Is Anybody Out There?

06/27/2016 - 10h09

London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Jerusalem, Beijing, Buenos Aires and Tokyo. This exhaustive list of cities spread across the whole world represented, in 1991, the network of Folha's international correspondents.

The paper had a tradition of placing high value on posts abroad. In 1988 it was the first Brazilian publication to send a correspondent to follow the reforms under way in the extinct USSR. In 2011 it was the first to have a journalist in Tehran (Iran).

But the network withered. It has succumbed to high costs in strong currencies and a technological evolution that brings instant access to news from anywhere in the world.

Today, Folha doesn't have any contracted journalists based on the European continent. It has only four correspondents available, two of which have fellowships: in the United States (Washington and New York) and in Latin America (Buenos Aires and Caracas). It utilizes an extensive list of contributors in many cities, with different kinds of connections to the Journal.

The crisis isn't only Brazilian, nor only Folha's. Major American newspapers have cut their foreign offices by half.

Having your own eyes on foreign soil gives originality and strength to journalistic reporting. There is no substitute for the presence of a professional at major (and minor) happenings.

"Nobody can match a journalist from the publication itself, who knows his public and national culture well, and has vast experience and knowledge of the facts where he is working. There is no social media, agency, TV, or stringer who can do this", says Carlos Eduardo Lin da Silva, formerly a Washington correspondent and ombudsman for Folha.

In times of hyper-information, the paper has to play the role of a news curator for the stories that quality foreign vehicles publish. But it can't forget about its own angles, focus and specific information relevant and interesting to its readers. It reinforces the direct relationship to them.

The surprising and historic result of the referendum in the United Kingdom, which voted to leave the European Union, was covered by Folha and by "Globo" by resident contributors in London. The "Estado de S. Paulo" covered the facts from Paris.

There wasn't a single Brazilian correspondent jostling among the international agencies or major British publications like the "Guardian" and the "Financial Times". If there had been, he could have built his own narrative, differentiated, created and calibrated for the Brazilian reader.

The articles published in Brazil about the referendum clearly reveal the journalistic timidity provoked by the absence of a regular and experienced corps of correspondents.

If that weren't enough, the cover page on Friday the 24th committed one of the basic journalistic sins: believing that something is going to happen before it does. The headline on the cover of the edition which closed at 9 pm affirmed: " 'Remain' in the EU should prevail in the United Kingdom". More cautiously, the title on the internal page called attention to the record voter participation and played down the poll results.

Folha's readers were treated to simple issues: how would the decision affect the thousands of Brazilians who live there? What could change for Brazil in diplomatic, political or economic terms.

According to immigration department figures, more than 135,000 Brazilians live in the countries that make up the United Kingdom. More than half of them are undocumented, living with increasing xenophobia and immigration restrictions, major issues driving the "Brexit".

A headline in the electronic edition on Friday (24) afternoon referred to a story that showed "how the decision would affect Brazilians living in the United Kingdom". The story came from the Brazilian section of the BBC.

So why should the reader consider Folha indispensable? If only to reproduce foreign publications? Wouldn't it be better to get the information directly from the source?

Luciana Coelho, editor of the Foreign Desk, recognizes that "the correspondent is really missed, since he has a point-of-view more aligned with what interests the Brazilian reader than an international agency or local publication". She continues, "even considering the circumstances, Folha has been the newspaper that emphasizes its own international coverage the most".

Today, the editorial staff in São Paulo has many former correspondents. This enriches the journalistic debate, allows for long-distance reporting, and strengthens supporting material. Still, there is no substitute for reporting "in loco".

The largest newspaper in Brazil can't turn its back on Europe. The "Brexit" example is only the most recent. To cite another, the same kind of coverage was apparent in the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

"Why do people read newspapers?" Because we have reporters", declared Sérgio Dávila, the Executive Editor of Folha at the 11th Abraji (Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism) Conference. Judging from the current scenario, it looks like soon there won't be anybody out there.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

Read the article in the original language