tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34963379349947223272024-03-05T17:46:02.213+00:00A load of SelkieCampaigns, public affairs and sillinessThais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-16924013513067337352014-11-06T13:48:00.003+00:002014-11-06T13:55:45.355+00:00EAW vote delay could be catastrophic for the UK<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As expected by anyone who has been involved
in the debate surrounding the European arrest warrant (EAW) and other crime and
justice cooperation with the EU, the Conservatives have been trying hard to
delay the final vote on staying in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There seems to have been some kind of
confusion in the Home Office and it emerged yesterday that the vote on the EAW
and other measures will now happen after November 20, the date of the Rochester
and Strood by-election.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If this vote is not held before the date
the opt-out of all measures is enforced, December 1st, the consequences of their
actions could be catastrophic. For example, if the Home Office has not put into
place the transitional measures they promised to negotiate with the EU, to
cover for any delay in opting back in to the EAW and other measures – they
should kick in if we do not have a resolution before December 1st – already
existing EAWs would be open to legal challenge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which, of course, means that, for example,
Wikileaks’ Julian Assange, currently taking asylum within the Ecuadorian
Embassy, would be able to walk out without fear of being arrested and
extradited. Assange and any other person with an EAW in their name, would most
likely win any challenges against the issuer/executioner of an EAW in the UK,
since the country would no longer have at their disposal the law instruments to
back up the order. It could cost the UK millions to fight these challenges, fugitives could remain free and suspects of crimes could never face justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In spite of the approach of Eurosceptic MPs
and the unnecessary delays caused by the Home Office on the vote, the Home
Secretary, Theresa May, is very aware of the power of this cooperation with the
EU. Only last year,<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/07/theresa-may-leave-europol-despite-madeleine-mccann" target="_blank"> she asked the director of Europol</a>, a Brit, Rob
Wainwright, for advice and support in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann, so she knows the importance of ensuring the opt in happens without major issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Two years ago, I was invited to set up a
campaign to stop the Government from abandoning a number of measures of EU
criminal law cooperation, including the EAW.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/jan/20/campaign-keep-eu-cross-border-crime-powers" target="_blank">Justice Across Borders</a>* was founded at the
end of October 2012, with the intent of explaining to the Conservatives and Lib
Dems the consequences of opting out of all of this cooperation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We worked very hard with EU and UK
politicians, laywers, academics, as well as EU and UK police chiefs to provide
evidence that opting out of instruments such as the EAW and agencies such as
Europol and Eurojust would not only leave us unprotected, it would also make
our ‘judicial’ relationship with other European Union countries unnecessarily
more complicated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After almost a year of intense campaigning,
negotiating, explaining, <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/eu-sub-com-f/Protocol36OptOut/VolofevidenceP36asat250313.pdf" target="_blank">giving evidence</a> to committees in both Houses and bringing the
issue to the public eye, we did enough influencing to secure the package of 35
measures - it was then taken to the European Commission and Council for further
negotiation and is now coming back for a vote in both Houses of Parliament.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It is important to note that the EAW is not
the only measure at stake here. The package of 35 measures have returned from
the EU as an unbreakable set – so any calls from Eurosceptic MPs to have a
separate vote on the EAW will most likely be ignored. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As a consequence, their attitude towards
the issue could delay the opt in to extremely important measures, such as (and
I quote the official names) the Council Decision to Combat Child Pornography on
the Internet, the Council decision on Joint Investigation Teams (allows our
police to work efficiently with foreign forces in their territory or ours), and
crucially, the Council Decision on the Establishment of the European Criminal
Records Information System (allows the UK to collect information on previous
convictions of people coming into the country and vice versa). The full list of
measures can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/235912/8671.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Any delay in continuing to participate in
these measures could mean a delay in investigations, joint actions and
operations - a delay in catching criminals and keeping the UK safe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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*Justice Across Borders became a registered charity supporting victims of serious crime abroad and subsequently ended its activities in May 2014.</div>
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Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-38826923320223201782014-10-03T16:59:00.000+01:002014-10-03T19:48:29.788+01:00Campaigning on the ECHR and the Lobbying Act <div>
The Conservatives' plan to scrap the Human Rights Act, replace it with a British Bill of Rights, and repeal the ECHR is scary and already ruffling the feathers of human rights campaigners.</div>
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Respected media and human rights <a href="http://www.headoflegal.com/2014/10/03/full-of-sound-and-fury-on-human-rights/" target="_blank">lawyers</a> have been writing about the Conservative plan, already questioning its legality and how they can think this is a good idea. </div>
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But how will the Lobbying Act apply, if anyone wants to campaign against it?</div>
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The third sector has spent most of this year up in arms with the prospect of the regulated period set out by the Lobbying Act (Transparency, of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014) coming into force in September and hampering their campaigning activities up until General Election.<br />
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There was never any real need to be too concerned about charity activity during the regulated period. There are one or two grey areas in the Electoral Commission guidance, but they relate to a vague point of law (definition of reasonable person) and it remains unlikely that the Electoral Commission will investigate every complaint made against charities campaigning during the period, unless there is a case where said charity is also openly breaching charity law (which would warrant an investigation by the Charity Commission). The majority of UK registered charities is law-abiding and will sail through this period without any problems.<br />
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However, the Lobbying Act doesn't only relate to charities - anyone who is a "non-party campaigner" or "third party" may be subject to it. That includes an individual registered to vote/resident in the UK, a UK-registered company, UK-registered bank, UK-registered Limited Liability Partnership (law firms), trade union, body incorporated by Royal Charter, <a href="http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/169463/to-campaign-npc-ukpge.pdf" target="_blank">and the list goes on</a>.<br />
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If you're not yet familiar with what happens during the regulated period, here's a flavour: there are spending limits for regulated activity nationally and per constituency, and even if you don't register as a campaigner, you may be subject to those limits if you carry out regulated activity. Confused?<br />
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For example, if an individual, group of individuals, registered company or law firm decides to campaign against the Conservatives' manifesto pledge of scraping the HRA, repealing the ECHR, which would inevitably lead to the UK exiting the European Union, they would be carrying out regulated activity, according to the EC's guidance to the Lobbying Act.<br />
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Ultimately, any campaigning against this policy would happen with the intention of making people vote anything other than Conservative - that objective coupled with public activity (production or publication of electoral material, press conferences and other media events, spending money on travel related to your campaign, canvassing and market research, public rallies and events), would meet both the public and purpose tests <a href="http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/169451/intro-campaigner-npc-ukpge.pdf" target="_blank">set out in the Act</a>.<br />
