The image of the week was that of Russian fighter jets pouring gasoline on the American drone. Kind of a Top Gun scene, but if it were in the movie it would sound pretty lame. The most interesting thing about the episode is that the USA first denounced the incident and the unprofessional attitude of the rival force. They heard back that the drone was making erratic maneuvers and that the rest was a lie. They waited until the next day to show the video and tell the world who was lying. War is also about narratives, as they say, and one of them was undeniable on the covers of newspapers and websites across the planet.
The absent image of the week was that of federal congresswoman Duda Salabert. In the 2nd Interview, she stated that her colleague and detractor Nikolas Ferreira was a small matter in light of her parliamentary role, focused on the country's most important issues. "The identity agenda, the history, and the debate about the transvestite and transgender community I already carry in my own body and in my political construction", she pondered. Neither her body nor her face, however, deserved space on the front page of Folha on Monday (13), unlike what happened to Ferreira and his infamous wig, a few days earlier.
Commenting on his colleague's homophobic attitude, Salabert recalled that "the algorithm favors hate speech" and that it is necessary to discuss how platforms affect democracy. It would also be good to understand how they affect the behavior of politicians. Only the algorithm explains the exaggerated gavel banging of Tarcísio de Freitas ( governor of São Paulo) during the Rodoanel auction. Folha's article, it should be said, resisted giving a headline to the Bam Bam Rubble moment staged by the governor. The Homepage of the newspaper, however, did not.
The avalanche of images is so big on social networks that the media often gets carried away. Even worse when, in the eagerness to file a complaint, it perpetuates violence against those who are already being abused, as it happened with the victim of the rapist anesthetist in the delivery room, a topic already discussed by the column. Folha had a good performance in this case but slipped in another one on Wednesday (15).
A piece on Americans offering a course on " how to pick up women" in São Paulo was aired with videos of the duo on YouTube and TikTok. In one of these, several women appeared at parties, an exposition that, if it was already bad, gained even worse connotation with the reading of the text. Editing ended up being redone, with the deletion of links and images. Mistakes, lapses, choices. Regardless of the explanation, they reveal more than just the news.
FEMININE NOUN
The Oscars results were as expected and still generated many reactions. The big prize of the Sunday (12) night ceremony in Los Angeles, "Everything Everywhere All at Once", woke up the next day taking a beating from Folha.
In the internal review, the ombudsman reported complaints from readers ("look at the prejudice", "lacks fantasy") and suggested that the newspaper should broaden its range of opinions about the film. Whether it was because of the alert or not, that was done, but a letter in the Reader's Panel on Wednesday (15) hit the newspaper firmly: "Folha offers us not one, but three pieces written by white men... A greater diversity of reviews could help Folha readers understand, for example, why the film resonated with so many women I know, especially young mothers." "Everything Everywhere", for those who haven't seen or have only heard of multiverses, is a movie about a mother. Choices.
SUBJECT OF SENTENCE
"Gilberto Gil has the title of honorary citizen rejected by councilors in Florianópolis", says Folha in the headline. Gil didn't ask for anything. The news is that the councilor of the capital of Santa Catarina refused to honor the singer from Bahia, an act of obvious significance today. Reversing the subjects makes a difference.
"12-year-old girl missing in Rio is found trapped in a studio apartment in Maranhão." At Folha, the fact that she was found in a studio apartment is news. "Missing girl in Sepetiba is found by the police in Maranhão". In O Globo, it matters that she is from Sepetiba. "12-year-old girl taken by app car from Rio to Maranhão is released by the police." In O Estado de S.Paulo, the focus was on the form of transport. The subject of the action, a 25-year-old man who went after a 12-year-old girl, ended up being spared in all the headlines.
"Flávio Dino goes to the favela da Maré, in Rio, and congressmen criticize poor security." Two subjects and two actions, but Folha was late in the story and mixed up what happened in the headline. The news is that a State Minister went to one of the most violent communities in the country. Another thing is the opportunism of opposition politicians, who insinuate the minister's collusion with drug trafficking (the "criticize poor security" in the title is both weird and an understatement). The question here is whether the newspaper would have focused on the visit if there had been no Bolsonarist outcry. Choices.
Translated by Cassy Dias