The series of editorials on the front pages of Folha, which began on April 21 with the memorable “The other side of the coin,” called attention to one of the least transparent parts of the newspaper: the opinion section. In a year and a half as ombudsman, I have noticed that readers have no idea how pages 2 and 3 in the first section, published in this grouping (“Opinion”), are planned and written.
Here are the five basic elements of these pages:
- Editorials — Unsigned pieces which appear in the two columns on the left-hand side of page 1-2.
- Columns — Three fixtures in the center of page 1-2, whose bylines are Clevis Rossi, Fernando Rodrigues and Carlos Heitor Cony, and another vertical and changeable one on the right, with a different name for every day of the week.
- Trends/Debates — Articles on page 1-3 are generally written at the invitation of the newspaper.
- Painel do Leitor (Letters to the Editor) — Contains letters, including those which are characterized as the right to respond.
- Erramos (Corrections) — Space for correcting errors in Folha.
To explain that not everything on these two pages reflect Folha’s opinion, I interviewed the newspaper’s Opinion editor, Helio Schwartsman, 30. I borrowed the idea from Lynn Feigenbaum, the ombudsman at the American newspaper “The Virginian-Pilot,” who a few weeks ago had in her column an educational discussion about the “op-ed” section in her newspaper.
I intend to repeat these discussions with the editors at times to give a more concrete idea about how the newspaper is made. Here are Schwartsman’s words:
Question: Who wrote the editorials on the first page of April 21 and 30?
Schwartsman: The first one was done basically by Clevis (Rossi), and the second was Marcelo Coelho, who happen to be on the editorial board, but this isn’t a rule.
Question: Who regularly composes the editorials in Folha? How many people are there and what are they like?
Schwartsman: It varies. I’m here every day and have support. Today (May 1), for example, I have Gilson Schwartz, 36, an economist who teaches at USP (in the international relations program). There are also Demian Fiocca, a little younger, 27, also an economist, who is working on a master’s degree at FEA. And there is Luiz Paulo Labriola, 38, who studied literature at USP, but is now doing postgraduate work in philosophy.
Question: Besides them?
Schwartsman: There is a good team of advisers. For example, for any legal topic, we always consult with Ives Gandra Martins, Walter Ceneviva or Luis Francisco de Carvalho Filho.
Question: Talk a little more about your educational background and career at Folha.
Schwartsman: I studied philosophy, but I took various other courses in literature at USP: I audited Greek classics for four years, two years of Latin, a semester of Sanskrit. Now, I’m studying Arabic in theory, but I’m not able to go.
Question: And at Folha?
Schwartsman: Today on May 1, I’ve been at Folha for exactly eight years. I started as a copy editor of foreign news. I began working at the newspaper by mistake, intending to work as a translator. I already worked on foreign news, I sank the Folhetim section, as its last editor. I worked in literature, in science, I helped write…like you, I was part of the stylebook committee, was foreign editor and afterward I came here, about three years ago.
Question: And how are the editorial pieces approved and discussed now?
Schwartsman: When Mr. Frias (Octavio Frias de Oliveira, Folha publisher) arrives, we propose an outline. When we finish (writing), we send it to him, and afterward, he sends it back with his comments, or sends it on directly. We might have to redo something, or we might have a disagreement until the editorial is approved.
Question: Does the editorial council have some influence over the editorials? People believe that the members of the council are the ones who write or discuss the editorials.
Schwartsman: No, this is certainly not the case, except for Marcelo Coelho, who writes infrequently, and Clevis Rossi, who writes regularly. Our contact with them is when they have lunch together every month and afterward we have coffee together. It’s obvious that together with the newspaper’s directors, Otavio (Frias Filho, editor in chief) and Mr. Frias, they have, should have some influence. Professor Rogerio (Cezar de Cerqueira Leite) is another one that people listen to frequently, in editorials which have something to do with science or education.
Question: What is the relationship between editorial and news coverage?
Schwartsman: Look, we try not to contradict the news, even though we detect mistakes sometimes, in a more careful reading or after consulting a specialist. Editors have obvious instructions to read the editorials but maintain independence in the news, to be as objective as possible. Sometimes, we see Folha editorializing in news stories, perhaps unintentionally, or publishing something without italics which should be in italics, as a signal that it’s something leaning more toward opinion and less toward news.
Question: With difficulties encountered during the graphic makeover, isn’t it more difficult because you can’t use italics in regular stories outside the opinion pages?
Schwartsman: It is. That’s true.
Question: And, on the other hand, is information in Folha your main source or do you seek daily rescue by other publications?
Schwartsman: We always check and recheck to make the material more solid. For example if we quote an article in the law, we make sure that it’s correct and we’ll check with a lawyer to make sure there aren’t those who think differently.
Question: But, are other newspapers used too?
Schwartsman: Also, for example “Gazeta” (Mercantil) in the economic area, which is customarily more complete. Now we also have the collaboration of many people, but more in terms of suggestions and discussion, rather than writing, such as what Celso Pinto does.
Question: Another frequent confusion is how it all fits together: the editorial page editor, editorial council and page 3, which has the Trends/Debates and Letter to the Editor.
Schwartsman: It happens all the time. I get phone calls and faxes by mistake…There is no connection whatsoever.
Question: And the editorial text — formulation, style, vocabulary?
Schwartsman: It varies greatly. Sometimes there is news that comes out at 7:30 at night that we want to put into an editorial. Obviously, in such cases, the piece that comes out is a little less polished, sometimes with a mistake in Portuguese usage, which is really terrible. Now, when we begin to write early and there are no hitches, we try to be a little more cultivated with the use of language than the rest of the newspaper, but also without affectation.
Question: Of the large Brazilian newspapers, which have the best editorials?
Schwartsman: Folha is the most daring, making the most proposals. Estado is a little surly, but sometimes has beautiful pieces because they have a large number of editorial writers and a larger space, almost an entire page, while we only have two-fifths of the page.
Question: As a reader, I feel that the arguments in “Estado” are more developed, obviously because of the space.
Schwartsman: But I also have the impression that they have a smaller number of readers, are longer and maybe a bit heavy. And “O Globo” is the new spaper that most abuses editorials, frequently on the front page and uses “opinion” pieces spread all over the newspaper…
Question: Do you think this is bad?
Schwartsman: No, I think it’s interesting.
Question: It’s what you called an abuse.
Schwartsman: On the front page, on the front page. We only put something on the front page when we believe it’s a matter of vital interest to the country.