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That means anyone wishing to campaign agains the Tory policy of scraping the HRA and repealing the ECHR, if a registered campaigner, would have to abide by the £9,750 spending limit per constituency, and inform the EC if intending to spend more than £20,000 nationally. The money you spend nationally counts towards your spending per constituency (divided by the total number of UK constituencies, 650). You have to keep records of all expenses above £200, and might not be allowed to receive individual donations higher than £500.<br />
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Arguably, these are not very tough rules to abide by. But for anyone willing to put their heads above the parapet to campaign against the controversial Conservative policy, here's a sobering thought: if you manage to raise £500,000 to campaign nationally (you would be a hero if you managed to raise that much money anyway), you will be close to meeting the target of spending per constituency, which means you wouldn't be able to target individual constituencies during your campaign.<br />
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If your intention was only to target constituencies, to be able to do any meaningful campaigning, you would have to raise nearly £650,000, to keep you close to the spending limit, but would not be allowed to campaign nationally on top of that. The Conservatives have a possible number of 75 target seats and it is likely they will spend £100,000+ (including money spent in the lead up to the regulated period) on each of those seats alone. If the anti-HRA/ECHR policy is the driving force of their manifesto, that is what you would be up against as a campaigner.<br />
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If you were to campaign on their target seats alone, you would need a lot of money. If you were to campaign nationally against the policy, without doing constituency work, it's unlikely you would achieve meaningful results in terms of election outcome - you would also be battling the vast reach of a large section of the media that seems to think these changes are a good idea.<br />
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In addition, if you're not a registered campaigner - that's likely to apply to individual campaigners or small companies - you cannot spend more than £20,000 in England and Wales, £10,000 in Scotland if you're carrying out regulated activity.<br />
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Individual lawyers, twitter crusaders and newspapers can still make noise against the Conservatives' dreadful plans. But one other consequence of the new rules imposed by the Lobbying Act is that anyone voicing their concerns by carrying out a "media campaign" will be constantly on their toes, wondering when the rules will start applying to their activities.<br />
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Of course, if you're not brave enough to face these constraints, you had better start hoping hard the Conservatives won't get a majority in May 2015*.<br />
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You can find the full guidance from the Electoral Commission on general election non-party campaigning during the regulated period <a href="http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/party-or-campaigner/non-party-campaigners" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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*Maybe not that hard - a Conservative majority looks unlikely. But you never know.<br />
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<br />Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-19007050083164892272014-06-10T12:18:00.000+01:002014-06-10T15:49:22.037+01:00Brazilian football glossary - a *must-have* guide to futebol brasileiro<h3>
Going to Brazil? Planning to watch World Cup matches in Brazilian bars in the UK? Just interested in football? I have compiled a glossary of Brazilian football terms with English translations and pronunciation guide. Knock yourselves out!</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPURx07FfmI5QWWfcqlWhP8Mp7kmtkS3npSfzqCDzLoQKDwC2wPUa0dFUDNsdxuAkXMndnF5RoaB-QPD18O7VynKNrXhx8zrY7D8ymGxM88GtWHxxD9jE5OKoxQJ6Q3aKCthCpVMBwINjr/s1600/selecao-brasileira-500x340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPURx07FfmI5QWWfcqlWhP8Mp7kmtkS3npSfzqCDzLoQKDwC2wPUa0dFUDNsdxuAkXMndnF5RoaB-QPD18O7VynKNrXhx8zrY7D8ymGxM88GtWHxxD9jE5OKoxQJ6Q3aKCthCpVMBwINjr/s1600/selecao-brasileira-500x340.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>*Update</b>: Brazilian friends have added stuff to the list.<br />
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<b>Chuveirinho</b> (shoo-vay-ree-nio) - the way Brazilians say the English play. High passes straight onto the box. Potentially lethal for the short-arses in the Brazilian defence.<br />
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<b>Onde a coruja dorme</b> (ohn-day ah co-roo-jah door-may) - "where the owl sleeps". That corner spot of the goal where keepers can't reach - usually where Rooney's free kicks land.<br />
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<b>Caneta</b> (cah-nay-tah) - When you pass the ball between your opponent's legs.<br />
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<b>Drible da Vaca</b> (dree-bleh dah vah-cah) - the cow dribble or "half moon". When you knock the ball to one side of your opponent and run to the other side.<br />
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<b>Lençol </b>(len-sol) - when you kick the ball over your opponent's head and get it back on the other side.<br />
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Some terms and expressions:</div>
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<b>Impedido</b> (eem-peh-dee-dow) - off-side</div>
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- We would normally shout TÁ IMPEDIDO! (He's off-side!)</div>
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<b>Falta</b> (fahl-tah) - foul</div>
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<b>Juiz </b>(joo-eez) or <b>árbitro</b> (ah-bee-trow) - referee. Pictured is Brazil's iconic late "Juiz Margarida". Because football and camp are one.</div>
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<b>Bandeirinha</b> (bahn-day-ree-nia) - assistant referee (literally "little flag")</div>
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<b>Escanteio</b> (es-cahn-tay-oo) - corner kick</div>
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<b>Tiro de meta</b> (tee-roo deh meh-tah) - goal kick</div>
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<b>Pelada</b> (peh-lah-dah) - this is a tough one. We usually shout it at the telly when it's a very low quality game. For instance, Milwall v Brighton would probably be considered a "pelada".</div>
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<b>Bola</b> (baw-lah) - football<br />
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<b>Trave</b> (trah-vay) - goal post<br />
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<b>Travessão</b> (trah-vay-saun) - bar<br />
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<b>Gramado</b> (grah-mah-doo) - pitch<br />
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<b>Penalti</b> - you know this one. Though also referred to in Brazil as PEEEENALIDADE MAAAAAXIMA (paaaaay-nah-lee-dah-dee maaaaaaah-see-mah). Depends on the commentator.<br />
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<b>Tá no filó</b> (tah know fee-loh) - our equivalent to "in the back of the onion bag" or, according to Alan Partridge, "back of the net". More likely to be heard TAAAAAAA NOOOO FILOOOOOO!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiViKRKNHYsPLWOrbGbQ3hPwkbGaZYj4GPvyN93Zv2KJz7IrPSPbMqTcp31OvHRMmn7ZDeGDhfbjRTr0jlCM2yv0aJzVV0ACsSnsvV4-wo5wJ2J2Wcx_ep81ubie6iO9jubKfHXyazU8g-S/s1600/neymar-1366919252637_500x353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiViKRKNHYsPLWOrbGbQ3hPwkbGaZYj4GPvyN93Zv2KJz7IrPSPbMqTcp31OvHRMmn7ZDeGDhfbjRTr0jlCM2yv0aJzVV0ACsSnsvV4-wo5wJ2J2Wcx_ep81ubie6iO9jubKfHXyazU8g-S/s1600/neymar-1366919252637_500x353.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Pipoqueiro</b> (pee-pow-kay-roo) - basically, Neymar. That thing he does when there's a manly challenge and he jumps then falls down, when he could have just carried on. Juninho (formerly of Middlesborough) another famous Brazilian "pipoqueiro".<br />
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<b>Teatro</b> (tee-ah-trow) - ostensibly faking an injury. Rivaldo graduated <i>magna cum laude</i> on this subject.<br />
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<b>Apito</b> (ah-pee-too) - whistle<br />
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<b>Apito final</b> (ah-pee-too fee-nahl) - final whistle<br />
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<b>Primeiro tempo</b> (pree-may-roo tempo) - first half<br />
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<b>Segundo tempo</b> (say-goon-dow tempo) - second half<br />
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<b>Intervalo</b> (inter-vah-low) - break<br />
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<b>Prorrogação</b> (pro-ho-gah-saun) - extra time<br />
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<b>Taça</b> (tah-sah) - cup<br />
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<b>GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL</b> - Goal<br />
