It was founded in 1980 by Jesús Blancornelas, known as "the spiritual godfather of modern Mexican journalism", along with Héctor Félix Miranda and Francisco Ortiz Franco. The magazine regularly runs exposés on corruption in local and federal governments as well as on organized crime and drug trafficking, resulting in numerous threats and attacks against its staff. Félix was murdered in 1988 by bodyguards of politician Jorge Hank Rhon, while Ortiz was assassinated in 2004, apparently for his coverage of the Tijuana Cartel. Blancornelas was also ambushed by gunmen in 1997; though one of his bodyguards was killed, but Blancornelas managed to survive his wounds. Following Blancornelas's death of stomach cancer in 2006, Adela Navarro Bello became "Zeta"'s editor-in-chief. Both Blancornelas and Navarro received numerous international awards for their work with the magazine.