“We need to lose the fear of sensitive topics.”

Born to two renowned journalists in Mexico, Emilio Reynoso never planned to follow in their footsteps. But a turn of events led him into an international career producing social media videos and documentaries. In this interview with DW Akademie, he reflects on access, breaking down stereotypes, and how journalism has evolved to become more inclusive. 

How did your career in journalism start? 

Journalism was never my initial plan; I like telling stories, but I wanted to be a filmmaker. It was only when I found that most award-winning documentary filmmakers have a background in journalism that I decided to pursue a career in journalism. 

It started in 2018, when I was still studying, with a small written format about movies in a Mexican newspaper. Then I found that there was a lack of sources for unbiased information in the place where I lived in Mexico and I started a small company of independent journalists. This was quite a challenge and very difficult to sustain financially, because most news outlets depend on a sponsor.   

After working in journalism for some time in Mexico, you decided to go back and do a trainee program with DW. Why did you make this decision? 

Having some experience does not mean there is nothing left you can learn. When the former director general of DW, Peter Limbourg, visited Mexico and I first heard about the trainee program, I was intrigued. I was working as a freelancer at the time, it was sometimes difficult to find work, there are still many prejudices about journalists with disabilities in Mexico. The traineeship was an opportunity, not only professionally, but all of it, moving to a new country, starting from zero. That was very attractive. I liked the challenge.  

In your work, you often focus on topics like accessibility and inclusion. How is your own disability part of your identity as a journalist? 

I was not born with a disability, but I acquired it after surgery to treat a condition I have had since birth. The doctors saved my life, but I had a spinal stroke and since then I have been using a wheelchair. After his happened, it left me with a lot of questions. I suddenly had to get to know my body again, learn how to move around. The disability world is very wide, I needed answers. So, the first thing that occurred to me was to interview someone else with a disability and make a documentary. It won several awards at independent film festivals, so I started doing a series. It all started with a desire to find answers to my own questions, but it led me also to bring in questions from the community of people with disabilities in Mexico and help them find their answers.

For DW, you went to Mexico just before the World Cup. In this context, you reported on accessibility at the stadiums. What was this like and what did you learn? 

I went to Mexico just for a week to assist colleagues co-producing videos and to pitch ideas, and one video was about going to the stadium by only taking public transportation. Moving to Germany, I got into a routine of using public transportation every day, something I did not do back in Mexico.  

So, when I came to Mexico on this trip, I wanted to show how it works to get from point A, near the house where I stayed, to the stadium, which was quite a common route to be taken during the World Cup.   

In the video, I showed that it was quite difficult, although the government and FIFA said this was the most accessible World Cup so far. It really wasn’t very accessible.  

Choosing to tell such stories as part of your role, do you see yourself as an activist or spokesperson for people with disabilities?  

I don’t consider myself an activist because I don’t consider myself an expert in the matter. I know several activists and they are brilliant at what they do. As a journalist, you have to be more neutral and try to see both sides of a story, while activists can be blinded by their passion. Of course, this can be challenging. This is an important topic for me. But in my role as a journalist, I like to be a center part that connects ideas and guides you through different perspectives. This means personally, I try to stay objective and always have a second colleague check my work to add a fresh perspective and make sure I am not being too personal or biased.  

Looking at journalistic work, which responsibility do journalists have in reporting on disabilities as a topic? 

I think the first responsibility for journalists is to report consciously and respectfully and to not fall into the old mistakes we have been committing, like sensationalizing a story, doing something like inspirational porn, or using the disability only as a source of inspiration.  

I think what we need to do instead is focus on the context first, ask what is going on, what is the social context and then look at the person, and let the disability be the least of your concerns. Don’t focus on the wheelchair, focus on the guy first.  

I also think we need to lose the fear of getting involved with sensitive topics. We need to talk about them. If we don’t, we are part of the problem. 

Would you say that the journalistic profession has become more inclusive?  

I think so. There are more stories on the topic, there are more disabled reporters, there are even more disabled reporters that appear on screen. You used to see the person struggling with a broken elevator, now you see the reporter asking critical questions about it.  

Looking at your personal ambition, what do you want to achieve in your career as a journalist? 

Right now, I'm on the right path, developing more skills and learning how the media landscape is constantly changing and how to be ahead of the curve.