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Now the basics. Football positions:<br />
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<b>Goleiro</b> (Go-lay-roo) - goal keeper<br />
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<b>Zagueiro</b> (zah-gay-roo) - Defender<br />
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<b>Lateral esquerdo</b> (lah-teh-rahl ish-kerr-doo) - left winger. Remember Roberto Carlos?<br />
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<b>Lateral direito</b> (lah-teh-rahl djee-ray-too) - right winger, obvs. Cafu will forever be my favourite.<br />
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<b>Volante</b> (voh-lan-tee) - centre midfield<br />
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<b>Meio-de-campo</b> (Mayo-dee-com-pow) - midfielder<br />
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<b>Ponta</b> (pon-tah) - winger<br />
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<b>Centroavante</b> (cen-trow-ah-vahn-teh) or <b>atacante</b> (ah-tah-cahn-teh) - striker<br />
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<b>If you have any suggestions or would like to see more stuff translated, please let me know below.</b>Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-4520991451073881712014-06-05T19:50:00.001+01:002014-06-05T19:50:11.657+01:00Scotland, in the words of KC & The Sunshine Band: PLEASE DON'T GOI have no idea what the Better Together campaign are trying to do, but I do know I don't like Alex Salmond's and the SNP's stance.<br />
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Sadly, the message from the "no to independence" camp so far has been confusing and a tad bit patronising. You would think they would like to gain Scots' votes by showing them how important Scotland is to the Union - not the other way round - but what I've witnessed so far has been a barrage of ill-judged interferences by the UK Government, the latest being the Lego-Buzzfeed-wannabe-but-bloody-awful Cabinet Office listicle "press release".<br />
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Everyone has the right to think their country, after a long, troubled, not exactly joyous relationship, should take the opportunity to leave this Union. But allow me to try to change their minds.<br />
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I should open my argument by saying I'm not Scottish - heck, I'm not even British. However, I believe my foreign-ness allows for an interesting perspective on this issue.<br />
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Also, this post won't go into the nitty-gritty of politics. It's an emotional plea (because I love Scotland).<br />
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What I've learnt since moving to the UK, more than seven years ago, is that Scotland is a nation of proud, extremely proud, men and women. In a very good way. Their history is bloody and that pride has been stamped on by England many times throughout its course. Unhelpful? Don't worry, I'll get to the point.<br />
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Whatever the relationship has been between England and Scotland for donkey's years - I won't get into detail - the truth is, England doesn't have a monopoly on the Union. Without Scotland, the rest of us would be limping like a three-legged dog. Scotland has potential, a great people and an unrealised dream of more devolution. Now is the time to give the Scots what they want, but I sincerely hope that does not come in the form of independence.<br />
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I have many Scottish friends and acquaintances and, if they'll allow me, my message to all Scots is to hold their heads high and fight from within. Who cares how many holidays or hot dogs you can buy with UK Dividend? Seriously, forget about it. The most important thing is that you continue to tread a path of more devolution of powers - which is the right way to go - but also that you know that the United Kingdom would not be great and would not be strong without you. Highlanders and Lowlanders (I won't go into your internal disputes, promise), we love you. You are not the English (obviously), but neither are the Welsh and Northern Irish. You all add value to the English with your presence in the Union and vice-versa.<br />
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Do not let anyone tell you that being in an Union with the English diminishes you - it doesn't and you deserve that relationship to be equal and fulfilling for both sides. We are lucky to have you. Please think about all that when casting your vote in September.<br />
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So in the words of KC & The Sunshine Band, made even more famous by Double You:<br />
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Scotland, PLEASE DON'T GO.<br />
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*Several versions of Please Don't Go were listened to during the making of this blog<br />
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<br />Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-22887269881856122072013-06-25T16:24:00.001+01:002013-06-25T16:29:38.511+01:00Brazil's civil society has become self-aware. We must make it last<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the first time in my 30 years as a born-and-bred Brazilian, with great satisfaction, I have seen my fellow countrymen and women avidly discuss bill proposals, angrily dispute excesses by money-grabbing politicians and openly challenge the vile military police on the streets without any fear.<br />
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The past couple of weeks were quite something to behold, especially for someone like me. I've left Brazil in January 2007 and have no intention of returning for good. I spent the worst years of my young adult life in Rio de Janeiro, battling depression, fear of dying and a sense of hopelessness beyond any of my peers' comprehension.<br />
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During my last couple of years in Rio, I worked as a cub reporter at Jornal O Dia. I saw more death, abuse, violence, corruption and disrespect for the people of my city and state than I care to put in writing ever again. It wasn't good for me. And then I left.<br />
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When I started working in the UK I realised there was something very important lacking in my home country.<br />
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Brazil has a long record of relying on the third sector to bridge the gap between the shortcomings of the state and its poorer, disenfranchised people. Several non-governmental organisations (ONGs in Portuguese) have been set up since the 70s to complement a poor educational system, poor public health system, to make up for societal inequalities and an absent state.<br />
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This same gap allowed for extremely politicised criminal factions to take on the role of the state in the 70s, establishing themselves as providers of services and security in poorer communities (remember City of God?). In the past decade or so, it also allowed for the creation of militias - which took on the role of the military police in expelling drug dealers from favelas. They ultimately act as a violent mafia, charging locals absurd fees for services and security, as well as carrying out killing of witnesses in criminal trials involving their bosses and general intimidation in the communities they control.<br />
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Even though we have several NGOs doing a fantastic job giving young people the opportunity get to where they want in life and many others operating in similar, charitable ways, we lack groups carrying out fundamental activities for the maintenance of democracy: the scrutiny of politicians, public finances, decision-making, and the holding of Brazilian municipal, state and federal authorities to account.<br />
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These protests have created a flurry of information into social media, blogs, tumblrs, and even instagram, designed to stir up the outrage and keep people on the streets. Several titbits of unknown information came to light: how much our politicians cost us, the fact they are the most expensive politicians in the world, anecdotes of lower house representatives who have been on sick leave for the best part of a year, still raking in more than £300,000 a month in salary and expenses, the ins and outs of our legislative process and its flaws, and many other gobsmacking revelations.<br />
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In fact, it's not that all this information wasn't available to the general public in Brazil before. It's that only a handful of people contemplated looking for it and sharing it with others. Until now.<br />
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This is what these protests are all about. I don't like the use of catchy slogans to describe what could prove to be a fundamental change in the mindset and behaviour of 200 million people, but we have awaken. We have awaken to the fact that, if we don't protest against these abuses that have been taking place under our very noses for decades now, they will continue to happen.<br />
