04/10/2009

Honduran coup requires context

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

Readers can't follow all the minutiae in stories; the newspaper should always help them

One of the worst and most common vices of journalists is to believe that the public follows the topic they cover with the same assiduousness and same level of detail.

Those who are immersed in the topic every day don't believe it is necessary to provide context every day, just incorporate the rationale.

But newspaper readers can't follow the minutiae of every story that comes out. Their interest awakens and fades with time. The newspaper should always help them with information about the past.

The crisis lasting more than three months in Honduras had bursts of curiosity by readers. It became more intense after the deposed president Manuel Zelaya installed himself in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa on Sept. 22.

Last week, 59 messages came to the ombudsman about the Honduras coverage. Many indicated that the newspaper had failed to provide essential data to jog readers' memories.

On Monday, for example, the main story reported that the interim government had given Brazil an ultimatum to define Zelaya's status, but did not say that it had been defined for days: he is a "guest," not an asylum-seeker.

Since the outbreak of the crisis, only on Wednesday did Folha bother with basic questions and answers to understand the origin. It was on this day and also yesterday that the controversy resumed about the supposed constitutionality of Zelaya's removal, which was covered extensively in the July 1 edition.

Many readers say that the newspaper erred in calling the government of Roberto Micheletti a "coup." The complaint did not get anywhere. The "Political Dictionary" by Norberto Bobbio, Nicola Matteucci and Gianfranco Pasquino defines a coup, and the actions against Zelaya clearly fit into that definition.

The Micheletti regime is not recognized by any country or multilateral organization. While it is possible to believe the Constitution of the country has articles that show supposed illegalities committed by Zelaya, none support his removal from the country in pajamas and the use of arms without any type of legal process to defend himself.

Folha was the first news organization to understand the importance of events in Honduras and consider it an editorial priority. It continues to do well with coverage, but it faces difficulties. Its special correspondent is confined to the embassy, which impedes the collection of information about society. Yesterday, the newspaper reinforced its staff by sending a journalist.

It was only on Friday that essential data about the economic effects of the crisis became known to readers. They still have not learned anything about the situation of the Brazilian community in Honduras. Little is known about the stance of diverse sections of Honduran civil society toward the crisis.

In the area of opinion, Tuesday's edition showed uncomfortable unanimity on page 2, where all the columns and the editorial adopted a singular viewpoint about Brazil's role in the crisis. To benefit readers in the name of diversity, other positions need to appear in the newspaper.

PATIENTS AND DOCTORS HAVE RIGHTS

On Jan. 28, the op-ed section published an opinion piece by Dr. Roger Abdelmassih, accused of molesting patients.

At the time, I commented that this space is to discuss ideas, not to deal with common crimes.

On Sept. 24, the section published a piece that did not favor the doctor, but it defended the idea that he could be innocent (and clearly he could be) and is being treated badly by the press and by society (by them, he surely is).

To leave the specific and reach general conclusions, this opinion piece does not admit basic problems from before. But it gives the impression that the newspaper is being biased in this episode in favor of the accused.

It is necessary to put someone on the other side, not to try to prove guilt (the newspaper is not a courtroom), but to show the drama, the worries, the rights of possible victims (and those of other patients who suffer some type of assault from doctors) and what they can do to protect themselves.

The text and movie below help to think about the complex relationship between doctor and patient.

TO READ

"The doctor-patient relationship: for humanization of medical practice," by Andrea Caprara and Anamélia Lins e Silva Franco, available at the website http://www.hcnet.usp.br/humaniza/pdf/ artigos/relacao_paciente_medico.pdf

TO SEE

"The Doctor," by Randa Haines, with William Hurt (1991) shown on pay TV on channels HBO2 (at 10:30 this Tuesday, Oct. 6) and HBO (at 10 on Friday, Oct. 9)

WHO IS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR? *
Letters
from readers 59
from people in the news 14

Centimeters
from readers 394
from people in the news 144
*from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, 2009

TOPICS MOST COMMENTED DURING THE WEEK

1. Honduras
2. Digital edition
3. Ombudsman column

WHAT FOLHA DID RIGHT...

PLAY MAP
A special edition of Folhinha, the children's section with its own site (www.folha.com.br/092732), releases the results of the project "Play Map"

... AND WHERE IT DID BADLY

FIREWORKS
The newspaper covers the tragedy in Santo André as an isolated event and leaves out information about chronic problems

RONALDO'S GOAL
The caption on the front page makes it appear that the player had a bigger role in the goal against São Paulo than he really did

BANKS
On Sunday, the op-ed section has two self-praising pieces by bankers; the opinions of bank employees and customers is not heard

WORTH REMEMBERING
Cases that need to be looked at again

The agreement between Brazil and the Holy See, and the General Religion Law, approved by the Chamber of Deputies, is working its way through the Senate but the newspaper does not follow its progress nor stimulate a debate about the topic

Translation by John Wright