28/09/2008

A controversy that lasted 55 years

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

The difference in headlines about the Rosenbergs on the front page and an inside page shows that the newspaper does not follow a hard line with predetermined objectives

For those who lived through the Cold War, the Rosenberg case had extraordinary importance. Julius and Ethel were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing prison on June 19, 1953 and were considered martyrs by sympathizers on the left for more than five decades.

They were accused of spying for the Soviet Union and passing military secrets to the ideological enemy of the United States, including the atomic bomb, which would have allowed the Communists to produce their own.

The trial was disorderly; political polarization, at the height of McCarthyism, contaminated the legal proceedings. Public opinion was radically split between those who were certain about the guilt and innocence of the pair.

On Sept. 19, "The New York Times" published an interview with one of the co-defendants of the Rosenbergs, Morton Sobell, who admitted publicly for the first time at age 91 that he as well as Julius had spied but that Ethel, while she knew about her husband's activities, did not participate in them.

The "Times" also reported that eyewitness accounts about the trial, which were confidential up to now, have been made public and reinforced the theory that Ethel Rosenberg was innocent.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Folha published a story about the "Times" report with a teaser on the front page. The headline on the front page was about Sobell's confession; the one on the inside was about the probable innocence of Ethel Rosenberg.

Numerous readers sent messages to protest the inside headline. They all referred to a piece by Olavo de Carvalho which circulated on the Internet, in which this newspaper is criticized for "not worrying itself to reverse the basic prejudice in Brazilian news, to attenuate the impact of the news which would look bad --the horror!-- for the spotless reputation of communists."

Carvalho is a provocative polemist, well prepared intellectually, who defends very conservative positions. He sees in this newspaper the deliberate intention of distorting reality to favor ideological groups or political parties on the left.

It is exactly the same as those on the exact opposite of the spectrum of ideas who accuse Folha of conspiring in favor of the right.

In this case, as with the majority of others, it is difficult to believe in witches. The simple contrast between the headlines that the newspaper used to report the news proved that they were written by people who think differently and do not follow any hard line with a predetermined objective.

I believe that the news was Sobell's confession and that the front page was correct. But those who follow the Rosenberg case know that for at least 15 years there has not been much doubt about Julius' guilt. The revelation of documents from the Soviet era proved it. Therefore, it was justified to believe that reiteration of his guilt was secondary.

Contested headlines ruin image

On Monday, for the second time in a month, the president's office denied information about Petrobras that had been in a headline in this newspaper.

On Tuesday, what the government contested came out on the front page, not on an inside page as happened Aug. 21. But the damage to the image of the newspaper with readers is nearly the same.

As in the previous episode, the story assumed as definitive a decision that probably is in the study phase.

In the other case, up to now it has not materialized (the creation of a state company independent from Petrobras to handle new oil discoveries).

This time, the government might permit the use of government retirement accounts to buy stock in the company and finance production of the newly discovered oil deposits, as Folha reported. But it appears clear that this still is not a done deal.

Other news organizations showed, for example, that the planning minister vigorously asserted the belief that the resources in the fund are vital to finance housing.

The defense of the newspaper facing vehement denials by the president of Sunday's headline was weak. Responding that there are studies and discussions about the possibility of using retirement accounts to finance development of the new discoveries does not reiterate that the decision has been made. To the contrary, it reinforced the president's denials.

I believe it is prudent to be more cautious at least in the choice of taxing words. There is an enormous difference between deciding and asking for assistance to make a decision.

To read

"The Rosenberg Case - 50 Years Later," by Assef Kfouri. Códex e Escritório de Comunicação Publishing, 2003 (starting at 40 reals, or U.S. $24.25) - excellent expository compiling everything about the drama of the Rosenbergs through the 50th anniversary of the couple's execution

To see
"Daniel," by Sidney Lumet, with Timothy Hutton, 1993 (in U.S. online stores, starting at 12.99 reals, plus tax) - beautiful movie which tells a fictional story about the Rosenbergs, through the eyes of their children, who were young when their parents died

What the newspaper did right...

São Paulo survey
After eight weeks, one of the most important journalistic projects of the year, the series taking an X-ray of the city, is finished

Cartoon of American crisis
On page A2 Friday, the Angeli cartoon is an intelligent, erudite portrait of the displeasure of the Americans

...And where it was wrong

Marta's mistake
The space and attention given on Friday to the fact that Marta Suplicy (former São Paulo mayor running for her old job again) did not tell justice officials about a small company she had that has not operated for years were disproportionate to the importance of the mistake

Letters to the Editor
The newspaper did not publish any letter about the improper occupation of the section by people in the news; the ombudsman received 13

Little murders
Another young person died in São Paulo who was supposed to be under state protection; Folha limited its reporting to the facts, without promoting any debate

Taro Aso
Japan is governed starting this week by a man who lived in São Paulo, speaks Portuguese and is interested in Brazil; the newspaper had almost nothing about this

Topics most commented during the week

1. Municipal elections
2. Retirement accounts and Petrobras stock
3. São Paulo police strike

-Translation by John Wright