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My suggestion to those with a strong spirit, a focussed mind, and the patience of a saint in Brazil is, start filling this other huge gap in our civil society by creating not for profit organisations designed to monitor and challenge decisions that affect your community, city, state or even the whole country.<br />
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Work on research, take advantage of Brazil's new freedom of information laws, scrutinise the work of assembly members, representatives of both houses, senators, the police, public health authorities and as many other authorities as you can. This is the power you have, in a democracy, to make things better. And this is how the people can eventually expose to the rest of the world whether their country is a true democracy or not.<br />
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There is a lot of power concentrated in the hands of very few people in Brazil - a handful of people meant to represent, and work for the good of, nearly 200 million other people. But power without responsibility and accountability allows for the monstrous abuses that have been taking place there for a long time, and for too long. It's time to speak truth to power, Brazil.Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-42493067933095709322013-04-23T19:06:00.000+01:002013-04-23T19:06:46.717+01:00Was Margaret Thatcher a role model for women?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I was invited by <a href="http://libdems.org.uk/adlibmag.aspx" target="_blank">AD LIB magazine</a>, the Lib Dems' publication*, to make the case for 'Yes, Margaret Thatcher was a role model for women'. Here's what I wrote</i></div>
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<br /> While today’s feminists jump at one another’s throats over the legacy that Margaret Thatcher left, I see very few reasons why feminism should be translated into sheer activism. <br /><br />That is why I am a firm believer Thatcher was most definitely a role model for women. She certainly was, and still is, mine. <br /><br />Growing up in Brazil, the manner in which she conducted herself, all the way to the top, set an example to me, all working women of her generation around the world, and the ones that followed. <br /><br />We should be telling our daughters and granddaughters that we must work together to ensure better opportunities for women, but also that we live in a ruthless world, where you have to stand firm, believe in yourself and not be afraid of anything or anyone. Thatcher taught me these things, not with empty words, vacuous protests, or victimisation, but with very meaningful actions. <br /><br />Thatcher believed in individual responsibility. She also believed in individual freedom. She believed in the freedom to achieve whatever it was she set out to do, regardless of her gender. She exercised that freedom by choosing to face difficult challenges and tackle them head on – she was unafraid. <br /><br />Like her, I will never allow men to talk down to me. I will not accept disrespect or condescension. If more women had the guts to show the same fortitude as her when sneered at and doubted, we, as a collective, would be much better off. <br /><br />I’ve learnt from Thatcher that, as a woman, I should not expect the goodwill of others. I’ve also learnt that no glass ceiling is unbreakable and that the biggest mistake a man already predisposed to doubt a woman can make, is to underestimate her ability and obstinacy. <br /><br />She taught me that, no matter what others may say, I, and I alone, am the master of my fate. <div>
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*I'm not a Lib Dem, just probably the only non-partisan person they could find to write the 'Yes' view on this one</div>
Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-65387050371457638872012-10-19T13:08:00.001+01:002012-10-20T13:55:24.788+01:00Good journalists choosing to ignore all facts: the press regulation debate<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US">In this whole debate about the Leveson
Inquiry and a new press regulator, it bothers me how a lot of journalists – and
some very good ones – have chosen to ignore the facts and try to stamp on the
argument like stubborn five-year-olds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It annoys me to see the Guardian call
“statutory regulation” proposals for a new independent regulator with statutory
underpinning on headlines, only to briefly say in the story’s intro “a form of
statutory regulation”. It’s wrong, confusing and doesn’t explain to the public
what they are talking about at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It baffles me to see newspapers like The
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<span lang="EN-US">It bothers me to see them all calling it
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<span lang="EN-US">I would like to explain what, in my mind,
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<span lang="EN-US">This body would be created – just its
existence set up by statute. The only thing the law will do is say “this body
now exists and its structure looks like this, and it has the power to
investigate newspapers when appropriate”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Following its creation, it would have a
board of former editors, lay members of the public and perhaps members of other
professions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The way I imagine it, it would mostly not
have any interaction with newspapers, although newspapers would be members of
this regulator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Each newspaper will still be required to
have a complaints mechanism in place – who knows, the PCC could still exist as a
complaints and mediation body. Alternatively, those papers that don’t want to be a part of
the PCC can have their own complaints system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let me illustrate now, with a made-up
example, how the new body would leap into action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A mother-of-four, Asian, lives in a £2m,
five-bedroom house in a wealthy neighbourhood, allocated to her by her local
council. She is then deemed by one newspaper to be undeserving of the
accommodation she did not choose to have, she was given. The newspaper names
her, and attributes to her quotes that are not accurate and make it sound like
she thinks she is entitled to what she’s been given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The newspaper portrays her family as
loutish, implies wrongly her children are unemployed out of choice, and
publishes a series of articles, each time with a new accusation, in the hope
the council will send her to a different, “more suitable”, home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Despite several complaints from the family,
several requests for a correction and an apology, they are ignored. They then
go to the PCC (which has no powers to investigate stories, they
only ask newspaper editors questions), and the PCC rules in favour of the
newspaper, in spite of the majority of the story being untrue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As it is now, if a similar case happens,
those affected must live with the untrue allegations and inaccurate quotes,
unless they can afford to go to court. Sadly, many people don’t have the means
or the time to take on large news organisations, so they end up just having to
accept the abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With a new independent regulator, this
family would be able to go to this independent body and explain their case. The
body would subsequently decide whether there was merit in investigating it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If they did, they would most likely come to
the conclusion that the allegations were untrue and the quotes inaccurate. They
could then fine the newspaper and order them to publish a clarification and an
apology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In many cases, currently, newspapers admit
they are wrong. Local newspapers, in my experience, are fantastic when it comes
to not only being on the right side of the law and the Editors’ Code of
Practice, but on accepting PCC rulings as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, there are several cases, mainly,
if not only, involving national newspapers, where the men in the street who are
targeted and unfairly vilified, defamed, and attacked, have no access to
adequate redress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Making newspapers accountable for their willing
or unwilling mistakes is not censorship, and it’s not an affront to freedom of
the press. It’s fair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It is important to clarify that, in my
opinion, proposals to introduce pre-notification or tougher privacy laws are
just not what we should be looking for. Pre-notification would severely hurt
serious investigations and worthwhile stories. In terms of privacy, the ECHR
does the job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Any journalist with an ounce of common
sense and love for their trade will know that this is not unreasonable. Giving
people the right to defend themselves, without having to resort to expensive
and time-consuming legal action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I don’t accept that the creation of this
body amounts to out-of-control statutory, Zimbabwean, authoritarian regulation.
