13/07/2008

Three recurring questions

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

There are situations in which the newspaper shows an inability to understand what messages repeatedly assert

In one of the most important novels of the 20th Century (see information to the side), Elias Canetti shows how a "reader" could interpret any text only how he wants, for most clearly it could seem to the "writer" or an independent observer that the assertion is different when not opposed to the meaning he has given it.

Peter Kien, the main character, a man who is only interested in books, and his governess (afterward wife), Therese, exchange messages between themselves, but the significance that everyone gives everyone else is almost always antagonistic to the other. And reiterating what was said innumerable times does not resolve the problem.

What the genius of the artist felt, science now proves. False beliefs get established in some people and nothing discourages them because the human mind allows, and in the case of some individuals even favors, the occurrence of this phenomenon, provoked, among other factors, by "amnesia from the source."

Recent studies at Stanford University attest that there is a natural tendency by human beings to remember information that conforms to the world view of each one and disregards what they oppose.

This helps to explain why some Folha readers frequently stop perceiving news that is consistent and even emphasized.

After the Alstom bribery scandal, for example, appeared numerous times on the newspaper's front page (including once as the top story) and coverage has unquestionably improved in quality, there are still complaints from those who assert that Folha omits and ignores the topic.

But there are also situations in which reader show an inability to understand repeated messages asserted by the newspaper. I will deal with three situations in which readers, in my opinion, are absolutely right, and Folha does not recognize it.

One is Letters to the Editor. The section, implied by its name, belongs to readers.

But it is common for their space to be consumed by people in the news or their advisers. It would be much better if all of these opinions counted as news for the "other side." Or it could create a new section to deal with them. But the newspaper showed that it prefers to continue to encroach on readers, who spend their time writing letters only to be frustrated to see them omitted.

Another recurring complaint I receive, which in my opinion has a simple and unsophisticated solution, is against journalists who don't bother to respond to correspondence they receive.

I learned from Octavio Frias de Oliveira, the main person responsible for Folha becoming a great newspaper, that readers are so important that they she should be treated as "your excellency." They pay the salary of everyone who works here. They deserve, at least, the courtesy of an answer when it a question is directed at one of us. But some, especially columnists, don't believe it is necessary to make this consideration. And the newspaper does not show itself to be willing to obligate them to do it.

The third point is that readers who do not live in the greater São Paulo metropolitan area, Federal District and Rio de Janeiro do not receive sections that residents in these areas get, including magazines, business and style supplements and Folha's entertainment guide. Those outside greater São Paulo don't get Folha Magazine. But they all pay the same price for the newspaper. The situation seems simply unjust to me.

I solicited Folha's official position on these topics. As for Letters to the Editor, the newspaper says that "to institute a second section for letters would end up creating two categories of readers, which would not be good" and that "one of the points which made Letters to the Editor appealing is the fact that, in a plural, democratic space, it mixes opinions of experts and anonymous people."

Concerning columnists who do not respond, the newspaper said that it "suggests" that they do, but "understands that it depends on the availability of time by each one."

As for the restriction of circulation of some supplements in some regions, it says that is due to "editorial and business reasons and costs" and that "it would depend on economic strength - of the purchasing power of readers and investments by advertisers - to change the current picture."

For me, the division of Letters to the Editor between authorities and ordinary citizens already exists, to the detriment of the latter; all journalists and columnists should be obligated to respond to readers and, except for editorial reasons, the newspaper should be the same nationwide.

To read

"Auto-da-Fe," by Elias Canetti. Translated by Herbert Caro. Cosac Naify, 2004 (starting at 51.70 reals, or US $32.30). Among the many essential topics touched by this extraordinary novel is the virtual impossibility of human communication

To see

"The Reader," by Michel Deville, with Miou-Miou, Régis Royer Eric, Christian Ruche, 1988. Sophisticated film which shows how language is valuable, in terms of vocabulary and texture

"Meet John Doe," by Frank Capra, with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck, 1941 (starting at 38.50 reals). Enthusiastic reaction by readers to a false news story about a drifter who wants to kill himself to save the world shows how the public can believe only what it wants.

Topics most commented during the week

Strike by teachers in São Paulo

Operation Satiagraha

Harsh traffic laws

What the newspaper did right

Electoral punishment
Cancellation of the fine against Folha for having interviewed a candidate is excellent news for the press and society

Bossa Nova
While it was a little late, the special section about the movement on Thursday was among the best memorials on the 50th anniversary

Africa
Problems on the continent, generally forgotten by Brazilian journalism, received excellent treatment in this newspaper

And where it was wrong

Ombudsman
I tried to pretend to be a Spanish teacher and got it wrong; use of "usted" allows declination of the verb as is; it was not necessarily a mistake as pointed out last week

Ronaldo
An unnecessary and offensive joke in bad taste used the image of soccer star Ronaldo on Sunday in a photo of him as a "pregnant man"

Misses and masses
The newspaper did not publish a line about the evaluation of libraries in public schools and devoted a page as priest who produces misses

-Translation by John Wright