18/11/2007
A Panel of Readers
By Mário Magalhães
ombudsman@uol.com.br
Of every 100 centimeters of text in "Letters to the Editor" during the August to October quarter, 25 centimeters were subtracted for authorities, personalities and press advisers contesting news and opinions. This was the topic I dealt with last week when I asked: "Dear reader: is Letters to the Editor really yours?" Folha's managing editor responded that she will not change the letters section. The following messages are from "average readers" who wrote to me about Letters to the Editor.
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"Letters to the Editor continues to belong to readers, though it is reduced. What I read first is the headline and who wrote it. If it is one adviser or another, if it is a public agency or politician, I simply don't read it. I lose this way, but the newspaper also loses. The day could come that I no longer have an interest in subscribing or accessing the newspaper."
JOSÉ IVO GRETTER (Joinville, Santa Catarina)
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"I would like to make a suggestion. All the letters that are not from 'anonymous' readers should be published in the on-line edition. Letters to the Editor, if it is already the most-read fixture, would become even bigger. And the letters published in the on-line edition would have guaranteed readers such as the letter writer, his advisers, etc. Perhaps it would become the least-read part of Folha, and Letters to the Editor would be even more victorious in terms of 'audience,' or even better, for reading."
WILSON GONSALEZ (Garça, São Paulo state)
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"There are two types of readers: the reader and the 'reader.' I consider readers to be people like me, who buy the newspaper daily, read or take a look at every section, who feel an affinity for the newspaper... I consider 'readers' to be those who only know about publication through clippings of topics which are sent to them by their advisers.
"... When they don't agree with what was written, the authorities should have another type of space for response, including, in some cases, 'in the same location and with the same emphasis.' If the managing editor insists on a name, she could create a new space: Letters From 'Readers,' or better yet, letters from 'reader 1' since 2 certainly would be reserved for people like me."
HELIO DE AZEVEDO (Rio de Janeiro)
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"The response to the ombudsman's question should be, in my viewpoint, no. It's not the same... The response by the newsroom was disrespectful toward the ombudsman and Folha readers, for not even suggesting the possibility of conceding the big and illustrious personalities in our country another Letters to the Editor: Letters from Famous Readers."
MARLY DENISE BIONDI (Campinas, São Paulo state)
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"The assertion (by the newsroom) 'Folha does not want to divide readers into two categories, authorities and regular readers' demands a retreat from reality; it could be that they don't care, but the truth is that they do divide. As for the (pseudo) solution to use Folha Online, it is the equivalent of me going to the Garbo store in my neighborhood to buy a shirt and the salesperson sending me to the Colombo store in another neighborhood to buy the same type of shirt."
JOSÉ MARIA PACHECO DE SOUZA (São Paulo)
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"What about dividing half of page A3, which is seen by many readers, often with opinions more valuable than some famous people in the 'op-ed' section? That way, the VIPs, the same as readers, would learn to exercise succinctness."
ÂNGELA LUIZA S. BONACCI (São Paulo)
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"I suggest that another section be created, titled 'Right to Response,' in which those who were offended or want to deny some news and not only comment on it, could write. That way, Mr. Adilson Laranjeira and other big shots won't take space from the common people with their plentiful and frequent letters."
CARLOS BRISOLA MARCONDES (Florianópolis, Santa Catarina)
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"There are privileges and even protection for certain people. Examples: Adilson Laranjeira, press adviser to Paulo Maluf (former São Paulo governor and mayor) has not had his letters denied. Any news that discredits Maluf (which is not uncommon) appears, here comes the response and publication guaranteed by Folha. Mr. (former President José) Sarney is one who is protected - I already wrote numerous times about this man but I never had the pleasure of seeing (my letter) published."
JOÃO CARLOS GONZALEZ (São Paulo)
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"Being one of those recently trimmed from Letters to the Editor, I plainly agree with the creation of a section for the right to respond. The alleged lack of space is difficult to accept, after seeing at least eight whole pages of advertising by Folha itself in that record edition (for advertising pages) the Saturday before last."
MARCOS LEITE DE SOUZA (Carapicuíba, São Paulo state)
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"My suggestion is that Folha admit that it treats letters from readers considered illustrious different than letters from common readers. For this reason, I recommend the use of the title from the classic in Brazilian literature/sociology 'The Masters and the Slaves' by Gilberto Freyre.
"The presentation of letters from readers could be divided in the following way: letters from presidents of companies, politicians, actors and other 'personalities' stay in the 'master's house' section; letters from public servants, housewives, businesspeople and other 'nobodies' go to the 'slave house' section. Since Brazilian society is already divided that way, why not admit this?"
TEREZA DA SILVA (Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro state)
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"What jumps out at my eyes is the ability of the newsroom to avoid a response. This practice of responding to what we have not asked is a way to avoid a question that has no response, a technique used by politicians and ham actors in Brazil."
ANDRÉ LOPES (Chicago, United States)
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"It is nothing new for the space in Letters to the Editor to be used for other purposes. Members of the government and the opposition, people accused of corruption, VIPs and directors of the third estate have space guaranteed, often to justify their blunders. As for the space they should occupy, it would be a specific assemblage of stories, a type of response or the column 'The Other Side.' And for those who are accused of corruption, the trash bin."
JOSÉ SINÉSO DE MORAIS (São Paulo)
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"A curious situation seems to always be in the middle of this squabble: Letters to the Editor does not represent Folha, but is what is expressed by those who read the newspaper; for this reason is so sought after.
"Those who appear in the letters are in evidence. Even the 'famous'... want to maintain this precious highlight. But this is not this reason that they exclude 'common' readers, the legitimate owners of this sought-after area.
"The main question for many, under the watch of readers, is in evidence. If Letters to the Editor ran photos, my Lord, the situation would be even more out of control."
DORALICE ARAÚJO (Curitiba, Paraná)
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"This behavior is not exclusively by Folha. Magazines and newspapers, as a general rule, use these sections more for self-promotion. When common readers and poor mortals point out serious blunders, they (their messages) are rarely or never published."
STILIANOS VICÓPULOS (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais)
-Translation by John Wright
