10/08/2008

Silence of the lambs

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

The effects on an average person who is the victim of journalistic attention can be devastating; especially when he or she is accused of crimes or misdemeanors

The enormous power attributed to the media (but which they really don't have) to stimulate changes in the political and social order, is underestimated where it really exists, in the sphere of private life.

The effects on average people from journalistic attention can be devastating, especially when they are accused of crimes, misdemeanors or evil deeds.

The sudden negative notoriety shakes the spirit, humiliates families, leads to lack of trust, ruins business and relationships, can destroy the character and even lead to suicide, as was seen last week in the episode of the American scientist suspected of responsibility for the anthrax attacks in 2001.

The presumption of innocence, one of the great triumphs of civilization, at times falls by the wayside due to collective anxiety and catharsis to demand immediate punishment for sacrificial lambs.

And the press often serves as an accelerator for the processes that frequently result in terrible injustice. Alfred Dreyfus, in France, and four Italian anarchists in Chicago, at the end of the 19th Century, were unjustly convicted with the active participation of newspapers that provoked political arguments to appeal to readers.

There are many recent examples: scientist Wen Ho Lee, accused in 1999 of espionage in the United States with the support of widespread, erroneous news reports; the parents of JonBenet Ramsey, tormented by the media for suspicion of murder; many of the 218 convictions, some with death sentences, who since 1989 were freed in the United States, thanks to DNA tests.

In Brazil, there are the sadly famous cases of the Base School, former Cabinet minister Alcenir Guerra, and former Congressman Ibsen Pinheiro. Another situation of probable injustice could have occurred in the case of the naturist community in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, accused of pedophilia.

Here the dependence of the press on prosecutors and the police, and even more the desire by society to see punishment to set examples, has led to the rushed conclusions that, even when they confirm mistakes, they have consequences that are difficult to repair.

We could be facing another example of this type. Dr. Joaquim Ribeiro Filho, whose name neither I nor the majority of readers have ever heard or read about before, was arrested July 30 by the Federal Police, accused of manipulating the liver transplant list and diverting organs for surgery in private clinics.

The accusation refers to only two cases since 2003. In them, the doctor was unanimously absolved by the Regional Medical Council; in the other, transplant was done under judicial order, which does not prove that he was innocent.

Folha showed Ribeiro Filho's side. But it could have gone beyond the ping-pong between accusations and defense. It should have looked at how the transplant list is made, checked costs, interviewed the doctor's patients, sought colleagues, investigated accusations, recovered the medical council's report in which he was absolved and the investigations done in the second case, telling the complex history of power games in the hospital in which he worked. In other words, journalism.

Foot in mouth

Folha made a new mistake in the choice of a headline. On Wednesday, it gave the main headline to a story about criminality in São Paulo, which did not reveal anything new: there are more murders in poor neighborhoods and more robberies in rich ones. And it made a teaser out of studies which showed that the middle class has become a majority in Brazil and the percentage of the poorest people has fallen from 35% to 25% in six years, with income gains by the poor more solid than before.

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If, as on Friday, the newspaper filled Letters to the Editor with answers from candidates, it would be better to recommend that the real readers stop writing to the newsroom. The candidates would want to respond to everything they found unfavorable. And readers would lose space that is theirs. The place for people in the news is the news; Letters to the Editor is for readers.

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On Wednesday, a letter by architect Anne Marie Sumner was published seeking "correction and retraction" for phrases attributed to her which were the heart of a news story on the inside cover of the section Sunday about DNA in São Paulo. The newspaper did not do anything after the letter. Did she not say what the newspaper attributed to her? Did she say something that was disturbing? Folha owes a response.

To read

"The Innocent Man," by John Grisham. Translation by Pinheiro Lemos. Rocco Publishing, 2006 (starting at 29.10 reals, or US $18.35) - in the form of a novel, it tells about a real case of a former baseball hero convicted unjustly for homicide

"To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee. Translation by Fernando de Castro Ferro. Brazilian Civilization Publishers, 1963 (starting at 27.90 reals) - excellent novel (Pulitzer Prize in 1960) about the conviction of innocents provoked by prejudice

To see

"The Life of Emile Zola," by William Dieterle (1963). With Paul Muni (starting at 29.90 reals). Story of the famous case of Alfred Dreyfus in which the press played a decisive role in the unjust conviction for treason in the 19th Century

"To Kill a Mockingbird," by Robert Mulligan (1962). With Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall (19.90 reals) - excellent film reveals, in large part through the eyes of a child, the dangers of prejudging based on appearances

"Atonement," by Joe Wright (2007). With Vanessa Redgrave and James McAvoy (starting at 39.90 reals) - adaptation of the masterpiece by Ian McEwan tells how an involuntary mistake destroyed the life of someone innocent

"The Crucible," by Nicholas Hynter (1996). With Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder (12.90) - adaptation of the play by Arthur Miller denouncing the tragedies that collective anxiety to punish is capable of bringing

What the newspaper did right

Farc
The newspaper has taken the correct editorial position, restricted to the facts, in the coverage of accusations about relations between the Farc (Colombian rebels) and governing Workers Party (PT)

Torture
As well, in the case of possibly punishing cases of torture by the military regime, the newspaper was prudent and balanced

São Paulo DNA
The big project, with the participation of Datafolha, shows how print journalism can be indispensable

Elections
News stories which check factually what the candidates say in debates and ads help readers and voters decide how they will vote

And where it was wrong

Anthrax
A big topic for the political, human and security dimensions, the suicide of the suspect in the case of anthrax in the United States was practically ignored

Culture Ministry and Unger
The two ministers who are most publicized (Gilberto Gil, culture; and Roberto Mangabeira Unger, strategic affairs) have gotten huge amounts of space for their factoids

Topics most commented during the week

1. Farc and PT
2. Operation Satyagraha
3. Getulio Vargas Foundation and Institution of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) studies

-Translation by John Wright