A survey of stories published from 2004 to 2006 shows the most recurring topics in the newspaper – soccer, Brazil’s federal government, So Paulo City Hill and the United States government.
Many men and few women. That is a summary of the main focus of interest in Folha in these three years that I have followed the production of the newspaper as ombudsman.
The data that I present in this column were the result of my request to the newspaper’s archives under the coordination of Carlos Kauffmann. It is not an exhaustive study about Folha, nor is it conclusive, but it reveals a little bit about how its journalistic antenna functions, which topics and personalities its sensors capture frequently.
While some results seem obvious, the unprecedented survey is important in revealing the main focus of coverage and some details about daily coverage that went by without notice.
I don’t know if it will have any value for the newsroom, but, in my opinion, the exploration of the database could serve as reflection and for adjustments in the editorial line. As for readers who use the newspaper as a daily source of information and opinion, the data could help to better understand the newspaper they chose and demand more reliability from it.
The survey searched in 231,292 news stories published between Jan. 1, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2006 for the most common topics and personalities. The base surveyed corresponds to 720f the stories published by the newspaper because it did not include op-ed pieces, columns, fixed sections and the front page. The result reflects the juncture of two elections (municipal and presidential), three years of Luiz Incio Lula da Silva’s presidency, the sharpening of the Mideast crisis and hegemony disputed by the United States.
The topics
I highlight the points that seem the most relevant and curious to me.
1 – The newspaper has four topics in which it excels without competition: soccer (present in 10.50f the news stories published), Lula and his administration (9%), the city of So Paulo (8%) and the United States (6%). The other topics are dispersed.
2 – National news is Braslia, the source of 640f stories on politics and national issues. While it could be a reflection of the federal government’s political and economic strength, an anomaly in the system that we are building, the percentage confirms two weaknesses in the newspaper that I pointed out in various columns: the coverage of local government in So Paulo and around the country.
3 – International news is dominated by two big blocks – the United States and Islam, including the war in Iraq and the Mideast – and two smaller blocks, Latin America and Europe. Africa practically does not exist.
Country by country, the most news came from the United States, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, United Kingdom, Iran, Lebanon, France, Venezuela and Vatican, this last one due to the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI. During the period, the newspaper reported more on Haiti, where U.N. troops are under Brazilian command, than Argentina. The numbers confirm the growing interest in international news from two countries. In 2004, the newspaper published 139 stories about Iran; in 2006, there were 447. In 2004, it published 28 about Bolivia; last year it was 221.
4 – The science section today has one priority, the environment. Stories about the environment, Amazon, climate and global warming increased their space in the newspaper over the past three years. One example: in 2004, 40 stories about the Amazon were published; last year, 94.
The second topic is space, which got more visibility in 2006, with the voyage of astronaut Marcos Cesar Pontes to the International Space Station.
5 – Economic news has So Paulo as its main origin (400f stories), which is explained by the state’s economic strength. Braslia has much less influence on the economy (22%) than it does on politics. And, if we divide news by economic segment, the financial system gets more space than the industrial and service sectors.
6 – Two big blocks lost space in the daily news – health and education – and a third one remained stable – violence and criminality. The biggest decline was in education, and it was continuous: 1,296 stories in 2004, 1,076 in 2005 and 844 in 2006. The biggest declines occurred in coverage that had the biggest presence, secondary education and the college entrance exam. In health almost all of the subtopics got less space.
News about violence, however, remained stable, with more or less the same space (5,050 stories over three years) about health (5,149) and with more space than education (3,216). There are two notable aspects about 2006 in relation to 2002: the explosion of stories about the First Command of the Capital, or PCC, criminal gang (from 30 stories to 1,405), explained by the attacks organized from prison, and the bigger focus on news about public safety (528 to 1,144).
A magnifying glass on the coverage of slums: of the 712 stories which had slum as a keyword, 72% were associated with death, violence, murder, drug trafficking and other crimes.
7 – The section could be called soccer rather than sports. In the report on 27 types of sports surveyed, 750f the stories were about soccer. Distant, far distant, were auto racing, tennis, basketball and volleyball, which together accounted for 18%. And the rest are leftovers.
The ranking of soccer teams with the most coverage: Corinthians (3,540 stories), So Paulo (3,223), Palmeiras (2,525) and Santos (2,491).
8 – There are four big blocks of coverage in the arts and entertainment section: music, films, and at a lesser level, literature and television. Television does not include the program listings or columns. After these blocks are, distant, theater, modern art, food, dance and style.
The personalities
These are the characters who most often appear help to tell the story about the period. In the newspaper two names appear most often: Lula and Bush. By section:
National News – over the three years, the section had Lula as a principal personality, and leagues behind were Geraldo Alckmin (former So Paulo governor and Lula’s opponent in last year’s election), Jos Dirceu (Lula’s former chief of staff), Jos Serra (So Paulo mayor) and Marcos Valrio de Sousa (a central figure in a kickback scheme). Among the top 10 were also Antonio Palocci Filho (former finance minister), Marta Suplicy (former So Paulo mayor) and three people involved in scandals, Roberto Jefferson, Waldomiro Diniz and Severino Cavalcanti.
World News – In first place is Bush. Well behind him are John Kerry, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (who became the second most mentioned in 2007), John Paul II and Ariel Sharon.
Science – This news is not at the top of the list of names, but among the topics, there is only one standout, astronaut Marcos Cesar Pontes.
Business – Lula, Guido Mantega (head of the BNDES national development bank before he became finance minister), Antonio Palocci Filho, Henrique Meirelles (Central Bank president) and Luiz Fernando Furlan (minister of development, industry and foreign trade). After them came Edemar Cid Ferreira, former owner of Banco Santos who was convicted of various crimes.
Daily News – The top five are So Paulo politicians, Jos Serra, Geraldo Alckmin, Marta Suplicy, Gilberto Kassab (So Paulo mayor) and Cludio Lembo (former So Paulo mayor), and after that, Suzane von Richthofen, convicted of murdering her parents in 2002.
Sports – On a list of 22 names that appeared most frequently, 17 were from the world of soccer. Curiously, however, the newspaper gave more space to coaches than players. The most often cited are: Emerson Leo, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Ronaldo, Vanderlei Luxemburgo and Robinho. Among the 22, only one woman is listed, gymnast Daiane dos Santos.
Arts and Entertainment – There is no omnipresent name, such as in politics or world news. Those who appear most often are: Chico Buarque (singer), Fernando Meirelles (film director), Gilberto Gil (singer and culture minister), Michael Jackson and Walter Salles (film director). Only one woman, singer Maria Bethnia, is on the list.
Translation by John Wright
