18/10/2009
Many doubts about the college entrance exam
CARLOS EDUARDO LINS DA SILVA
ombudsman@uol.com.br
The lack of editorial effort in dealing with fraud is surprising; readers expect the newspaper to carry information that is difficult to confirm.
Dozens of readers wrote about fraud in the college entrance exam. It affects the lives of more than 4 million students and their families, a pool of more than 15 million people who are part of the newspaper's priority target audience.
For this reason the lack of editorial effort dealing with the topic is surprising because a series of fundamental doubts remains unresolved. It's clear that dealing with the topic is complicated and difficult to check information. But "if it were easy, anybody could do it." What readers expect of their news organization is that it will bring them information that is difficult to confirm.
Among the points that were barely or badly covered by Folha, some were even ignored in this episode, highlighting what they follow.
In the first place, the motivation of those committing fraud up to now is not clear. Or if they are treated as a bunch of clowns, something must be revealed about the reasons that led them to commit such a disastrous act. I believe it is not possible to believe that the case is already resolved, as police authorities say.
Afterward, there was a problem with bidding. The Education Ministry defends that in situations such as this, bidding is not only dispensable, it is preferable to not do it. The newspaper promotes little discussion about these arguments. When can they give up bidding on a service to be provided to the state? Should the criterion of lower cost be the main element in the decision in all cases? What other criteria can be more important?
It's also unclear why Cesgranrio, which now will administer the new test this year, accepted the contract after being turned down to participate in the first competition for believing that the time limit was too short, when now it is even shorter.
Little is said about one of the most possible ostensible breaches of security in the original project: the fact that test packages would be sent to teachers' houses for distribution.
Shouldn't one of the most traditional journalistic beats explore "how is it done in other countries?" In the United States, a similar test, the SAT, has been given for years in a country the size of Brazil with a student population many times bigger without seeming to encounter security problems. Why?
The role of the National Institute of Educational Studies (Inep), as supervisor of the process, also has been little explored. What exactly does this supervision consist of? What responsibilities can be attributed to this group?
Could the pedagogical aspect of the test itself, which was already revealed, have been better analyzed: was it good, could it be improved, what was revealed by the educational competition that the exam sought to verify?
One aspect in which the newspaper does well is the transparency with which it has dealt since the first day, with a highlight on the front page and a graphic about where the fraud occurred in the same business group which controls it. Everything indicates up to this point that none of its employees are suspected of illegalities. It needs to maintain journalist rigor in any situation.
ASKING ZELAYA IN A FOLHA BLOG
On Wednesday, the print version of the newspaper had a teaser to attract attention to a blog on Folha Online: readers could send questions to the deposed president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya through a special correspondent who is with him at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa.
The topic merits reflection. Folha has done excellent work on the topic since the start of the crisis in that country and was the first Brazilian news organization to understand its importance That includes what is referred to as impartiality in the news, in which the newspaper has done well in my opinion.
The "ask Zelaya" effort, however, consisted of a personal blog, which could indicate favoritism toward one side. I suggested in an internal critique that the position of the special correspondent, an excellent journalist, could be similar to "embedded" reporters with American soldiers in the Iraq War, as is the main character in the film cited below.
Folha's special correspondent corrected me for good reason: he is not with Zelaya as his guest, but rather despite his wishes. The comparison is not valid. Not even here did I see a symptom of favoritism toward Zelaya in the coverage resulting from the initiative. But it must be well thought out, as are all relationships between blogs of journalists and the newspaper.
TO READ
"War and the Press," by Verónica Goyzueta and Thierry Ogier, preface by Heródoto Barbeiro, Summus, 2003 (starting at 22.59 reals, or U.S. $13.20)
TO SEE
"This Revolution," by Stephen Marshall, 2005 (starting at 29.90)
WHO IS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR? *
Letters
from readers 50
from people in the news 9
Centimeters
from readers 512
from people in the news 120
*from Oct. 10 to 16, 2009
WHAT FOLHA DID RIGHT...
TAX REFUNDS
Reversal of the government's decision to hold tax refunds until 2010 proved the newspaper was on target and showed its importance when it confirmed and revealed exclusive, relevant information about property tax and state taxes
TAXES
Along the same lines as income taxes, the newspaper had two other scoops about changes in taxes this week
APPLIANCES
One more success in economic reporting: expectation of news that cuts in taxes on appliances will be kept longer
... AND WHERE IT DID BADLY
RUBINHO SPECIAL
A special supplement on Wednesday had a lot more about driver Rubens Barrichello than the Formula One race in São Paulo
WORTH REMEMBERING
Cases that need to be looked at again
An analysis of strategic relations between Honduras' elite and military and conservatives in the United States for more than 50 years would help understand Washington's ambiguity during the current crisis in that country
TOPICS MOST COMMENTED DURING THE WEEK
1. Honduras
2. College entrance exams
3. Formula One race
Translation by John Wright
