Mariana van Zeller is a bit of a journalism superstar. Facing Crime, his show, is in its second season on National Geographic. She is interested in the black market, in all its forms. During a live meeting from Los Angeles we were able to ask him some questions. Just Focus: You host a show on National Geographic, Facing Crime, which follows various illegal trafficking around the world. Why did you choose this subject of study?
Mariana van Zeller: Most people don't realize the economic importance of the black market. In fact, almost half of the working population lives with or from these underground markets. These markets are very important and yet so little is known about them. As a journalist, I believe my goal is to seek this information, to convey it to the public. We have so little information on these topics I think, that's the main aspect of the show. JF: When you talk about the role of the journalist, do you think it's all about giving the information to the public or giving them an explanation of it? MVZ: I think it's both, giving the information certainly, but also making sure that he is interested in it. Find information in unusual places, where it does not want to be found. This is the subject of Facing Crime. Make the audience attached to the people you meet. Since there are encounters, we don't just tell stories, we live them in Facing Crime. 
JF: When we learn about your work, we always come across the same words: compassion, empathy… Do you think this is a good summary of your work? MVZ: That's something really important to me. When you work on such special subjects as drug trafficking, arms trafficking. I mean and I always tell people that I'm not here to judge them but to understand. If people continue to talk to us it's because of that. This is because in the end we remain as human as possible in our work. When you see people like that it's important to feel connected. Thanks to the place we give them, not as criminals but as humans on whom we can bring a new look in the show. JF How do you find your subjects and especially the people you interview? MVZ: It's particularly difficult. For every "yes", we have a dozen "no". We rely a lot on local journalists. We call them "Fixers", they share with us their sources. They are the ones who take the most risks, we, in the end, went home, they did not. We, for our part, must do them justice, not denigrate or tell false things about them and their sources. For us, certainly, but also for them, their safety. JF: Are you ever afraid of the people you meet or certain situations? MVZ: Sometimes I often have a duality between fear and curiosity. Curiosity often prevails (laughs). I've been studying black markets for a long time and security is probably the first thing that comes into play. We have a lot of work upstream to make sure it goes well. Let's say that we do not go on site if there is the slightest suspicion of danger for us before the shooting, if the conditions are not met. JF: Do you have any new projects after this one? MVZ: For now, I'm focusing on the next seasons of Facing Crime. I hope I can do several. There are still plenty of topics to be done. 
JF: Do you think you can find new ways to deal with subjects? MVZ: In season 2, I have this impression that we went further, but above all that we treated the subjects as a whole, not as a single subject but also as a subject as a whole. When we deal with certain topics such as white supremacism, we have been able to move away from this idea of material trafficking. Instead of selling drugs or weapons, they sell ideas. JF: One last question on white supremacism, do you think it's one of the biggest threats to American democracy today, as the FBI said in one of its reports? MVZ: In the United States, yes, but not only. They are very well organized groups. They learn quickly and use networks to convince new members. They have the opportunity to help each other and train. We filmed this in Ukraine and it's fascinating, both their methods and their struggles. These are problematic groups, they are able to attack quickly, as we have already seen. But above all, they are not confined only to the American era. We see this rise of extremist groups all over the West, that's the danger.
JF: When we learn about your work, we always come across the same words: compassion, empathy… Do you think this is a good summary of your work? MVZ: That's something really important to me. When you work on such special subjects as drug trafficking, arms trafficking. I mean and I always tell people that I'm not here to judge them but to understand. If people continue to talk to us it's because of that. This is because in the end we remain as human as possible in our work. When you see people like that it's important to feel connected. Thanks to the place we give them, not as criminals but as humans on whom we can bring a new look in the show. JF How do you find your subjects and especially the people you interview? MVZ: It's particularly difficult. For every "yes", we have a dozen "no". We rely a lot on local journalists. We call them "Fixers", they share with us their sources. They are the ones who take the most risks, we, in the end, went home, they did not. We, for our part, must do them justice, not denigrate or tell false things about them and their sources. For us, certainly, but also for them, their safety. JF: Are you ever afraid of the people you meet or certain situations? MVZ: Sometimes I often have a duality between fear and curiosity. Curiosity often prevails (laughs). I've been studying black markets for a long time and security is probably the first thing that comes into play. We have a lot of work upstream to make sure it goes well. Let's say that we do not go on site if there is the slightest suspicion of danger for us before the shooting, if the conditions are not met. JF: Do you have any new projects after this one? MVZ: For now, I'm focusing on the next seasons of Facing Crime. I hope I can do several. There are still plenty of topics to be done. 
JF: Do you think you can find new ways to deal with subjects? MVZ: In season 2, I have this impression that we went further, but above all that we treated the subjects as a whole, not as a single subject but also as a subject as a whole. When we deal with certain topics such as white supremacism, we have been able to move away from this idea of material trafficking. Instead of selling drugs or weapons, they sell ideas. JF: One last question on white supremacism, do you think it's one of the biggest threats to American democracy today, as the FBI said in one of its reports? MVZ: In the United States, yes, but not only. They are very well organized groups. They learn quickly and use networks to convince new members. They have the opportunity to help each other and train. We filmed this in Ukraine and it's fascinating, both their methods and their struggles. These are problematic groups, they are able to attack quickly, as we have already seen. But above all, they are not confined only to the American era. We see this rise of extremist groups all over the West, that's the danger.
