The empty room
By Bernardo Ajzenberg
July 13, 2003
The truth passed unnoticed by most readers but certainly not for one who, familiar with Braslia and some government offices, sent the ombudsman an e-mail that began this way: I was surprised when I picked up the newspaper at the front door of my house this morning and saw the photograph that illustrated the story about the strike by employees at the Central Bank. That is not an office where Central Bank employees work. It is the press room at the Central Bank.
The newspaper said that the image, published on the front page on Wednesday (July 9), was from a room that was empty because of the strike by public employees the first against the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former union leader who took office Jan. 1.
The emptiness, however, had nothing to do with the walkout. That room is used, in reality, by journalists (including those from Folha) when they go there to work on stories about the Central Bank. This is, moreover, a worrisome episode which inevitably recalls, at least for a moment, the lies manufactured by the now-famous former reporter at The New York Times, Jayson Blair.
On Friday, a correction told that the photos caption …did not inform that the location served as the press room for the office in which public servants do not work.
That is correct, but its bureaucratic and evasive. Its clear that the error left out not just information. It was worse: It used a photo as an example about the success of a strike (with an omission) that misled readers.
When consulted, the managing editors office asserted that neither the editors in the Braslia bureau nor the photo editor had been advised by the photographer that the room was where the press, and not public servants, worked. At the same time, he denied any insinuation that trickery had been used.
The photographer, Lula Marquez, argued that there were other empty rooms, but that one allowed the best outside view (of the street), where striking workers were outside in the sunshine.
My intention was to show people from inside the Central Bank building. My lapse was to not have made sure that the caption was transmitted to So Paulo (the main office) with the correct description of the room, Marques said.
The Braslia bureau chief, Igor Gielow, and the photo editor, Eder Chiodetto, observed that Marques is one of the photographers most concerned about precise information.
In their opinion, the photographers background awarded numerous times and respected as one of the most ethical photographers in Braslia, makes them believe that this serious mistake was not intentional or motivated by bad faith.
For the managing editors office, this does not become less serious, and this alerted us about the need to reinforce control over the images that we offer to readers.
The reader already sent me an indignant e-mail, concluding: I hope that at least there has been a serious discussion about procedures the newspaper expects from its employees.
Creating mechanisms able to guarantee that photos be accompanied by precise and responsible captions no matter what is the background of the photographer would be a good start.
Silvios dirty trick
Every news organization felt obligated to report on (and the hubbub surrounding) the interview with Silvio Santos published on Thursday by the magazine Contigo, aimed mainly toward TV audiences. Speaking from Orlando, Fla., the entrepreneur said that he had sold his network, the Brazilian Television System (SBT), because he is undergoing medical treatment, has a serious illness that has confined him to a wheelchair, and the prognosis is that he has, at the most, six years to live.
That was a bombshell considering the fame of the personality (who for years has been the host of a popular weekend variety show on his network).
The stories about the interview, and good sense, indicated that nothing gets by Silvios marketing and that it could be a trick.
The magazine, which made a tape of the interview available to other news organizations, took precautions by checking the assertions, also publishing contrary views by various people involved, and photos that showed the celebrity to be in good shape. It verified the authenticity of the conversation but also admitted the absurdity of the contents.
Mexican network Televisa one of the companies that Silvio said had bought SBT denied, in news stories in Friday, that a deal had closed. Afterward, in a note, it clarified that it has only agreed to an exchange of programming and priority for the purchase of shares if Silvio decides to sell the network.
In a story on Good Night Brazil, a program Friday night on the Bandeirantes TV network, Silvio without knowing that he was being filmed denied what he said to Contigo and asserted that, for him, it had been just a practical joke.
That raised another aspect, among other relevant ones, since this had already become a news story. In the last question edited by the magazine, the reporter asked Silvio Santos: But this news wont be true, will it? Tell me that you are not so sick and that you arent going to die so soon.
To this, he responded ironically: What is the problem? You spoke with me, recorded it, this was the information that I gave you, put it on the cover, sell a pile of magazines. Afterward, if I dont die, it will be a miracle.
The entrepreneur, himself owner of a news organization, seems to have decided to play a trick on journalism along the lines of being able to get away with saying whatever he wants. Whats worse is that hes right: He really can.
Numbers helped
The total number of contacts by readers to the ombudsman in the second quarter of this year (2,013) was similar to that of the first quarter (2.007).
Leaders within the areas of news most sought (the on-line version, national news and columnists) stayed in the front, as most of the topics related directly or indirectly to coverage of Lulas government.
In the ranking, however, there was at least one significant change. Because of the official end of the war in Iraq and the launch of Folhas library, the circulation/marketing area overtook world news.
For the first six months, the total number of contacts (4.020) was also stable in relation to the same period last year (4.011). The measure of contacts per work day, in the same comparison, increased from 32.9 in 2002 to 33.8 this year.
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I owe an explanation to readers of the column for its absence the past three Sundays. I had to undergo emergency surgery, remaining some days out of combat.
