18/05/2008

The newspaper is not a court

CARLOS EDUARDO LINS DA SILVA
ombudsman@uol.com.br

By laying claim to the status of a tribunal, Folha runs the risk of committing injustices, confusing the public and interfering with the course of justice

The press is not a tribunal. When a news organization lays claim to this status, it runs the risk of committing serious injustices, confusing the public, and interfering with the course of justice.

Folha trampled this dangerous path during the week by characterizing José Aparecido Nunes Pires as the "leaker" or "responsible for the leak" of the dossier about expenditures of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, before he was accused of the crime of violating secrecy laws.

This newspaper's stylebook is very clear in the passage "criminal accusations" (page 155) by determining: "Until definitive conviction by a court, the person should be treated as a suspect, accused, defendant or convicted in a particular jurisdiction. This procedure aims to avoid prejudgment and preserve the image of people in the news."

This resolution has been almost always followed strictly since the first edition of the stylebook almost 25 years ago. In the past, not even defendants who confessed to a homicide were called murders by the newspaper before their trial. Disobeying it now is a reckless precedent.

During the week, I registered my uneasiness with the matter many times in internal critiques to the newsroom. I formally demanded an explanation of the reasons for this procedure from the managing editor.

The response was that the newspaper "is certain" of its investigation. To me, this justification is not acceptable. Decisions about culpability of those accused of crimes are not based on "certainties" of individuals.

The behavior of the newspaper is particularly incomprehensible coming at the same time as its exemplary editorial position concerning the arrest of those accused in the death of young Isabella.

On May 9, this is how Folha defined what it called the "humiliation" to which the father and stepmother of the girl were exposed: "cruel and indelible punishment, inflicted before and despite the pronouncement of the only legitimate source to attribute blame in this case, the courtroom jury."

If the newspaper accused the justice system of prejudging the couple, what should it do concerning its own attitude, why is it "certain" of its investigation that José Aparecido Nunes Pires is guilty before being charged?

An attempt to understand this obvious contradiction could presume that there is a qualitative difference in the treatment of those accused of "violent" crimes from those accused of "political" crimes.

I don't believe that this distinction is appropriate. To the contrary: crimes committed for political reasons should be treated in an even more careful way by journalism, due to the institutional damage that could result from the way society deals with them.

Relations between journalists and prosecutors and Federal Police in cases that involve politics are extraordinarily complex and frequently harmful. Selective leaks of information have been done for diverse motivations: seeking notoriety to promote ideology, parties or corporate groups with the consequence, at times, of unjustly dragging down lives and reputations.

The memorial bridge

The ombudsman received 23 messages questioning coverage of the dedication of the Octavio Frias de Oliveira (named for Folha's late publisher) last Sunday.

All of them were to know why the newspaper, which three years earlier published an editorial disapproving the project, now wrote about it without any criticism about the construction.

In the messages, diverse motives could be perceived. They came from people clearly sincere in their desire to clarify what seems to them a contradiction as well as undisguised pronouncements of a political-partisan nature.

Folha would have saved itself from this predictable unpleasantness if it had published a simple explanation about its position regarding the project in the past and now on the same page it told about the dedication.

Urged by the ombudsman, the managing editor sent the following note: "Folha considered and considers that the costly project is not a priority. This was the personal opinion of Mr. Octavio Frias de Oliveira himself. Today, the bridge is a reality. It was completed, by the way, during a period in which municipal finances improved.

"These considerations have no relationship to the fact that now the public honors Mr. Frias by dedicating a bridge in his name. It would be improper for Folha or the Frias family to reject a memorial to their leader."

It seems to me a justifiable explanation. It should have been in the news Sunday. It could also have been pointed out in a story that former Mayor Marta Suplicy, responsible for starting the project, was not invited to the dedication.

Quotation from reader

"Folha owes an explanation to readers about the motive for the radical change in its opinion that the new bridge in São Paulo went from an 'extravagant project' to the 'symbol of São Paulo'"
MÁRCIA MEIRELES

To read

"Ethics and Communication Media," by Niceto Blazquez, translation by Rodrigo Contreras, Editora Paulinas, 1999 - the most complete compendium about ethical questions in journalism (starting at 22.50 reals, or about US$ 13.50)

"The Journalist and the Murderer," by Janet Malcolm, translation by Tomás Rosa Bueno, Companhia das Letras, 1990 - excellent analysis about the complex relationship between journalists and those involved in crimes (38 reals and in places that sell used books)

To see

"Absence of Malice," by Sidney Pollack, with Paul Newman and Sally Field, 1981 - excellent film about how journalists can be used by prosecutors and police (staring at 39 reals and in places that sell used products)

Topics most commented during the week

1. Inauguration of the bridge
2. Racial question
3. Isabella story

What the newspaper did right

1958 World Cup
Interesting series of stories relives the first great victory for Brazilian soccer

Northern region
Good stories about the problems in Pará state on Sunday

And where it was wrong

Ex-minister
Prosecutors accuse two governors in office and a former Cabinet minister; headline on Wednesday's page highlights only ex-minister

Paulinho story
News invaded the privacy and puts at risk the safety of those who sold a house to the wife of the congressman by revealing their name and address

Alstom/Subway
While it has improved, coverage of this case continues a far cry from what competitors are doing and Folha's investigative tradition

Championship
Game with extremely rare result (5-5) gets a story with fewer lines than goals; a classical game in an empty Maracanã stadium gets bureaucratic coverage

-Translation by John Wright