Folha columnist calls for media self-criticism.

247 - The media is also under attack and bears responsibility for the credibility crisis it faces. This is the thesis of columnist Marcelo Coelho, from Folha de S.Paulo, who criticized Arnaldo Jabor, from Globo. Read below:

The media's turn

If Globo's most daring thinker is named Arnaldo Jabor, perhaps it's time for some self-criticism.

Political parties, Congress, unions, government officials—there is no democratic institution that is not under the spotlight of criticism. But we still need to talk about another institution: the press. Or "the media," as those who are already on the attack prefer to say.

I think there are three points to highlight. Firstly, the idea that social networks, like Facebook, have made traditional media obsolete. From one point of view, that makes sense. From another, it doesn't.

Of course, thanks to Facebook, it was possible to assess, for example, whether or not it would be worthwhile to participate in the demonstration last Monday, June 17th. The more followers there are in the virtual world, the more one feels that the time has come to move to real life.

The reasoning that social networks eliminate the function of newspapers and media companies is not so clear. Much of what is shared on Facebook, in terms of news and political opinion, originates from organized journalistic bodies, whether print, audiovisual, or online.

I move on to the second point. Those who are protesting against Pastor Feliciano, PEC 37, Renan Calheiros, the World Cup expenses, and a thousand other problems, had their indignation sparked by news reports in newspapers and on TV.

It's the same old news reports, with their usual routine, that have fueled this dissatisfaction with the political system. And, while the media reported on the cases of vandalism, they were also indispensable in exposing police abuses.

Does the press then emerge glorified from these events? Clearly not. There were attacks against TV stations and against highly respected reporters, such as Caco Barcellos. And there's more.

I believe that, thanks to the power of self-expression made possible by the internet, people who demonstrate in the streets and on social media feel poorly represented in traditional media.

In part, the "crisis of representation" seen in the case of political parties and Congress is reflected in the relationship between the press and citizens.

There is, of course, a sense of unequal firepower: large media companies can do more than isolated websites and blogs.

There's also a generational gap. I include myself among those who have grown old. And look, around me, among the so-called opinion leaders, the analysts, commentators, sociologists, philosophers, urban planners, technicians, and economists—always the same ones interviewed at this time of year—most have been active since I was a child...

When Globo's most daring and "irreverent" thinker is named Arnaldo Jabor, perhaps it's time for some self-criticism.

The alienation, the distancing between the press and the protesters, also occurs on other levels. By turning against those in power, the marches denounce the contrast between the official world, driven by electoral speeches, technical spreadsheets and marketing jargon, and an everyday reality that everyone forgets as soon as they assume power.

It's unfair to say that a newspaper like... Sheet It forgets to point out flaws in healthcare, transportation, and education. On the contrary, this is reported every day, with investigation and detail.

But, just as politicians only seem to awaken to the public interest on the eve of elections, newspapers also focus excessively, in my view, on the electoral calendar. There is not a day—even in these last few weeks—that goes by without news about the movements of Aécio and Eduardo Campos, alongside the classic predictions that Dilma will be re-elected if the economy doesn't get much worse.

This type of routine coverage is killing newspapers and interests very few people. Even reports on corruption and administrative ills seem difficult and incredibly boring to read.

There is an obligation to disclose data, statistics, etc., without which we would be regressing to a Stone Age of journalism. At the same time, I think this has brought a risk of routinization and technicality that alienates the reader—and it's no use "dumbing down" the language to bring them back.

I call "dumbing down" the process that leads to the creation of boxes, for example, saying "understand what the mensalão scandal is," "understand what political reform is," or something similar. "Understand, it's your last chance"... But the protesters these days seem to understand more than one might think.

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PS. In my previous column, I attributed the phrase "politics is the art of the possible" to Fernando Henrique. The phrase is actually by Bismarck (1815-1898). FHC criticized the idea, saying that in reality "politics is the art of making possible the necessary, the desirable."