10/05/2009

Assembling the pieces to make a mosaic

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

After good work initially concerning the new anti-drunk driving law, the newspaper dumped data on readers which contradicted what was published earlier

One of the advantages of journalism with verification with Internet searches is the possibility that by using it, readers obtain organized, structured and consolidated information. It is a basic mission of the journalist.

When the newspaper limits itself to reporting data which contradict previously published information and does not clarify the inconsistencies, it abandons an essential obligation and fails to take advantage of one of the most important differences which justifies its existence and relevance.

As it has been unfortunately common and I have pointed out in this space frequently, Folha did little to provide society with material to position itself and influence decisions as the law worked its way through Congress.

This newspaper seems to believe it is less important to inform the public about the agenda in Congress than report on moralistic crusades, gossip and factoids.

When the law went into effect, it did good work initially. It commissioned a survey from Datafolha, which showed immense popular support for the measure, published enticing articles in favor and against, and published well-done reports about its application.

When conclusions about the efficiency of the law began to appear, its behavior was to dump facts on readers that contradicted other information.

I demanded instantly in my daily criticism of the newspaper that it assemble the pieces to complete a mosaic with meaning. It did the right thing in the Jan. 19 edition this year.

It concluded that bias exists toward attributing positive results to the law, but the extension of benefits is undefined, so that it has impact only when there is intense inspection and that it could not be seen as a miraculous solution.

The problem is that more than four more months have passed, new surveys from diverse sources have been announced, and Folha began to offer the reader results which at times contradicted itself with nothing to avoid confusion.

The periodic and isolated publication of these data without proof gives scientific and methodological acuity to the work generated without a thread of guidance to give coherence to the previous publication. This only serves to bother readers.

There is no doubt about the relevance of the topic. Nobody accepts people like the Nicolas Cage character in the movie indicated below who go around putting the lives of others at risk. The two books pointed out below show the gravity of the problem.

Nor can you accept as good solutions things which are not in fact effective. And still it is not known if the anti-drunk driving law will really work.

Long life for Folhinha

Folhinha, the newspaper's section for youth, launched an excellent initiative: to do a "play map" of Brazil. In other words, "discover how children from the north to south in Brazil have fun."

This preoccupation that playing should always be the main activity of children is very healthy. The result of the mapping, if it was representative, would constitute an important contribution for education, anthropology, and culture in the country.

Besides this, it puts the supplement in direct contact with its reader. It shows that Folhinha, at 46 years old, is alive and as young as it should be.

It's big news. Even more so because it comes one month after a newspaper that is a paradigm for the world, "El País," has decided to sacrifice on the altar of the economic crisis its weekly section for children, "The Little País," which had circulated since 1981.

The decision by "El País" constitutes authentic harakiri. How could a newspaper want to get out of the crisis by cutting its ties with its future readers?

To read

"The Impact of Violence on the Health of Brazilians," by the Health Ministry, 2005 (available at website: http://portal.saude.gov.br/portal/arquivos/pdf/impact_violencia.pdf)

"Cultural Changes That Save Lives," by Fernando Moreira, Arquimedes Publishing, 2008 (23 reals, or US $11.10) for sale by telephone 01/xx/21/2524-7242)

To see

"Leaving Las Vegas," by Mike Figgis, with Nicolas Cage, 1995 (starting at 12.90 reals)

Where Folha did well...

School director

An interview with the director of a school on Monday shows that there is hope for public education

Demographic bonus

An excellent report on Sunday shows how demographic changes help the Brazilian economy

Bad payers

Good headline on Thursday about tax debtors who, even with advantages, don't get out of commitments

...And where it did poorly

Trade balance

Tuesday's headline highlighted a small detail by profiling Brazilian exports instead of the impressive increase in the trade balance total

Who is letters to the editor?

Letters

from readers 55

from people in the news 8

Centimeters

from readers 383

from people in the news 93

*from May 2 to May 8, 2009

Topics most commented during the week

1. Soccer issues

2. Swine flu

3. Education problems

Pro memory

Cases that need to be reviewed

Infraero (federal airport agency) promised wireless Internet at 12 airports by December 2008. How is this project?

-Translation by John Wright