The accident shows problems in journalistic coverage: a lack of reliable information, a lack of knowledge and a lack of sensitivity
Access to information
The first big stumbling block in coverage of this type is access to reliable and official information. Caution by authorities and companies involved is understandable. Any incorrect information provokes panic or revulsion.
But the population can’t remain without information. The ideal procedure was prescribed by a Folha editorial on Friday. “Authorities should behave with transparency and sobriety in investigating the accident.” This means providing correct information as soon as possible to avoid allowing space for rumors and speculation.
Newspapers end up highlighting more information leaked by unidentified sources than official news. While authorities still are unwilling to provide all the information necessary for a conclusion, news organizations were fed unofficially with data that carried new organizations to practically conclude that the pilots of the Legacy are to blame. The headline in “O Estado de So Paulo” on Wednesday left no doubt: “Legacy is blamed for tragedy.”
This, despite evidence that authorities who are investigating still have more questions than answers. An informative graphic published by Folha on Friday showed that, of the eight key questions that needed to be clarified about the accident, investigators are willing to respond to only three of them up to now. On this point, the press should behave obstinately to demand official information that is reliable and constant, and with caution, to not fall to temptation.
Understanding
There is a problem with sources and a problem with understanding. The press took a beating, and continues to take a beating about coverage of a topic that is extremely technical and complex. The accumulated knowledge about aviation by newsrooms is very low. In the case of Folha, it is almost non-existent. The reporters involved had to tame in a few hours an area that demands specialization, an increasingly rare commodity in newsrooms.
A reader, who I don’t identify because I did not obtain authorization, presented himself as an aviator and made a series of observations that summarize the messages I received: “Previously, when I worked in medical air transportation, I asked my colleagues at the company, doctors and nurses, if the press was too imprecise concerning the news about medicine as well as about aviation, and I was astonished by the affirmative response. We have all read with amazement, I and various other aviators, information (some cited as ‘specialized sources’) that was distorted and very speculative about the accident.”
Sensitivity
The final aspect involves the lack of sensitivity that appears at delicate times such as now. The line between the obligation to inform about a tragedy in the public interest and respect for the rights of those who want to suffer far from the cameras and microphones is very tenuous and demands from journalists a great deal of respect and sensitivity. The haste ended up being a terrible lesson.
It is obvious that this evaluation is subjective. I was shocked on Friday, Sept. 29, when I watched the evening news on the Globo TV network because of a detail. The main story reported that by midnight the Boeing aircraft had not been located and that five airplanes from the Brazilian Air Force continued the search through the night. For those who watched the news, there was some hope. But after that came a story that was a cold shower: “In the history of Brazilian aviation, the two worst accidents left no survivors.” And it described two airplane accidents.
The story was correct, but it seems inopportune to me. Why not wait a little longer for new information? I imagined the disappointment of a relative of some passenger who was watching the news, still hopeful.
As I said, these are subjective evaluations. But they should be part of our concerns about how we cover the tragedy of flight 1907.
EYEWITNESS
“A lesson to never forget”
Journalist Antnio Gois at Folha in recent days experienced the drama of families and friends of the disaster of flight 1907. Among the 154 passengers who died was his father-in-law, Mauro Romano. Gois experienced the difficulties to which afflicted people are subjected at these times to obtain bits of information and the unpleasant, at times aggressive, harassment of the press seeking information and stories. His account: * “I learned Friday night from my wife, journalist Dbora Thom, that my father-in-law was on flight 1907. Since then, besides the pain of the tragedy, we confronted the worst scenario possible for those who seek information: the lack of official news and excess of speculation by the press and some authorities.
“This speculation reached a peak on Saturday when some TV stations and news sites reported that there were survivors. The news was attributed to the municipal health department where the airplane crashed and sources in the airport administration. Knowing that there was no official information, my wife and I tried to explain to the rest of the family that it was too early to celebrate. Unfortunately, we were right.
“Since the beginning of the tragedy, it was also clear to me that sometimes we journalists have the same sensitivity as morticians at the time of death.
“At the lobby of the airport, while I waited a long time for some confirmation from Gol (airlines), I was separated from my journalistic colleagues by only a cord. Some of them hurriedly ran up to family members with cameras and flashes seeking photos. Others, even from a distance, laughed and made jokes among themselves while they waited for a family member willing to talk.
“There were also those, on the following days, who called my mother-in-law’s house insistently to seek interviews, even if they had heard that the family was not willing to talk at the time.
“Despite all this, I continue to believe that the role of the press at such a time is very important. So much that many family members voluntarily sought journalists to complain about the lack of information. Meanwhile, I realized that in practice that they don’t always respect limits.
“From this episode I learned a lesson that I will never forget. We seek journalistic objectivity and critical distance so that, at times, we also end up losing sensitivity and, worse, respect for the drama for those who are experiencing such a tragedy. Without speaking of the uncritical search for exclusive information that, at a time like this, only increases the anguish for those who are on the other side.”
Translation by John Wright