These are the words those who know what their newspapers have been up to for a
long time use to defend their right to stamp on the little man without the
threat of being accountable for their actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As a journalist, I categorically do not
want a punitive regulator that stops people from publishing their stories to
protect the powerful or has the hands of politicians all over it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This may sound naïve, but I would like
reporters and editors, if the new independent regulator were to be created, to
think twice before writing and publishing stories they know are untrue or
cannot stand up. Not forgetting sometimes you have to be bold to get the truth out. I hope newspaper editors will recalibrate their judgment and realise some stories are more worthwhile than others when it comes to risky behaviour. Exposing Jimmy Savile was more important than jumping to conclusions ahead of the law on Christopher Jefferies' case, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There are certain punishments devised to
change the way in which the industry operates that are just impossible, and
should not even be considered. For instance, one of the best things journalists have to
their advantage is the surprise factor. You know you’re right to expose someone
and you go for it. I would never like to see that advantage taken away from
hacks with the introduction of any sort of pre-notification mechanism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiliqMEPaOytOpULVr1PxWDS9FmgSNn-ukutlNFVNCqHZSYR0f_TlcsiBK_16GKkCnx15DMxLi1MH1IbIx_oc2Vhh297eoC3kYBN2xWitbzNiq-XWIQarPM0_Pj-gUBAcg3Kp___AguDiI/s1600/Lord-Justice-Leveson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiliqMEPaOytOpULVr1PxWDS9FmgSNn-ukutlNFVNCqHZSYR0f_TlcsiBK_16GKkCnx15DMxLi1MH1IbIx_oc2Vhh297eoC3kYBN2xWitbzNiq-XWIQarPM0_Pj-gUBAcg3Kp___AguDiI/s1600/Lord-Justice-Leveson.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No pressure: Lord Justice Leveson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even with a new regulator, chances are
newspapers will deal with the fines and carry on as usual, because, let’s face
it, there’s nothing else you can do to protect the public without hindering the
work of brilliant, tenacious journalists all over the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My hope is that journalists will understand
that taking away the control of the PCC from a few powerful editors will level
the playing field and mean ordinary people can have a shot at redress, whenever
their case calls for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In any case, nobody knows what Lord Justice
Leveson will say. If it’s anything that will make journalists’ lives genuinely
difficult, or will impose Draconian pre-notification, or silly things like asking for permission to photograph people in public places, I cannot personally support it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the other hand, if it just means they will have to
think twice before publishing a made-up story, without any consequences to the pursuit of true stories, I’m fully behind it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-55986267012458566322012-08-14T14:27:00.004+01:002012-08-14T14:27:57.913+01:00Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio: the truth about the man who accepted the Olympic flag from Boris
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you tapped your feet on the floor to the
sound of the drums, enjoyed the music and dancing, and Pelé’s brief appearance
during the handover of the Olympics to Rio at the Closing Ceremony, that’s all
understandable. But don’t get too excited yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For most Brits and others around the world, the
man who collected the flag on behalf of Rio de Janeiro, its Mayor, Eduardo
Paes, was just another suited politician, smiling to the camera, doing his duty
for his city and country. He seemed nice, didn’t he?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well. Let’s go back four years to 2008,
when Eduardo Paes was running for office, and Rio was facing one of its most
violent times in the last couple of decades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJUmabo5axNo8mKEBE8ZafkIB3y_u1KiwJ0PvUNvPTKrNyQ2EZCNdTU5tjx6-9IJ4iRKk25We1c3B583kDcJJK7JjKvq112VU4sehch8uAjSjrN671OEbtpMT1btVVuqiF2K6ID1wtYYM/s1600/800px-Paes_Comite%CC%82.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJUmabo5axNo8mKEBE8ZafkIB3y_u1KiwJ0PvUNvPTKrNyQ2EZCNdTU5tjx6-9IJ4iRKk25We1c3B583kDcJJK7JjKvq112VU4sehch8uAjSjrN671OEbtpMT1btVVuqiF2K6ID1wtYYM/s320/800px-Paes_Comite%CC%82.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Photo: Wilson Dias/Abr<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A few years before I left Brazil for the UK in
2007, there had been something brewing under the surface in some of the biggest
favelas in Rio. A kind of violence different than our usual drugs lord-led gang
conflicts was quietly erupting. Groups of police officers and firemen, some
retired, some still active, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/world/americas/in-parts-of-brazil-militias-operate-outside-the-law.html?pagewanted=all">united
to take the law into their own hands</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Armed and dangerous, they formed militias
and started taking over favelas, killing and scaring away drugs lords and their
gang members. They claimed they were cleansing Rio’s communities from filthy
drugs and drug addicts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All they wanted in return was the support
of the communities – which were eventually taken hostage of what had become a
money and power-hungry mafia. Militians started charging extra money for basic
utilities, such as gas, drafting up “voting lists” ahead of elections and
barring candidates from campaigning in their area. They were also involved in
“alternative transport” – vans with the same itinerary as buses – and charged
autonomous workers a “toll” for working the same itinerary as their fleets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Those who didn’t comply, received death
threats. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 2008, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/03/riosmeanstreets">my
old newspaper, Jornal O Dia, sent three of their staff</a>, a reporter, a
photographer and a driver, undercover, to a favela in order to expose the
actions of these militias. Unfortunately they were found out, captured,
tortured and are, <a href="http://revistapiaui.estadao.com.br/edicao-59/my-story/my-pain-doesnt-make-the-papers">to
this day, running away from corrupt police officers</a> unhappy with their
attempt to expose them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, Paes, a social-democrat from centrist PMDB
(Partido do Movimento Democratico Brasileiro), has been caught more than a few
times, having a too-close-for-comfort relationship with the militias.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Three months before elections, in 2008, he
gave an interview to TV Globo, justifying the work of militias in certain areas
of Rio, saying they brought peace to a handful of communities. The video is in
Portuguese, but here’s a translated transcript of his statement:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“There are situations and situations. There
are areas of the state (of Rio), where the state has completely lost its
sovereignty and we need to recover this sovereignty. I’ll give you an example,
because people always ask me how to recover this sovereignty. Jacarepagua, in
Rio de Janeiro. It’s a neighbourhood where the so-called ‘policia mineira’
formed of policemen and firemen brought peace to the community. Sao Jose
Operario Hill. Once one of the most violent favelas of this state, is now one
of the most peaceful. Vila Sape, in Curicica… it means that acting with
intelligence you can get the state to recover its sovereignty in these areas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DXY7DRa2PXA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 2011, newspapers got hold of a picture of Paes having a meeting with the
leaders of “alternative transport co-operatives” - some of them known to be
militians – soon after he took office. It had been taken in
2009, when, <a href="http://www.jb.com.br/informe-jb/noticias/2011/10/25/em-2009-eduardo-paes-se-reuniu-com-supostos-chefes-da-mafia-das-vans/">according
to Jornal do Brasil</a>, he guaranteed the group would have “preferential
treatment” during the procurement process for new itineraries in Rio’s
West Zone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFERUClZmUoU3oSXCe-NVgncPqdhmzcODBXzZX5ZxHkIiXTF4EQ8W8XmM9L4Q6iupuTjkVvo2py3bqKHCPt-PpDCp__XeBQxAgaGLnTLj-guTF_4FmzAQEkT-XjYfN3aG1V4a0oLFHuQB/s1600/reuniao-em-2009-mostra-eduardo-paes-negociando-cooperativas-com-lideres-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFERUClZmUoU3oSXCe-NVgncPqdhmzcODBXzZX5ZxHkIiXTF4EQ8W8XmM9L4Q6iupuTjkVvo2py3bqKHCPt-PpDCp__XeBQxAgaGLnTLj-guTF_4FmzAQEkT-XjYfN3aG1V4a0oLFHuQB/s320/reuniao-em-2009-mostra-eduardo-paes-negociando-cooperativas-com-lideres-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Photo: Reproducao/Jornal do Brasil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Some of those who attended the meeting were
