Imbalance

11/06/2013 - 11h29

Folha buried the "Balance" section, conceived 13 years ago with the promise of helping readers live with "less stress".
What was an eight-page weekly tabloid about health and behavior with six columnists became a poor imitation of what it once was, now published on one page in the daily news section, the same as what happened to "Folhateen" in the arts and entertainment section.
The end of the supplement was announced in a brief notice that included the elimination of 24 positions in the newsroom (6% of the total) and the release of columnist Danuza Leão. It is the second wave of dismissals in a year and happens right after the same thing at rival "Estado de São Paulo" and "Valor Econômico" - and the Abril publishing company began its "restructuring" last Friday.

It seems that Brazilian journalists are living the nightmare that their American counterparts have confronted in recent years. In the United States, which has experienced a violent drop in circulation and advertising revenues, newsrooms have shrunk 26% since 2007.
Today, these news organizations employ 40,600 staff members, a little less than in 1978, when it was 43,000. It is a regression from 35 years.
The bloodletting by print advertisers in the United States and Europe has not been compensated by advertising on the Internet. American newspapers calculate that, for each dollar gained by advertising on their websites, they have lost US$ 15 in print ads (2012 data).
The situation is better in Asia, thanks to the growth of newspapers in China and India.
Here, newspapers can't get enough of publishing optimistic data about themselves. Folha reported in March that advertising in newspapers grew 0.7% last year. According to "Estado," general circulation increased 1.8% during this same period.
If everything is fine, why sacrifice the product? The managing editor's office said that the "Balance" section became extinct because "it was no long economically viable."

As for the dismissals, it asserted that "the poor performance of the economy obligated Folha to make timely adjustments in its expenditures."
According to the managing editor's office "the growth in advertising revenues is less than inflation" and the increase in circulation came mainly from tabloids.
Folha 's economic situation is good, and the company has no debt, but, according to management, "the newsrooms of the future should be slimmer, like at the printed product."

It is a difficult formula to get right: structure a smaller, but more sophisticated, newspaper to face the free information offered on the Internet, with a smaller and less experienced team, also responsible for maintaining a 24-hour news site.

While a new business model is not being imposed, that is the way media companies are pushing the bar. Those who believe that quality journalism is good for democracy need to hope that this transition goes well.

For the fans of Rosely Sayão: the columnist will continue to write at the new "Balance" page that is part of the daily news section.

THE CHAMPION'S CELLULITE

Folha felt the strength and the fury of social networks this week. A sexist comment in Folha 's online briefs became a topic on the Internet and resulted in 172 messages to the newspaper.

Above the photo of tennis player Maria Sharapova, which showed a little cellulite on her thigh, the headline "Almost Perfect" ran, along with a story saying that the tennis player "overcame the rain, but not the cellulite."

Readers were furious. Instead of apologizing for the insult, the newsroom justified it, saying that "it was an attempt to use humor with the image of the athlete, who has the status of celebrity not only for her results on the court but also for her appearance."

The young men who work in the newsroom should pay more attention to one of the maxims of columnist Xico Sá: "a man who is a real man does not know, nor does he try to learn, the difference between stretch marks and cellulite."

Translated by JOHN WRIGHT

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