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Brazilian politicians have forever used and abused confidential
information without the source
being credited. They got
used to fill the ears of journalists with the worst stories of
intrigue, provided that
their names were preserved intact.
Brazilian political journalism subjects itself to off-ism.
By
Alberto Dines
Transcriptions of telephone tapping—legal or illegal—have become very significant in today's political scenario in
Brazil. And the reason is simple: suppliers found a receptive market, anxious to publish it. The tapes worked as press releases
and the politicians who distributed them became press advisors, ready to negotiate their "merchandise" in exchange for
attention or exclusivity.
If the journalistic treatment given to such episodes of fraud and illegality had included more concern, responsibility
and care, unscrupulous politicians would not have been so ready to use the services of so-called "investigative" reporters
working in a so-called "independent" press.
The testimony given by journalists Luiz Cláudio Cunha and Weiller Diniz, of
Isto É (issue # 1.743, dated 2/26/03,
pages 26-28) is astonishing, not only because of the wide-open confession of senator-interceptor ACM (Antonio Carlos
Magalhães), but also because it shows how widespread this interceptophilia has become in the Brasília press.
The story discloses that ACM has distributed "confidential reports" on 126 conversations between House
Representative Geddel Vieira Lima and journalists of two major communication media with nationwide circulation
(Folha de S. Paulo and Veja). There is at least one more medium in the list of those awarded with ACM's informative generosity:
Isto É itself, who published excerpts from Rep. Geddel's conversations in its 2/12 issue (pages 29-33), complete with handwritten
annotations made by the Senator—and later photocopied the same dossier distributed by the Senator to the other media.
The fact that two out of the three media refused to disclose the illicit material is in itself a very positive sign. It
indicates that such precious transcriptions, until recently the object of shameless dispute in the federal infiltration underworld, are
now undervalued and irretrievably in a slump.
This free fall in the value of the tapes is due in part to the fact that the biggest supplier in the marketplace has
become too obvious. Interceptophilia requires a staging effort, with high doses of secrecy and clandestinity. Tapping without
the requirement of "a huge reporting effort", "arduous sacrifice", "days and nights under rain or shine", etc. etc., lack appeal
and don't sell very well.
Rescued decorum
Those communication media in recent years who have illegally disclosed transcriptions of telephone conversations
took advantage of a "Watergate effect", because readers needed to be persuaded that the ends justify the means. The
illegality of the action needed to be neutralized by service performed for "the common good".
Senator ACM now tries to disqualify the last exposure of
Isto É, accusing the magazine of lying. There is no reason
at all to be suspicious of a story as important as this one, and as rich in details. On the other hand, there are all kinds of
reasons to be suspicious of the love for truth professed by ACM throughout his life.
The story in question has another merit: it has eliminated an addiction to the "off".
Brazilian politicians have forever used and abused confidential information without the source being credited. They
got used to fill the ears of journalists with the worst stories of intrigue, provided that their names were preserved intact.
Thanks to this phenomenon, Brazilian political journalism—which was already hitched to "declarationism"—further subjected
itself to off-ism. It lost the capacity to detect and the courage to make statements without the crutches of "according to
bonafide sources". Of course there are honorable exceptions to the rule, but the rule is what matters here.
Senator ACM has conceded, and clearly, that he was the mastermind of the crime—certain that the reporters would
not publish his confession. The infraction was too serious to be hidden, though, and they did—thus rendering a great
service to politics and journalism. In a story spread over three modest pages and a discreet headline on the cover,
Isto É unveiled the damaging promiscuity. Both decorum and readership are rescued—and grateful.
Alberto Dines, the author, is a journalist, founder and researcher at LABJOR—Laboratório de Estudos Avançados
em Jornalismo (Laboratory for Advanced Studies in Journalism) at UNICAMP (University of Campinas) and editor of
the Observatório da Imprensa. He also writes a column on cultural issues for the Rio daily
Jornal do Brasil. You can reach him by email at
obsimp@ig.com.br
Translated by Tereza Braga, email:
tbragaling@cs.com
This article was originally published in the
Observatório da Imprensa (The Press
Observatory)— www.observatoriodaimprensa.com.br
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