Shocking photographs could help keep alive the collective memory of revolting horrors, and thus, impede the occurrence of similar acts
Not since the death of Isabella Nardoni in April has the ombudsman received so many messages about the same topic in one week, as it did this week during New Year’s about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
As is natural, there was a big display of emotion by all and a clear division between those who see the newspaper as giving protection to one side or the other.
Two readers complained about photos of dead children. Zuleika Haddad asked: “Why does Folha need to publish a photo of a 4-year-old girl at her funeral?” Geraldo Pietragalla Filho argued that the photos “contributed nothing to the understanding of this insane war; they are manifestations of morbidness.”
Morbidness should be avoided at all costs, and the newspaper needs to exercise a great deal of caution with this. I don’t believe that it has stumbled for now.
Shocking photographic images could serve humanitarian purposes and help to keep alive the collective memory of revolting horrors, and thus, impede the occurrence of similar acts.
As it did with the prisoners of concentration camps at Auschwitz and Dachau, of deformities caused by pollution in Minamata Bay in Japan, of torture imposed on Iraqi prisoners by United States soldiers in Abu Ghraib, and of the effects of napalm bombs on South Vietnamese civilians, such as the girl Kim Phuc, in the photo above, taken by Nick Ut in 1972.
It is not enjoyable to see these scenes. But sometimes it is indispensable.
As for coverage with words of what has been happening in Gaza, Folha began very badly. On Saturday, when the first air attacks occurred and foreshadowed what was coming, the newspaper published the expectation that tensions would cool down after Israel allowed the arrival of food and medicine in Gaza.
The opposite occurred. It is not good for a newspaper to expect one thing and the opposite occurs. But it is one of the risks in this activity.
What is important is that Folha understand soon the importance of events and improve a great deal through the week as it follows things. On Monday, its correspondent was already on the border of Israel with Gaza, offering readers what only a journalist from the news organization itself can do: show events from the perspective of real interest of the specific public.
The worry about balance has been extensive. Articles in defense of the two sides always get comparable space, as do descriptions of living conditions for inhabitants of the two areas (despite the ban on entry of foreign journalists in Gaza), and the story by Adrian Hamilton of the “Independent” on Friday about the causes of the conflict that was exemplary in being unbiased.
There is still a lot to be done, including analyzing with more depth the positions of the Brazilian government and its intentions. It is not possible to please all readers. But the road on which the newspaper is following is the right one.
Two newspapers, two judges and the differences
The chief justice of the Supreme Court, Gilmar Mendes, appeared on the pages of Folha 651 times during the past year. His counterpart on the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts, appeared in “The New York Times” 742 times during the same period. The difference is not significant.
What is impressive is the way that Roberts came out in the “Times” compared with Mendes in Folha.
Roberts was in the newspaper almost exclusively with quotations of his opinions in cases before the court and his intervention in cases that guide the decisions of judges. Or when someone refers to him: politicians, columnists and editorials.
There is only one statement by Roberts in the “Times” outside the court: on Dec. 31, 2008, when he asked Congress to increase his salary and those of his colleagues.
Roberts almost never gives interviews. Last year, I could not find any. He also does not give speeches outside the court.
In 2006, he spoke with the ABC television network and was criticized for having quoted memories of his youth.
Mendes is different, especially in this newspaper, which confers to him the status of celebrity in its worst aspects. In 50 stories in 2008, he appeared making statements, many of a political nature, some repeated again with similar headlines (“habeas corpus is like the air”) in the space of four days (Dec. 12 and 16).
If Roberts and the ABC network were attacked for recalling his days as a college football player and showing excessive camaraderie with the interviewer, what can you say about the magazine “Serafina” in this newspaper which profiled Mendes on June 8 in a story called “Love and Power,” in which he and his wife posed intimately at home as if they were movie stars?
To read
“Foreign Correspondent” by Clvis Rossi, Senac Publishing, 1999 (starting at 43.45 reals, or US $19.17). Selection of stories by the Folha columnist overseas, with a chapter about Israel and the Palestinians from 1991 to 1996.
“Journalism and Disinformation” by Leo Serva, Senac Publishing, 2001 (starting at 27.65 reals). Reflections about the role of the press in international conflict situations starting with the experiences of the author as a correspondent during the war in the former Yugoslavia.
To see
“Welcome to Sarajevo,” by Michael Winterbottom, with Woody Harrelson, 1997 (starting at US $13.49 on American websites). Taking place in 1992, the film shows a group of journalists who cover the war in Bosnia and the emotional involvement of some of them with one side
“Standard Operating Procedure,” by Erroll Morris, 2008, being shown in Brazil. Starting with interviews with torturers, it reconstructs the horrors practiced by American soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, which became known starting with the publication of photos in the press
Most commented topics of the week
1. Israel and the Palestinians
2. Ronaldo (soccer player) and Corinthians team
3. Promises by So Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab
what Folha did right…
Spelling reforms
The newspaper has been doing good coverage, with useful service and a variety of opinions, about the standardization in spelling by Portuguese-speaking nations in effect since Thursday
Cartoons of the year
Thursday’s page showing some of the best cartoons published during the year was good
Kenneth Maxwell
Return of the columnist Thursday on page A2 is security that it will have weekly commentary that is intelligent and sophisticated
…and where it was wrong
Ronaldo
Unjustified exaggeration
Coverage of the arrival of the Corinthians player was unjustified exaggeration, and the law that allows everyone (permission to stay with a newly born son) is considered a privilege displeased many readers
Sexism
Identifying a story about the boxer who revealed he is homosexual with the expression “satin gloves” is a new demonstration of sexism
HPV
A story on Saturday about the disease does not explain what the initials stand for (human papilloma virus, which causes lesions on skin or mucous); those who did not know had to learn outside the newspaper
Need remembering
Topics that need to be revisited
1. Dismissal in 2005 of employees of the Sanitation Department in So Paulo who contested the legality of the measure
2. Whereabouts of the father of Elo Pimentel and his supposed criminal relationship with Limdemberg Fernandes
3. The case of Igor Ferreira, prosecutor accused of killing his wife, a fugitive since April 2001
– Translation by John Wright
