Hate and Ethics

02/06/2017 - 13h51

In general, the best way to deal with 'haters', a category whose voices are amplified by social networks, is to ignore them. But does this apply to journalism as well? When the haters transform themselves into news?

This week the Brazilian news media was confronted with this problem. The day after the former first lady, Marisa Letícia, was hospitalized after suffering from a cerebral vascular event, there was a protest including horn-honking in front of the Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo.

Journalists published private exam results on social networks that detailed the graveness of her state of health.

None of this appeared in the print editions published by the major Brazilian newspapers. One thing or another was published in their digital editions.

Are the ethical standards different in function of the fact that one medium is different than the other? The response is simply 'no'. Newspapers cannot nor even should be more compromising in their digital editions.

Things got complicated this week after the newspaper "O Globo" (The Globe) published conversations between physicians on instant messaging groups in its digital edition.

Rheumatologist Gabriela Munhoz released private information regarding Marisa's health into an atmosphere of joking and jesting among the group. "We have to halt the procedure.

That's when the pupil opens and the devil embraces her", wrote neurosurgeon Richam Faissal Ellakkis.

The print editions of the major newspapers omitted this exchange of messages. "O Globo" didn't publish this journalistic scoop in its print edition.

A column in Folha regarding the comments from the doctors was the most read piece on the site from Thursday afternoon until Friday.

The newspapers made a mistake. The unreasonable behavior of the physicians was indeed newsworthy. But it could have been reported on without having to reveal what their comments were.

Folha admitted to a mistake in not having published the incident in its print edition. The article in the digital edition, however, had an aspect to it that bothered readers.

The names of the doctors that made the comments were omitted. The newspaper was reproducing information that it didn't have direct access to, as the "O Globo" had had.

Since it couldn't provide its own verification, it decided to omit the names. This was a prudent, although perplexing decision by a newspaper like Folha.

Common sense ought to be most widespread quality in the world, but reality insists on contesting such good intentions. Journalism can't fail to exercise it.

Lack of Diversity

Folha announced the 15 finalists for the newspaper's 5th Illustration Contest. Most of the candidates were male, young and from São Paulo.

One of the participants noted that there were no women among those selected, even though 25% of the contestants (199) had been females.

Ivan Finotti, a jury member, explained that the winners were chosen exclusively based upon their illustrations.

The names of the authors were only listed on the back side of their design work. "Any selection based upon quotas, whatever they were, would be artificial and misplaced", he said.

It isn't a question of having quotas or not. By not paying any attention to the profile of the winners, the newspaper passed up the opportunity to build a more diversified team, and thereby offer a richer range of styles, ideas and humor.

In October 2016, I reported that readers were complaining about the lack of ideological diversity in the humor pages.

The newspaper confirmed that it would seek to "correct a lack of balance". For Vinicius Mota, the Deputy Editor in Chief, there has been progress in the search for diversity. He cited the contracting of the cartoonist Hubert for *Folha*'s page two.

The challenge isn't a simple one. Are cartoonists from the left or do those from the right have a limited sense of humor? For cartoonist Georges Wolinski, humor comes from the left. "It's a lucidity in the way of seeing society that the right doesn't have, because it is committed to the established order."

The Ombudsman will be on vacation. This column will return on the 12th of March.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

Read the article in the original language