropical dairy producer. I read the Mexican news daily every day, its reader friendly, informative. I think MMD is going to shine over the next decade as near shoring becomes a massive incentive for investment in Mexico. With all the International turbulence, why wouldn’t you want to positioned by land to one of the largest consumer of goods and products in the world.

  12. I do not know how long I have been a subscriber. I believe I was reading MDN before you could get an online renewable subscription with a credit card. I have been sharing articles for years. Thank you for the amazing ethics, teamwork and inspiration.

  13. I tell every Gringo in Ajijic and Chapala to sign up for MND. Along with the NYTimes and The PBS NewsHour I know I am getting accurate information, curated in ways that help me understand more about this wonderful country that allows me to call her my home. MND is invaluable to me. Thank you and best wishes as you go forward. I don’t say good luck because you are such a good leader and journalist I am sure you will make all your own luck

    • That’s so motivating and inspiring to hear Bradford. Thank you for sharing that anecdote with us and thank you for helping get the word out for who we are and what we do. We have a great team working very hard to get better every day! Saludos!

  14. Since you have taken over this publication, it has become significantly a better product. A nice blend of news and opinion with much broader context. My only thought… would it be possible to publish just once a day a complete edition instead of several times daily?

    • Thank you for your feedback Alexander. We are working to offer options on the daily emails soon.
      Thanks for being a subscriber of MND!

  15. Congratulations and thank you Travis to you and to your Team for those 10 years of fine improve work and articles!
    I really like and greatly appreciate your constant monitoring, you are very actively present!
    With you the best for the continuation!
    Serge

  16. Congratulations on 10 years.

    I wish there were more actual news articles and less opinion/comment articles. Many articles have had unnecessary filler which made them long.

  17. Great work on your behalf trying to sort fact from fiction, which seems to be everywhere or very slanted.

    I am a Canadian living here for 23 years., a great country with great people.

    The potential for Mexico’s future is excellent if handled carefully and intelligently and not swayed by surrounding nations.

    Thanks for your efforts

    Joan

Comments are closed.

Two hands reach out for a handshake, representing a deal between Trump and Sheinbaum

What could a Sheinbaum-Trump deal look like? A perspective from our CEO

63
As Trump dangles the threat of tariffs over Mexico, Travis Bembenek delves into how Sheinbaum might handle the situation.
Over the past two weeks, there has been an increasing number of Facebook posts from people in expat groups across the country asking if U.S. residents living in Mexico could be at risk of being deported.

Misinformation about Americans at risk of being deported from Mexico: A perspective from our CEO

38
Mexico News Daily's CEO Travis Bembenek has a few words of caution for expats living in Mexico during Trump 2.0.

Are foreigners still moving to Mexico? Our CEO interviews immigration expert Sonia Diaz

38
Mexico News Daily CEO Travis Bembenek sits down with immigration consultant Sonia Diaz to get her insight into current immigration trends.