being investigated by a parliamentary inquiry commission (CPI das Milicias),
but Rio’s department for transport issued a statement saying even though they
were under investigation, they had not been convicted or found guilty of any
impropriety at the time. It went on to say if they were to be found guilty of
impropriety they would be excluded from the procurement process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But there’s more. In 2010, a Rio assembly
man denounced during the parliamentary inquiry that Rio’s head of social care,
Rodrigo Bethlem, appointed by Paes, was the main defence witness in an
attempted murder trial, where two militians from the self-appointed “Justice League” (Liga da Justica) were
accused of trying to kill a van “conductor” who had acted as a whistleblower,
in 2005.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethlem, who worked for the governor of Rio
at the time, was at a “political event” with both militians when the crime
happened. The trial was delayed when Bethlem allegedly refused to give
evidence, after being exposed as a witness by the press. He was subsequently dismissed as a witness, because the judge wanted to get on with the trial to avoid wasting more public money. And he is still Rio's head of social care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The parliamentary inquiry (CPI das Milicias) was led by a
politician called Marcelo Freixo, who eventually succeeded in sending to jail dozens of militians and
exposing several corrupt politicians and policemen who had links with criminals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Following the inquiry, Freixo received
death threats and had to leave Rio with his family for a while. He is now
fighting Paes for mayoralty. Elections are due to happen in October.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you would like some context for all this
(I appreciate it’s hard to understand if you haven’t lived in Rio or aren’t
familiar with Brazilian politics) I suggest two films: Elite Squad, based on a
real story, and its sequel, Elite Squad 2 - the Enemy Within, inspired by these
events I’ve just written about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bottom line is, don’t be fooled by Paes’
pearly white smile and his excitement with the Olympics. For the sake of Rio’s population, and all of you who are coming
to Rio in 2016, I sincerely hope he’s on his way out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-66753543152153393782012-07-08T00:08:00.004+01:002012-07-08T12:37:25.150+01:00The dangers of making suicide a bright pink matter<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I
was reading through my twitter timeline yesterday and noticed somebody had tweeted a picture of a
magazine cover with the headline “suicide drama” in bright pink capital
letters, followed by an exclamation mark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It
was a TV guide mag and the cover referred to a soap’s plot, where apparently a
body has been found. I don’t know exactly. But I do remember feeling sick for a
second when I opened the picture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Everyone,
everywhere, has a fascination with death, that manifests itself in one way or
another. In Brazil, we feed that fascination with stories of violence, so
common pretty much all over the country. The very fact that death and its
reporting is so ordinary takes away some of the need for gory details - as a
society, we’re way overexposed to death and tales of human cruelty to get hung
up on every single detail of crime and tragedy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Of
course we still are fascinated, and share morbid curiosity with the rest of the
human race, but it usually takes a bizarre crime or tragedy to trigger the will
to know more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The
UK is much smaller, more compact, and safer than Brazil. There is violence and
crime – I have sat through quite a few murder trials and inquests during my
time as a local reporter here – but not on the same scale as in Rio, for
instance, so the appetite for details is much higher. Understandably.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The
one thing I struggle to come to terms with, though, is the curiosity and
fascination of the British press and public with suicide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I’ve
had to cover a few suicides as a local reporter. Spoke to families, asked
difficult questions, reported inquests, was given pictures of their loved ones,
and wrote their stories. I did my job and did it as well as I could. But every
time I think about how much people want to know about the circumstances in
which, and motives why, someone has taken their own life, I find that curiosity harder to understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">When
I was 23 and working at Jornal O Dia, something happened. I was at work one evening and the reporter who sat opposite me had a phone call from her maid,
who had gone out to buy milk and saw someone who had jumped off a building. The
maid told the reporter all the gory details of what she had seen, and they were
duly repeated once the phone call was over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I
remember being a bit horrified, and searching my mind for people I knew who
lived in the area. I just had a bad feeling, but it soon passed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The
next morning, I woke up with a phone call from a friend at 9ish. I was very
tired – hadn’t finished my shift until late the night before – so couldn’t
quite understand what he was saying. All I could hear was “… killed herself”. I
asked him to repeat that three times, until I heard: “Cecilia killed herself”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">And
then the penny dropped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I
told him the story I had heard the evening before, and he confirmed what I’d
feared. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Cecilia
was 21 and incredibly bright and beautiful. I loved her to bits. And this is
all I’m going to tell you about her. I know our friends might read this, and
I’ve decided I have no right to tell her story, the story I know, made of facts,
memories and conjectures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">A
few days after that, I was told that a team from one of our most outrageous
tabloids, O Povo, had been to the scene of my friend’s death and taken pictures. That only added to the pain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">In
Brazil, mainstream newspapers have a gentlemen’s agreement not to routinely
publish suspected suicides, unless police decide to investigate or the person
is somebody in public office or the public eye. We don’t have a coroner’s
court, so police give the verdict either after examining the scene, or after a
pathologist’s report, if one is necessary. In general, no one, besides family
and close friends, wants to know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It
could be because Brazil is a big Catholic country and suicide is
frowned upon by the church. Which makes it embarrassing for families if a loved
one dies in such circumstances. It could be that Brazilians don’t give mental
health issues the attention they require and don’t raise the awareness they
deserve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I’m
not suggesting for a second that newspapers in the UK should stop covering
suicides. The social and cultural landscape of Britain is obviously very
different from that of Brazil, and mental health issues and its consequences
are spoken about much more openly here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">But
I sometimes wonder if wealth of detail, speculation, sensationalising, and hounding
of families, are absolutely necessary, and if they serve a purpose other than to
shock and sell newspapers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Truth is, the impact suicide can have on someone else on the brink of
a mental breakdown can be severely underestimated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">When
Cecilia died, I had been seeing a psychoanalyst because I was severely
depressed. She was a friend, and we were young, so her death alone had an
enormous impact on my state of mind. But the circumstances were extremely
painful, difficult to accept and understand, and they pushed me right to the
edge. Thankfully, I’m better now – it’s been a slow recovery, and anyone who
has been there knows how hard it is to be confident you’re out of the woods
forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Bottom line being, to
me, suicide is still a delicate matter, and I’m positive it will always be. I
find its trivialisation both outrageous and hard to understand. There is no
glamour in suicide - just pain, anger, and confusion. Soaps
shouldn’t exploit it and magazines shouldn’t sensationalise it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Anyone
