If the newspaper determines that a crime is important, it needs to invest effort in it with a critical spirit and do the right thing or it will suffer the consequences of poorly done work
Folha’s coverage of the killing of 15-year-old Elo Cristina Pimentel in Santo Andr, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, was timid, uncritical and bureaucratic.
The newspaper has every right to decide whether it will merely note police matters such as this. As for my taste, that is exactly what it should do.
But if it determines that a crime is important, it needs to invest effort in it and do the right thing or it will suffer for poorly done work.
For 10 days, the episode was reported on the front page, seven of them with photos. And it’s obvious that it was a priority for the newsroom.
But through Saturday, the space for the news was small, and even later, the effort was inconsistent: some of the best reporters have come and gone; most of the coverage was public statements and facts already reported by the electronic media.
It lacked a critical spirit. It showed contrary opinions about the girlfriend of the jailed suspect from the first day, but in a general way in a bland tone. It lacked “editorial willingness.”
Police versions got increasing attention, to the point of a profile of one of the negotiators portrayed as nearly a hero on Tuesday. It is fair to show the side of the police and enhance their positive aspects. But elegies about the operation that clearly failed are inadequate.
The newspaper was bureaucratic in following the tragedy. It limited itself to always giving raw information, which the reader probably already got from radio or TV. There was little analysis, interpretation or exclusive information.
My predecessor, Mrio Vitor Santos, in an opinion piece in “msg” magazine (described below), recalls that “good theater knows the most basic instincts of the audience, but also encourages reflection about the profound nature of being.”
You can’t demand that journalists be Shakespeare. But they can shine a light on the misfortunes that exist, offer psychoanalytical and sociological visions, and promote debate about public policies and institutions involved (from police to advisory councils, the government and media).
As for the media, for example, this newspaper already began to deal with it modestly Tuesday. Many readers wrote to complain about it.
In fact, news organizations help a great deal in creating these tragedies: turning an assassin into a celebrity, interfering with the actions of authorities, transforming the drama into a circus and stoking the public’s morbid curiosity, which interfered with the family being able to say farewell to the victim peacefully.
But this is not exclusive to Brazil nor to these times. Perhaps it is inevitable. It happens in every country. Look at the case of the father who imprisoned his daughter in Austria.
And it happens in all times. The magazine “O Cruzeiro” dealt with the Ada Curi case 50 years ago, with a sensationalist tone which makes current journalism look sober (see reference to the book below).
Even without the media, the morbid pleasure of seeing details about tragedies emerge every hour. Who has not witnessed dozens of drivers slowing their cars to look at a motorcyclist fallen in the street?
That is being human. But it does not prevent trying to do better.
Everything solid undone in the end
In the first round of the 2008 electoral campaign for mayor in So Paulo, Folha did good work. A series of in-depth surveys in So Paulo and weekly reports about proposals for the most relevant municipal public policies of the five main candidates helped give readers solid information about how to define their choice.
Treatment of the top three candidates in the polls was reasonably fair. The critical tone prevailed about the proposals of the three. There were exaggerations and unfair coverage, which I pointed out in my Oct. 5 column, but none of them was extremely serious.
It is a shame that all this effort and results were undone in the second round. The debate about public policies and government projects gave way to a collection of stories about complaints and insinuations exchanged between the candidates.
Editorial balance evaporated. The newspaper leaned clearly toward the incumbent, Gilberto Kassab, not only in stories. I counted 10 negative stories about him and 14 about his opponent, Marta Suplicy; 11 positive for him and five for her.
But columns and opinion pieces made all the difference. I noted 13 opinion pieces with criticism of Martha and none against Kassab. In the final calculation, Kassab was favored.
Not that this has a big influence on the results at the polls today. An academic survey proves that the power of newspapers is significantly reduced in determining the vote of the citizen. But they need to remain faithful to their commitment to seek maximum impartiality, non-partisanship and equanimity.
Even worse was the impression that the editions of the final week became, at least for this reader: that the newspaper dealt with the prosecution as episodes completed and decided. For the little space that was dedicated, the absence of creativity in the coverage and the effort in doing the work, was editorial near-automatism.
It’s too bad that such an auspicious start was changed into a discouraging finish.
To read
“Snakes Created,” by Luiz Maklouf Carvalho (starting at 45.50 reals, or US $20) – shows how sensationalistic journalism exploited crimes of passion in Brazil in the 1950s
“MSG” (magazine about communication and culture) by the Brazilian Association of Business Communication (Aberje) and Lazuli Publishing (10.90 reals) – in its inaugural edition, six pieces deal with media coverage of the death of Isabella Nardoni (allegedly by her father)
To see
“Mad City,” by Costa Gavras, with John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman, 1997 (starting at 12 reals) – good movie with a story similar to the Elo case. A man takes some children hostage in a museum; the media transform him into a national celebrity
“Fatal Attraction,” by Adrian Lyne, with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, 1987 (starting at 11.80 reals) – how a romantic obsession transforms a romantic relationship into a tragedy
What Folha did right…
Good photos
Those of Daylight Savings Time on the front page of the daily news section last Saturday and at Elo’s funeral, on the front page Wednesday, are excellent for their composition and plasticity.
Mais! (arts and entertainment)
Last Sunday, stories by Renato Janine Ribeiro and Kenneth Serbin and interviews with Carlos Fuentes and Michael Redi were done very well
…And where it was wrong
Slums
On Wednesday, a story about the study by research institute Ipea highlighted negative data, such as increases in the slum population, practically omitted the positive, such as growth in the network of sewers, piped water and trash collection
Only one side
One week after the opinion piece by the secretary of education without a counterpoint, page A3 Thursday carried a piece by the public safety director about the police strike, also without the other side
Topics most commented during the week
1. Elo case
2. Municipal elections
3. Police strike
– Translation by John Wright
