28/12/2008

Hail Janus! 12 wishes for 2009

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

Based on the judgment that readers made about Folha's performance in 2008, the newspaper should adopt 12 resolutions to improve in 2009

The end and beginning of the year are historically ideal for assessments about the past and commitments to the future. The mythological patron saint of this process is the Roman God Janus, who has one face looking back and other looking forward and, thus, knows what has happened and predicts what will happen. Based on the judgment readers made about the newspaper's performance in 2008, here are 12 resolutions that it should adopt to improve in 2009.

*

1
Letters to the editor
That the section become entirely and always for everyday readers, not people in the news, personalities or those who demand the right to respond, who should have space in the news for a new section created for them.

2
Outside the axis
That readers outside the greater São Paulo-Rio-Federal District axis get the same newspaper that those in this region receive, with all the supplements and special sections of national interest that are included.

3
Responses from readers
That all journalists, columnists and commentators respond quickly and with civility to messages received from readers, which justifies their space in the newspaper and their salaries.

4
Wiretaps
That the newspaper be very careful in what it reveals based on wiretaps and leaks, not reproduce uncritically what its own staff did not check out, and reveal to readers the interest of those who furnish the information while maintaining their anonymity. And, when it ends up being nothing, as seems to have been the supposed wiretap on Justice Gilmar Mendes by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), report the fact with comparable emphasis to that given to the accusations. In this case, revelations by suspects resulted in five front-page headlines and dozens of pages; the epilogue was two short notes on inside pages.

5
Prevention
That it practice more preventive journalism, with systematic following of public policies, deepen the debate and foresee stories about legislative actions, make methodical demands from public authorities about their plans, measures and actions to soften the effects of predictable problems, such as floods and difficulties of urban, inter-city or air traffic.

6
Celebrities
That it practice more moderation in dealing with celebrities, not the exaggerated space and attention given to them in photos and stories, such as with Michael Phelps and Carla Bruni, among others, this year (last Tuesday, there were five photos of her on four pages of the national news section, for example). And that personalities who are carrying out their jobs not be transformed into pop stars, as the newspaper was close to doing with Supreme Court Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes, throughout 2008.

7
Close look at education
That Folha demonstrate its commitment to the cause of improving education in the country with a project to diagnose the status of public education in Brazil with the same quality as its in-depth surveys about São Paulo, the best product it offered the public this year.

8
Numbers
That readers don't feel like they are drowning in numbers when they want to read stories and graphics going beyond the routine with figures and values; that all the big quantities always be accompanied by comparisons that give sense and proportion to understanding by the average citizen.

9
Electronic edition
That the promised improvements to Folha Online happen soon and offer readers at least the graphics and illustrations that appear in the printed edition.

10
Ads
That the newsroom be able to resist creative impulses by advertisers and commit to blocking interference by ads about the legibility of journalistic material and about the comfort of readers with stories.

11
Predictability
That the newspaper refuse to repeat images, news and information that readers are already tired of seeing and hearing on electronic media the day before; that it be more creative, innovative and daring to surprise readers when they open their daily newspaper.

12
Portuguese
That, despite, the spelling reforms to be implemented in 2009, the newsroom be able to decrease the amount of grammatical mistakes that still infest the newspaper and irritate readers.

To read

"Happy New Year," by Rubem Fonseca, Companhia das Letras, 1999 (starting at 31.60 reals, or US $13.25) - a collection of stories, published in 1975 and censored for 14 years, one of which ("Lonely Hearts") made it through the editing desk at a popular women's publication

To see

"Sunset Boulevard," by Billy Wilder, with Gloria Swanson and William Holden, 1950 (starting at 12.90 reals) - Wilder classic with the famous scene of the solitary New Year's celebration that the aging actress Norma Desmond (Swanson) offers her young lover (Holden)

Most commented topics of the week

1. Soccer rankings
2. Caption on photograph of Carla Bruni
3. Human rights topics

What Folha did right...

Cartier-Bresson
Excellent idea in the Sunday arts and entertainment section asking prominent photographers to recreate the great works of Cartier-Bresson

Without headline
Friday's edition was correct to not have a front-page headline: if there is no topic that is so important, that is better than inflating something unimportant

... and where it was wrong

Sexism
Caption for the photo of Carla Bruni and Camila Pitanga on the front page Tuesday made a tasteless, outdated, sexist joke regarding the physical attributes of the personalities

Machado Square
The corrections section on Tuesday corrected, 12 days later, information that Machado Square in Rio derived its name from writer Machado de Assis, but did not explain its real origin

Need remembering
Questions that need answers

The 1990 massacre at Matupá, in Mato Grosso state when three assailants were lynched, resulted in a legal case against judges accused of disappearing with the defendants in the case; the process continues without a conclusion

-Translation by John Wright