Readers don’t know who incited the conflict at the Racionais show – if it was the rioters in the fracas or the inept police
The city of So Paulo experienced an event last weekend which brought together 3.5 million people, split among 350 activities in 80 places. Those are numbers from City Hall, which promoted the Cultural Festival.
In the sea of presentations that lasted 24 hours, the highlight at Folha was the tremor that occurred at the S Plaza when the rap group Racionais MC’s played for an audience of 35,000.
The confrontation between the police and fans of the band ended the show, leaving 10 people injured, and led to destruction.
Through Friday the newspaper did not clarify the motive for the tumult. On Monday, the arts and entertainment section said: “The confusion began (when) a group climbed up on a newsstand and other spectators invaded the terrace of an apartment. The police tried to get the people out and were attacked by the public with cans, bottles and other objects.”
In his blog, journalist Xico S, a Folha columnist, wrote that he was “glued” to the newsstand: “(The police) were not attacked … Only after various shots were fired overhead, tear gas, a shower of pepper spray and an attack with billy clubs on the backs of audience members, was a bottle thrown in the direction of the men in uniform.”
Folha did not publish the columnist’s account. A reader told the ombudsman that in reality, the young people were up on the newsstand for hours.
The newspaper registered the statement by a police official who said, “Members of the Racionais incited the public against the police.” And he reproduced the assertion by vocalist Mano Brown: “We will keep going, this party is ours, let’s ignore the police.”
The report did not take into account the innumerable calls for tranquility made by the artist as can be seen on numerous videos on the Internet. Folha readers did not know who started the conflict – if it was the rioters in the confrontation or the highly inept police.
Another problem in the coverage was obscuring the size of the festival, while conceding space. The headline on the front page of the arts and entertainment section showed the priority: “Confusion and party.” It would have been better to say “Party and confusion.”
Lula and Alckmin, two heavyweights
The op-ed section published exclusive information on Tuesday: “Panel of experts at the TSE (Supreme Electoral Court) recommends rejection of the accounts by Geraldo Alckmin’s 2006 presidential campaign. The PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) candidate did not manage the campaign account, leaving his committee in charge of the flow of money, which is irregular, according to the panel of exports in the tribunal.”
The “scoop” did not end up on the front page. On the following days, the newspaper did not publish any report. It did not even talk to Alckmin. On Thursday, the op-ed section dedicated two more pieces to the topic.
On Dec. 6 of last year, the second-biggest headline on *Folha*’s front page was “TSE report rejects accounts of presidential campaign.” On an inside page, the news got the right attention. A passage in the teaser: “If rejection (by the full TSE) wins, inauguration could be impeded.”
On Dec. 13 the newspaper ran the headline “TSE rejects accounts of Lula campaign committee.” The subhead: “Confirmation of PT victory is maintained.” The news about Lula, the re-elected president, was more important than that about Alckmin, who was defeated.
But I believe that Folha was wrong in minimizing the information this week. It deserves exposure on the front page and a story. Non-partisanship is an editorial principle that implies balance in the news.
Serious coverage avoids the frivolous
“Folha seemed in recent years to come out well on most of the ‘big stories’ and leave something to be desired in the day-to-day coverage.”
That is what I commented in my daily critique on Monday, distributed to the newsroom and accessible without restrictions to readers of Folha Online (www.folha.com.br/ombudsman ). It was a prologue to praise for the inspired Sunday section about religion.
The newspaper already did well in the months that preceded the visit of Pope Benedict XVI by reporters Rafael Cariello and Leandro Beguoci who follow the Roman Catholic Church. They anticipated the choice of the Rev. Odilo Scherer as archbishop of So Paulo.
Besides the exclusive reports, such as the Vatican’s agreement with Brazil, there was a special distinction: maintaining seriousness in a sensitive story. Because the state is secular, the newspaper should exercise independence toward the church – as has done its daily “L’Observatore Romano.”
The “big story” avoided the frivolous, but there were blunders (which I pointed out in my critiques on the Internet). On Friday, it gave the impression of an overdose of information but without compromising good journalistic work.
Folha should retake systematic coverage of religion – all of them.
Folha hides Galo, Grmio and new champions
Few topics motivate protests so irate as readers this week about the minuscule space that Folha gave on Monday to the competition for the state soccer champions.
All of them were right.
The triumph by Atlticos (the one in Goias state and Galo in Minas Gerais state), Grmio (Rio Grande do Sul state), Paranava (Paran) and Vitria (Bahia state) received, each one, a stringy 11 lines.
The victory by Portuguesa in the So Paulo state second division, after a long fast, was announced by a photo caption.
Together, coverage of the championships in Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Paran did not get the 35 lines published about the victory of Manchester in England (nothing against this news, which in an era of globalization in sports deserved even more emphasis).
The reader-fan, whether or not he watched his teams in the finals, in the stadiums or on TV, hoped that the newspaper would carry a good summary of the competitions over the weekend. When opening Folha, readers come upon stories condemned to the foot of the page.
The most national newspaper can’t think that the country is the size of So Paulo. Nor can it forget readers from other lands who live in the state.
Translation by John Wright
