If Argentine soccer player Leandro Desbato slurred Brazilian player Edinaldo Batista Libnio, known as Grafite, as “nigger shit, son of a bitch, little blackie,” as it says in the complaint to police in So Paulo after the game between So Paulo and Quilmes, he should be punished and his penalty should serve as an example to those who provoke hatred and discrimination.
But what if the player did not say the racist slurs that were attributed to him? In this case, we would be facing a great injustice.
The Grafite matter provoked a healthy and belated discussion about the issue of racism in soccer. Since the night of April 13, when Desbato left Morumbi stadium in police custody, the sports and the opinion pages have analyzed the case exhaustively.
The analyses were divided into two camps: those who believe the steps taken (custody, handcuffs, public exhibit of the player, police complaint) were correct, and those who believe that it was exaggerated. The directors of the Argentine team believe the episode was a “trap” and a good part of the press in that country stigmatized the police action as making a spectacle and the Brazilian press coverage as “sensationalistic.”
At Folha, various columnists wrote about the topic, but I believe that two summarize the diverse positions quite well. Star player Tosto condemned racism in soccer, but he did not see the episode as a clear manifestation of discrimination. Jos Geraldo Couto was firmer: “If it were necessary to choose, it is better to exaggerate than to ignore it.”
The main contribution that Folha has made in this case was not, meanwhile, the space it devoted to the debate, but the willingness that it showed to perform journalism, in other words, to continue to investigate the matter.
While practically all the rest of the press followed the topic with only opinion pieces and stories about the repercussions, the sports staff at the newspaper did what they had to do, stories.
The complaint against Desbato was based on Grafite’s accusation, two witnesses and tape from the Globo TV network which allowed the lip reading of the offenses. In his defense, Desbato denied having used racist slurs.
Since Thursday, Folha has run various stories that questioned this evidence. On Thursday, it published the results of three examinations that were made of the tape. The investigators who were consulted declared that they were unable to read from the tape the words which Grafite asserts that he heard.
With these conclusions, the newspaper sought the witnesses, a friend and the press spokesman for the Brazilian. The two saw the game on TV and now, according to Folha, they outline the incident. This was the front page of the section on Thursday: “Lip reading is contested; Grafite’s friends back off.”
On Friday, the newspaper reported that the summary of the game did not tell about the offense and the report by the Conmebol (South American Soccer Federation) representative mentioned “supposed” racism. The newspaper again contacted one of Grafite’s witnesses, who said that the player had been pressured by the directors of the So Paulo team to make a complaint and that there had been a deal between the team and the So Paulo police.
This matter, however, is not finished. Is it possible that Desbato was being racist? It is. But it is equally possible that he was only being offensive, without using racist slurs. If he was racist, he must face the legal consequences. If not, the discussion is something else. The role of the press is to avoid an injustice.
Crime in Rio and So Paulo
The Center for Studies about Safety and Citizenship (Cesec) at Cndido Mendes University in Rio will present on May 2 the conclusions of a study on media and violence: How Newspapers Portray Violence and Public Safety in Brazil.
I have already referred to the preliminary results in this column “In the hands of the police” (Feb. 27).
The new data will shed light on an old discussion. Is it true that crimes which occur in Rio have more repercussion than those committed in So Paulo? Is it true that So Paulo newspapers cover crimes in Rio more than those in So Paulo?
The survey analyzed 2,514 stories about criminality and violence published for five months in 2004 in nine daily newspapers in So Paulo (Folha, “Estado” and “Agora”), Rio (“O Globo,” “O Dia” and “Jornal do Brasil”) and Minas Gerais (“Estado de Minas,” “Dirio da Tarde” and “Hoje em Dia”).
I selected four conclusions:
1) Newspapers in Rio are more interested in coverage of crimes and violence than those in So Paulo and Minas Gerais: 45.30f the stories analyzed were published in the three newspapers in Rio, against 31.1 0n those in So Paulo and 23.5 0n Minas Gerais.
2) The nine newspapers together cover many more incidents that occur in Rio than those in So Paulo or in Minas Gerais: 48.20f the stories analyzed referred to events that occurred in the state of Rio, against 21.3% that occurred in So Paulo, 6.4 0n Minas Gerais, 17.5 0n other states and 6.60nidentified.
3) The newspapers in Rio cover more crimes that occur in their state than those in So Paulo and Minas Gerais cover in their respective states: “O Globo” published 780f its stories about Rio and only 5.6% about So Paulo; Folha published 46.8% about So Paulo and 28.8% about Rio; and “O Estado de So Paulo” published 44.7% about So Paulo and 28.5% about Rio.
4) Corollary to the previous item, Folha and “Estado” give more space to crimes that occur outside of So Paulo (53.2% and 55.3%, respectively, of the stories published in that period) than “O Globo” does for those which occur outside of Rio (22%).
The data will be discussed in Rio on May 2. Those who are interested should send a message to drodrigues@candidomendes.edu.br.
DECLARATION
“Positive” change
Silva Ramos is a social scientist at the Center for Studies about Safety and Citizenship.
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“Some analysts argue that a sensationalistic rule in the media corresponds to “if it bleeds, it leads.” But, at least in the case of Brazil, the newspaper can’t be accused of exaggerating the violence. What is exaggerated is the rate of criminality in this country. Between 1980 and 2002, 695,000 Brazilians were murdered.
“The fact is that for many years what predominated among the main newspapers in the country was a type of curtain of silence about violent deaths that has been falling, for more than two decades, concentrated among youth, poor, most of them blacks who live in slums and marginal areas.
“It’s clear that the great number of news stories about violence and safety don’t automatically result in good quality coverage nor avoid sensationalism being utilized frequently as a resource. But it is a positive change that the large newspapers have incorporated the topic of public safety into their coverage.”
No letters from readers
I have criticized Folha for the excess of letters from authorities that it publishes in Letters to the Editor. I believe that it is a distortion that results, among other damage, in less space for daily comments by the newspaper’s readers.
But what happened this week in “Estado” and Folha went beyond my comprehension. On Thursday, “Estado” published in its Letters to the Editor a letter (“Newsprint”) in which a member of the Mesquita family, Ferno Lara, contested a story published in the newspaper. Mesquita is on the board of directors at “Estado.”
Maybe inspired by its competitor, Folha did something similar Friday, the next day. It published in its Letters to the Editor a letter from journalist Lus Nassif (“Opportunity”). Nassif is on Folha’s board of directors and has a daily column in the business section.
I find that abusive.
Translated by John Wright