who considers it should seek help. Anyone who feels they need to know more
about how someone else died and why should wipe that thought off their minds. Believe me,
you’re better off not thinking about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>If
you’re distressed or feel like you need help, you can talk to Samaritans
at any time of the day or night on 08457 90 90 90 in the UK and Northern
Ireland, or 1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-18314897776072220342012-06-21T00:50:00.003+01:002012-06-21T18:33:49.861+01:00Why I love journalism (despite the lack of recognition and money)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 2005, I was offered an “internship” at
Jornal O Dia, in Rio. It was a paid internship, for two years, at
the end of which I would be offered a promotion if I proved myself to be good
enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I call it “internship”, between quotation
marks, because even though I was paid half the wages of a “reporter I” (the
first title at “professional” level), I was expected to do the same amount of
work. I would go to uni in the mornings, from 7.30am until 11.30am, and go
straight to the newsroom in the afternoons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was called internship because of a pathetic law in Brazil that doesn’t allow newspapers to hire reporters unless
they have a journalism degree. So that opened up an opportunity for newspapers
to hire people in their early 20s, still at uni, for half the amount they would
pay a reporter with a degree, and make them work full time and just as hard. All they had to do was call them interns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was a triple whammy for them: I was
cheap, couldn’t join the union, and didn’t have life insurance – so if anything
happened to me at work, my family wouldn’t get a penny from anyone. It was
almost as if there was no sign of my existence, except for the outstanding
amount of column inches I filled every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I worked at the showbiz desk. I hated the
showbiz desk. But if I wanted to work at a newspaper, I had to suck up and do
it. My set chores were to write the children’s theatre and dance sections of
the weekend guide, and type up (you read it right) the whole cinema listings
for the week on Tuesdays – an eight-hour task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Every week, I tried my best to get features
and stories in the daily showbiz supplement, Caderno D, and, more often than
not, I succeeded. Still, not my favourite thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I usually worked as much overtime as I
could fit in, so I would get paid more. Eventually, I saw myself working
closely with the Saturday editor (fashion editor), Marcia Disitzer, the most
amazing person ever. She invested in me – so much so she even left me in charge
of editing her fashion column whenever she was away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The best thing, however, were the mandatory
weekend shifts. God, I loved those.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As I wrote here before, those were our
crime shifts. We worked on a rota, and had to do one weekend every four weeks.
I’d sometimes take on other people’s shifts if I needed the money or had
nothing planned for the weekend (yeah, I know…).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even though the everyday work at the
showbiz desk taught me the basics of journalism – news writing, accuracy, law
(we wrote a lot about celebrities), the ins-and-outs of a daily publication –
it was at the news desk that I felt truly at home as a cub reporter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I would normally do the 7am shifts on both
Saturday and Sunday. I remember the 7am shifts weren’t really meant for
beginners – you had to take over from the night shift, and make sure nothing
went unnoticed, so you could pass it on to the news editor, who usually arrived
at 7.30am, sometimes 8am.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you were on the 7am shift, there was
also the possibility you would get a call in the middle of the night, telling
you a newspaper driver would pick you up at 5.30am because a high-profile
drugs’ lord had been killed, and the news desk needed support. That happened to
me once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And you would be on your own, running the
news-gathering in the newsroom while the teams (reporters and snappers) were
away, and the news editor too busy getting reports from the scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">O Dia’s newsroom had something called the “bug
room” (not for phone-hacking or individual surveillance, just to be clear). It
was a tiny corner room with big glass windows all round, from where I could see
my news editor, who sat in a strategic position, sort of at the top of the
news desk, right in the middle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In that room, I had a phone, a computer,
and two radio scanners used to scan the police frequency. Technically, it
was illegal to do that – but everyone knew all newspapers had a similar room,
police included. Any time they even hinted at trying to shut it down, the press
would cry out censorship, and ask why they needed secrecy attending incidents
around the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There was, and still is (though I hear
police managed to get themselves unlistenable radio frequencies these days), a
clear and absolute public interest in monitoring the activities of a knowingly
corrupt and murderous police force, and I’ll forever defend the activities of
Jornal O Dia and others in Rio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So my job, for sometimes 14 hours per
shift, was to make sure we knew everything that was going on in Rio and
surrounding districts. I would have to phone a hundred and something police
stations (civil police), to ask whether they had any crimes reported in their
area, the other hundred and something military police battalions to ask if they
had been called to any crime scenes or incidents, plus the other hundred and
something fire brigades, to check if any incidents had happened overnight, in
case the night shift hadn’t picked them up, or they’d happened after they
called.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I would keep in touch with my colleagues
from other newspapers – we all had the same sources for incidents that had just
happened (unless someone had called in), so we shared what we had and consulted
each other to decide whether it was safe to send a team to an incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Newspapers aren’t very popular with drug
dealers in Rio, for obvious reasons, so we would always have to be careful
about ambushes and traps, and not exposing our reporters to any unnecessary danger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My main jobs were to know everything, send
my news editor hourly updates, make sure our reporters didn’t get killed
(sometimes we had to trust our instincts before sending teams out to incidents
and that was terrifying), write all the straightforward news stories, and talk to
oddballs on the phone. There were plenty of calls from good old Rio oddballs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The news editor, Hilka Telles, was a scary
middle-aged woman. Award-winning crime reporter with decades of experience, and
tough as a rock. Everyone was frightened of her. I loved her. She would sit
there with her big hair, chain smoking (the newspaper had enforced a smoking ban,
but she was the only person allowed to smoke in the newsroom because of her 40-a-day
habit), telling people with her fag hag voice what journalism was all about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGulVIipthWCxw-_H3w2Swhfdt1Fn7Zoq-CHH1L4MOf6Vg0tcSyNwxWVQdgcG4dEvUrVXqe096h9PkiTiUO8ApehIqkGnlTj-NREHSUVYKcj0xoZbRe9sblqfcQ23f-IM2BA8PET1tLbJ/s1600/NiverElainecHilkaPerinAngelaSandra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGulVIipthWCxw-_H3w2Swhfdt1Fn7Zoq-CHH1L4MOf6Vg0tcSyNwxWVQdgcG4dEvUrVXqe096h9PkiTiUO8ApehIqkGnlTj-NREHSUVYKcj0xoZbRe9sblqfcQ23f-IM2BA8PET1tLbJ/s400/NiverElainecHilkaPerinAngelaSandra.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hilka Telles on the phone as a young reporter at an 80s "bug room" in Rio. <br />
This one was at Jornal do Brasil</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes Hilka would relieve me from being
in the “bug room” and send me out to incidents (never the hairy ones because I
didn’t have life insurance, though I’ve been in the cross-fire a couple of
times).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">She used to call the showbiz desk “celeb
whores” and our colorful hipster desks “whore dressers” – I could hardly
contain a giggle whenever she said that. She was so right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And I loved all that. For reasons I cannot
explain, because I don’t want to identify them, I had many sources in the
police force, even a couple in the elite squad, so I would often sneak into the
other side of the newsroom, where the news desk was, and give her stories.
