The Pope, P2 and the Ninjas

07/30/2013 - 08h28

The best response to those who predict the death of big newspapers, which are said to be ready to be replaced by social networks and alternative media, is good journalism.

That's what the Globo TV network did this week during coverage of Pope Francis' visit to Brazil. The climate of "hallelujah, the Holy Father is with us" prevailed, but it did not keep the network's evening news from harshly showing the problems of organization to which pilgrims to a calvary in Rio were submitted.
There was also plenty of space given to dismantling the official verison about one of those arrested in the confrontation between protesters and police, who locked him up in front of Guanabara Palace (the Rio de Janeiro state capitol building) on Monday night.

Marcelo Justo/Folhapress

The climate of "hallelujah, the Holy Father is with us" prevailed, but it did not keep the network's evening news from harshly showing the problems of organization to which pilgrims to a calvary in Rio were submitted.

A report on the nightly news showed that the protester who was held the longest had not been caught with a Molotov cocktail, as the police alleged. Bruno Ferreira Teles, the one arrested, asked Ninja Media, an alternative group which transmits the protests on the Web, to look for videos which would prove his innocence.

The one which did it was Globo: it managed to get the official complaint, in which police said that the young man did not have explosives when he was detained, and it ran images by the broadcaster and amateurs which showed the moment Bruno was captured.

It seemed like a message from TV, which has been the target of protesters who have taken over Brazilian cities: "You don't need alternative media to question authorities."

On Tuesday, the evening news had already quoted the accusation, which came out on social networks, that a police officer who infiltrated the protesters had thrown the first Molotov cocktail.

The topic caught the attention of the "New York Times," which published on its site a big story which compared a dozen videos, as well as photos, in an attempt to clarify the participation of the police infiltrators.

Because of Globo, the "Times" and social media, the police in Rio admitted that they used "P2" (plain-clothes police dispersed in the crowd), but denied that these men had participated in acts of vandalism.

During all this, Folha was left in the dust. It did a good job of reporting the papal visit, with a survey which showed a decrease in the number of Catholics in the country, published last Sunday, but it was slow when the festivities got underway.

Mídia Ninja

It's not enough to cover protesters the old fashioned way, counting only on what your own reporters see, the police version, and images on the big broadcasters. Besides Ninja (which stands for Independent Narratives, Journalism and Action), there are hundreds of films made by protesters, who showed the same scenes in "n" versions

The newspaper only gave the necessary emphasis to the infrastructure problems in Rio on Friday when the muddy field at Guaratiba was canceled as a site for World Youth Day events.

It also lacked attention to the controversy surrounding the arrest of protesters. The newspaper did not seem to take seriously the complaints which appeared on the Internet.

It's not enough to cover protesters the old fashioned way, counting only on what your own reporters see, the police version, and images on the big broadcasters. Besides Ninja (which stands for Independent Narratives, Journalism and Action), there are hundreds of films made by protesters, who showed the same scenes in "n" versions.

It's necessary to take into account these new sources of information - always with a critical eye, since most of this production is made available on the Internet - to confirm the pro-activist view (in the case of Rio, trying to prove violence by the police).

At this time, blogs and social networks don't have the ability or quality to take the place of conventional media, but serve as agents provocateurs. Challenged, the conventional press needs to rethink the way it works and show quality journalism.

Folhateen Finally Disappears

The newspaper dropped what had remained of the "Folhateen" section. The weekly page, which came out on Mondays in the arts and entertainment section, was not published last week and won't return. Ronaldo Lemos, who wrote the column "Internets," will move to the "Tecs" section. The fate of the cartoons which were published on the same page has not been decided.

Eliminating a section is not good, but as a courtesy, readers at least should be advised.