Not even the closing of Seashore Hall on Nov. 15 could stop three top journalists from Brazil from coming to The University of Iowa to discuss media and Election Day 2004.
“In Brazil, we’re interested in what is happening at all corners of the world,” Marco Gramacho, International Editor of the Correio de Bahia, said.
Gramacho, along with Eduardo Almeida, Chief Editor of Hoje em Dia, and Denise Rothenburg, Special Reporter for Correio Braziliense, met with School of Journalism and Mass Communications faculty and students at The Cottage to discuss the differences between Brazilian and American media coverage of politics.
With the help of a translator, Professor Gayane Torosyan led the small group discussion with the Portuguese-speaking visitors. The Brazilian journalists were fascinated by American print media phenomenon of endorsing one presidential candidate over another in the 2004 election.
The journalists from Brazil explained
that they observed Election Day 2004 firsthand because it was of serious interest to their readers.
“Even 12-year-old children worry about the consequences of Bush being reelected,” Rothenburg said.
International politics has become more prominent in recent years. Almeida explained that his paper’s international coverage doubled in the wake of September 11, 2001. Similarly, the war in Iraq caused an increase, Almeida said.
“In Brazil, papers do not support one
candidate. If it did, then it would not be credible,” Rothenburg said.
While journalism training is similar between Brazil and America, there are noted differences. In Brazil, all journalists must be schooled in a government accredited journalism program.
Editors and writers must be certified in order to work for a publication. There is a union that monitors publications for compliance.
This is true for all news media. Talk shows and other entertainment programs are not subject to this rule.
Torosyan, who also has a radio show on KRUI-FM, explained the difference between print media and the pubic ownership and FCC regulation of broadcast media. She explained that privately run newspapers and magazines usually endorse a candidate in editorials, but cover both sides of the issue in news pieces. Radio must provide equal access to both sides in a political campaign under the Fairness Doctrine.
While Brazilian papers did not publicly endorse political candidates, “on the other hand objectivity can be a myth,” Gramacho said.
The rise of alternative media sources was also a topic of discussion, particularly the growing popularity of Internet Blogs. Almeida explained that, in Brazil, the Internet made newspapers more competitive with television and radio by creating websites for greater circulation and access to news.
Gramacho recognized that Blogs have become an important check on Brazilian media and politics. In the United States, Torosyan commented that the influence
of Blogs was based on credibility of the site. Discredited sites were those where people were just “talking to be heard,” Torosyan said.
In newsgathering, the visitors agreed that more traditional methods still prevailed.
“Journalists must not depend on the Internet,” Rothenburg said. “They must make physical contact to observe the truth.”
