09/11/2008

Old news for wrapping fish

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

On Wednesday, only 52,000 of the 330,000 copies came out with the news that Obama had been elected because the newspaper preferred to not wait so it wouldn't come out late

On a wall at the entrance to the conference room on the ninth floor in the Folha building a still life has been hanging discreetly 25 years: a bunch of bananas, wrapped in pages of this newspaper.

That painting could become a reality in this quarter-century, with a healthy educational role: instilling in higher-ranking journalists in the newsroom with a certain dose of humility to confront them with the destiny reserved for the product they put out.

It is a little like the way existential philosophers idealize the suggestion that everybody always walk around with a sign hanging, to be seen by everyone, with the words: "you will die."

This week could make the directors of Folha consider the possibility of moving the painting from its current modest position --compatible with its level of artistic quality-- to a more centralized place on the fourth floor, the newsroom, so journalists could see it and think.

It's an old axiom that "an old newspaper is only worthwhile for wrapping fish." But it was used as a reference to the newspaper that morning. On that day, in principle, it was given the status of something more useful.

For old news, it does not matter if it was published today or yesterday, it is only useful to wrap fish. Or bananas.

Folha readers have every right to ask if it was worth paying 2.50 reals (U.S. $1.15) on Monday to "learn" that Felipe Massa won the Brazilian Formula 1 championship but lost the world racing title. Or on Tuesday, when you got your newspaper and "discovered" that Itaú and Unibanco banks failed.

These facts were known by nearly all Brazilians minimally interested in the information hours before Folha arrived on newsstands or at the homes of subscribers. Radio, TV and Internet had already reported it for hours and hours.

What is the feeling, then, of headlines which repeat the news without any change? It is a historic register, some would say.

If printed newspapers truly must reaffirm what will be known for decades or compile facts orderly, I am certain that the competent graphic designers at the newspaper would be able to create an attractive, smaller section, even on the front page, in which the main topics of the night before are mentioned.
But the headlines should be something that readers don't know already, something that is surprising, stimulates reading, giving an incentive to read the newspaper, and making them feel they got a good deal buying it.

Even worse than repeating what the whole world already knew the night before is to reproduce eight days later what was already reported in another newspaper. That is what Folha did in a weekly supplement with stories from the "New York Times."

The "Times" is one of the best and most influential newspapers in the world. It is great to offer Brazilian readers access to what has been written in it.

But must it come so late? In the debut of the section were articles already reported here in Brazil by competitors of this newspaper. And those could have been offered to readers earlier, since it has the right to reproduce them.

Besides being old, the material from the "Times" appeared in a clumsy edition, compared with the original: small, badly cropped photos and squeezed graphics. I don't know what advantage readers get with this supplement.

To complete the chapter of obsolescence of information in the newspaper this week, there was still the American election. Print newspapers could bring something unknown to Brazilian readers, who were sleeping while the votes were being counted in the United States. But most readers awoke to Folha the same as they were getting out of bed: uninformed.

Only 52,000 of the 330,000 copies came out with the news that Obama had been elected (33% of the copies in the city of São Paulo).

The newspaper preferred not to wait so it wouldn't come out late. I don't know how many readers liked this decision. I still can't understand even today why the new technologies of newspaper production, instead of allowing the process to close the edition later, has made deadlines earlier in relation to last year.

I share the frustration of those who wrote to me to complain about not having seen the news about Obama's victory in the newspaper: I was not among the 52,000 readers who got the edition from 2:23 a.m.

Printed newspapers must face fundamental challenges if they want to survive. They must reinvent themselves or become irrelevant.

If it decides to continue repeating what other news organizations reported more quickly and with more thrills, there are fish and bananas to wrap.

To read

"The Kingdom and the Power," by Gay Talese, translated by Pedro Maia Soares, Companhia das Letras, 2000 (starting at 56.05 reals, or U.S. $25.75). Magnificent history of the "New York Times" from 1896 to 1992, when it was the most influential news organization in the world.

"The Elements of Journalism," by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, translated by Wladir Dupont, Geração Editorial, 2003 (starting at 39 reals). Important conclusions by a group of 25 journalists who met starting in 1997 to debate the dilemmas of print journalism for the 21st Century

To see

"The Paper," by Ron Howard, with Michael Keaton and Glenn Close, 1994 (starting at 19.90 reals). Good story about a journalist in doubt about whether to work at a daily such as the "New York Times" or at a sensationalistic newspaper

"Tanga," by Henfil, with Chico Anysio and Ricardo Blat, 1987 (for rental only in VHS for 19.50 reals for three days at 2001 Video or in video shops). Curious film by Henfil, in which the dictator of a small Caribbean island learns about what happens in the world from the only issue of the "Times" that arrives in his country

What Folha did right...

American election
In the general analysis, despite some mistakes, coverage of the election in the United States was done well by a team of journalists at the scene of the action and was well edited in special sections and the international news section

Banks vs the government
The newspaper did well by reporting inside information and the open tug of war between the government and banks concerning credit availability

Retirees on the web
A story on the front page of the technology section tells about use of the Internet by retirees and offers good service to users

... and where it was wrong

Toll booths
Despite a lack of factual errors, a story about toll booths in São Paulo on Nov. 2 did not show the government's arguments and interpretations about what defines a toll booth and how to calculate the increase in tolls; readers would end up winning if they had good knowledge of both sides

Topics most commented during the week

1. American elections
2. Police strike
3. Economic crisis

-Translation by John Wright