The poor choice of a verb caused a combination that, at the very least, was unfortunate in Folhas sports section on Friday. The headline on the section said: Five-time champs bury illusion of (World) Cup.
It referred to a story in which the climate between players and Brazils soccer commission is that the accepted and efficient soccer ball used during the World Cup will have a difficult time being reissued in coming competitions, due to the same reasons as always, such as lack of time for training and a change in coaches.
Up to that point, its OK.
Also beneath this headline was a photograph with a caption referring to a related topic, the burial of former trainer Carlos Froner, considered by Luiz Felipe Scolari (head coach of Brazils World Cup soccer team) as a second father (see above).
One reader complained in an e-mail: (the edition) touches the memory of the deceased, his family, friends and Folha readers. It looked as if the burial were one of those fake corteges conducted by frivolous protesters. Its lamentable.
The editors of the sports section asserted to the ombudsman that it was purely coincidental that the word bury was used in the headline on the page for the accompanying story in close proximity to the (real) burial of the former trainer.
Coincidence or not, its hard to understand why the formulation of the headline was not at least changed during the more than four hours that separated the closing of the national edition (8:30 p.m.) and the edition that circulates in So Paulo (1 a.m. on Friday).
This was, at the very least, a mixture of inattention with a pure lack of sensitivity.
Regionalism, proselytism
I didnt intend to deal with the presidential elections again this week, but I feel the urge to do so because of two aspects among the innumerable involving news reported about the topic.
First was regionalism.
Brazil has 26 states and a federal district. Question: How have the campaigns for governor in other states outside of So Paulo been treated in the special section devoted to the elections which Folha started last Sunday? It has been bare minimum, even in the so-called national edition. See for yourself:
In the first edition on Sunday, nothing.
On Monday there was a Datafolha survey only for the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
On Tuesday came a story about Rio Grande do Sul and one about Rio, both at the bottom of the page.
On Wednesday we saw a teaser about the accusation against the governor of Amap state, a story about Rio and the Look Around the Country roundup had three briefs. Altogether, they totaled a half page and were on an even-numbered page, when its well known that odd-numbered pages have greater value.
In this edition, notice that there was a back page with a box that summed up the favorites in all the races, but it had a direct focus on the relationship to the presidential race (the headline was Ciro has the advantage in state races). It referred to Ciro Gomes, once governor of the northeastern state of Cear and former finance minister, who is the presidential candidate for the Peoples Socialist Party.
On Thursday came a story about Paran state and five briefs in Look Around the Country, totaling a quarter page in all.
On Friday there was only one story, at the bottom of the page, about Rio Grande do Sul.
Thats everything, except for one reported yesterday that impugned the candidacy of Jorge Viana, of the left-leaning Workers Party, in Acre state, an event with national repercussions that could only have taken readers by surprise. Still, besides Acre, only three briefs were reported about other states.
In previous elections, Folha managed in a certain way to cover the problem with a much larger number of Datafolha surveys outside of So Paulo. This resource is now dehydrated.
The newspaper, which considers itself to be national in scope, needs to find a way to match this reputation. Otherwise in what would certainly be disastrous it will be assumed that Folha has abandoned the idea of national coverage of the elections to occupy itself with only the national and So Paulo races, while offering occasional briefs about other states in roundups.
Columnists
I received a copy of a memorandum sent at the beginning of the week by the newspapers management to its columnists. Because of the importance of its contents, I asked and was granted permission to reproduce the message from Editor-in-Chief Otavio Frias Filho in its entirety.
Folha seeks to practice independent journalism, defined as critical and non-partisan. We want to keep a full complement of columnists, seeking to offer readers an ample variety of viewpoints.
Given the normal pressures and expectations during an election season, there is always the possibility that bylined columns will deviate from their role of information and analysis to occasionally become vehicles for electoral proselytizing.
At the same time, Folha would not like to get in the way of its columnists expressing their viewpoints about their possible electoral preferences when they consider it indispensable.
For this reason, following the example that we practiced in past elections, we solicit those responsible for by-lined columns to kindly abstain from using these spaces to proselytize.
Columns of this specific nature can be published on the editorial page, which Folha traditionally considers a space reserved for any opinion.
Occasional contributions such as those referred to as having the intent to proselytize should be sent to the top editors.
Compromise
The fact that this message arose at a time when the newspaper was required by the So Paulo Electoral Tribunal to publish the right of response to a column which appeared last Tuesday could be a mere coincidence. I dont know.
In any event, equal treatment to all columnists, in theory stanching a situation in which some feel inclined to use the newspaper for election sermonizing, which implies being compromised, is becoming public here.
It makes sense and is welcome, and its reproduction in this column doesnt have only an informative nature. As with all documents of this type, starting with Folhas Stylebook, permanent vigilance by readers will be essential to make sure this doesnt die on paper.
