The year that just ended had practically one big topic, accusations of corruption in the administration of President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva and in the Congress, as well as events surrounding these developments. It was not easy coverage. I wrote various columns demanding three things, all of them involving the newspaper’s commitment to its readers: quality, balance and pluralism.
It was, by the nature of the accusations and their political repercussions, coverage that provoked a great deal of participation by readers, the most since I took over this job, in April 2004. To get an idea, for the first time I received more than 1,000 messages in one month.
The first accusation of corruption occurred in May. In June, Folha published an interview with then-Congressman Roberto Jefferson. Messages to the ombudsman jumped from 867 in May to 1,088 in June. In August, September and October, I got more than 1,000 messages per month, almost 80 0gher than in the same period in 2004.
The main reason for this restlessness by readers was the coverage that Folha called “the allowance scandal” (allegations of monthly payments to public officials in exchange for support). The topic dominated messages to the ombudsman, letters sent to Letters to the Editor and opinion pieces published on page A3 in the op-ed section.
Bias
In 2005, I received 10,688 messages, a 46 0ncrease over 2004. Almost half of them – 4,812, or 45% – were protests, criticism and complaints aimed at the newsroom. And, of this total, 1,043 were directed toward the national news section, which is responsible for political coverage: 239 complaints before the interview with Jefferson (June 
and 804 in the following months. In 2004, the section received 756 messages.
To analyze these numbers, it should be taken into account that the great majority of readers don’t write to the newspaper. Those who contact the ombudsman are those who are irritated and who feel wronged in some way. Complaints can’t be understood as generalized dissatisfaction, but they are indicators that need to be taken into account by the newspaper at least for reflection.
Another aspect that should be evaluated is the partisan divide that exists in So Paulo, the main base of Folha’s circulation, with a strong presence in the city and state by the main opposition, the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), and the governing Workers Party (PT).
Among readers who wrote with complaints, 244 considered Folha’s coverage to be biased against the left-leaning PT; 144 believed that the newspaper favors the PSDB; and 39 complained about coverage at various times they judged to be favorable to the PT.
There is, however, predominance among readers who send messages who believe that the newspaper protects the PSDB.
Folha published a survey by Datafolha in September among subscribers in the So Paulo metropolitan area, and the result showed that 82aid they were satisfied with the coverage of the political crisis and that these numbers should be taken into consideration when they are considered by the newspaper. But there was a point that reinforced the idea that coverage at various times lacked balance: Because the margin of error was 6 percentage points, this rate could reach, at the outside, almost half of readers.
Reflections
Accusations of corruption and the political crisis were the main topics covered by those who sent Letters to the Editor. In this case, they weren’t necessary critical of the newspaper but commentaries about the week’s topics.
Folha received 33,005 letters in 2005, 5% more than in 2004. The topics most frequently mentioned give an idea about reader interests.
In the first place were the cases of corruption in the administration and Congress, as well as investigations and removal of public officials, with 4,806 letters (15%), followed by comments about the Lula administration (1,764 letters) and about the crisis in the Chamber of Deputies, including the election and removal of Severino Cavalcanti (1,185).
These topics got a much wider reader response than the death of the pope and election of the new pope (312) in the first half of the year, and the debate about the gun control national referendum (312) and the arrest of Paulo Maluf (141), the former mayor and governor of So Paulo.
The newspaper gave attention to these topics in the space reserved for outside opinion pieces, the op-ed page. It published 724 pieces: 130 referring to the so-called “allowance scandal” and proposals for political reform, 71 analyzed the Lula administration, 56 were about the economy, 53 about education and technology, 50 about international events, 38 about public safety, 31 about social issues, 24 about courts, 24 about health and 23 about culture.
The pieces published were authored by 475 writers (some were by two or three writers), an indication of diversity. But there are names with more participation.
The ranking in 2005 is led, once again, by Sen. Jorge Bornhausen, president of the conservative Liberal Front Party (PFL). In 2004, he published 15 pieces, and last year divided the top spot with Rogrio Cezar de Cerqueira Leite, a member of Folha’s editorial board, who both had 12 pieces. Following were historian Boris Fausto (11 pieces), Gen. Carlos de Meira Mattos (10), Judge Ives Gandara da Silva Martins and historian Marco Villa (both with nine), and with eight, Rio Mayor Cesar Maia, philosophers Denis Lerrer Rosenfield and Roberto Romano and lawyer Ruy Martins Altenfelder Silva.
This is some information that fits into a partial summary of 2005. The main objective is to shine a light on data that readers don’t know and stimulate the newspaper to reinforce in 2006, when we hold presidential elections, internal standards of quality control and to guarantee balance.
Beginning, middle and end
Few readers sent praise to the newspaper through the ombudsman. I received one of those rare messages on Dec. 21, sent by reader Leandro Coelho. Here is an excerpt: “Those who follow Folha’s columns know that you sometimes write about the lack of continuity in journalistic coverage. Today the daily news section followed a story from the start. It had to do with the arrest of Iolanda Figueiral, 79, who appeared in Folha for the first time on Nov. 28, on other dates and again today under the headline ‘After 4 months in jail , Iolanda goes home.’”
He was right. This is a good example of a story with a beginning, middle and end, not always possible in journalism. The newspaper had an important role in exposing the drama of the former farm worker who has terminal cancer, was detained under accusation of drug trafficking, and agonized in jail without a trial. Following the case until she was released, on Christmas Eve, contributed to a discussion about how the justice system works.
Translation by John Wright