Sometimes she would let me work on them, sometimes the showbiz editor would
tell us both off, so I had to surrender the story to one of the crime reporters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By the end of it all, nearly in 2007, I was
offered a “reporter I” position. I hadn't finished my degree yet, but whenever they came across "outstanding" cub reporters, they used a loophole to hire them as reporters (legally they would be hired as "autonomous workers", in practice, they were reporters), so they promised me a position.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I had
already decided to move to the UK, for personal reasons. I loved every crime
shift I did at that newspaper, every story I wrote, every scary
situation I was thrown in, but the nearly two years of exploitation had taken
their toll. I wanted a bit of change, and some employment rights too. But I still miss it dearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-31843564538912360132012-06-19T16:59:00.000+01:002012-06-19T17:22:28.090+01:00Is my dictator better than yours?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">South American dictatorships are a very
delicate subject to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Not only because I’m Brazilian, but because
my father’s family comes from a very long line of serving Army and Navy
officers, and both my father and grandfather were active during the Brazilian military
regime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My granddad was a major and lieutenant-colonel
(one below colonel) for the duration of it. He died in 1996, when I was 13, so
I never asked him much about it. The only story I’ve ever heard, told by my
father, was about a train full of political prisoners, and my father says, “you
don’t want to know what happened to them”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My father was a lieutenant at the time. He
had left military academy in 1976, and became involved in it probably by 1979, but the only stories I know are from 1980/81.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On March 31, 1964, a coup d’etat by the
Brazilian military deposed the then president Joao Goulart, who had been
democratically elected in 1961, amid fears that a left-wing president was
helping the growth of communism in the country, and that there was a communist
revolution about to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Goulart fled to Uruguay, and Marshal
Castello Branco took office 15 days later. It would be the beginning of 30
years of torture, censorship, gagging of the press, and murder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He was followed in office by General Costa
e Silva, from 1967 to 1969, and then by General Medici, from 1969 until 1974.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was when Medici was in power, that
Institutional Act 5 (AI-5) was decreed, and when newspapers were truly gagged (not
just asked to align with the government), artists (such as Caetano Veloso and
Gilberto Gil) were forced into exile, and protesters and critics of the
dictatorship started disappearing more often, never to be seen again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Medici was followed in office by Generals Geisel
and Figueiredo, and in 1985 the regime came to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Officially, 457 people either died or
disappeared during that period (the Brazilian government is currently reviewing that figure to add another 858 deaths). Journalists were muzzled and
arrested - some killed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 1980, my father led a battalion within
Rio de Janeiro’s Army police (Policia do Exercito). His job was to lead small groups into unsavoury areas (mainly favelas, where some of the activists would
hide), after receiving intelligence information, to catch them during their
“subversive meetings”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The only proof I have seen of that
was a document which explained the procedure to end those
meetings and arrest “subversives”, and the scars of a pistol gunshot that
entered the back of his left leg and exited through the front. He was shot as
he was chasing someone in the narrow alleys of a favela.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 1981, a car bomb went off outside a
concert, at a venue called Rio Centro, celebrating the return of exiled
artists. By that time, the way to a new democracy was already being paved, and
some sections of the Army were prepared to do whatever they could to remain in
power and make the population believe the guerrilla was dangerously out of
control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One of the versions of the incident was
that a sergeant and a captain decided to plant a bomb at the gig, which
was being attended by thousands, to create panic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, for them, the bomb went off when
they were still in the car, killing the sergeant and forcing the captain to
walk 200 yards to the nearest road holding his exposed bowels to call for help.
He survived and is still alive. He’s been known </span>in the Army since then as
“Captain Bomb”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHXtsL0_H4QoUuXxMWlcK-ArrL3e7FUqtpMLsHXCgx6XLW4t1BXYXqO1VnnLjswPu0c12gJJZWo9Zjd7JpXgnHsGRCjQ1Nr0fOk2jnQ9MoLgHLQn1oU-cgp0OCV-k5lQdVtXRPZu23D5r/s1600/1981_-_o_globo_-_atentado_no_rio_centro2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHXtsL0_H4QoUuXxMWlcK-ArrL3e7FUqtpMLsHXCgx6XLW4t1BXYXqO1VnnLjswPu0c12gJJZWo9Zjd7JpXgnHsGRCjQ1Nr0fOk2jnQ9MoLgHLQn1oU-cgp0OCV-k5lQdVtXRPZu23D5r/s320/1981_-_o_globo_-_atentado_no_rio_centro2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rio Centro bomb crime scene</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My father was one of the crime scene
forensic officers (I’m pretty sure he took the picture on the left – I’ve seen the
original in one of his Army albums at home) for the military and one those
responsible for drafting the report with the Army’s own version of events –
that lefties had planted the bomb in the car.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 1996, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brazil’s
<span lang="EN-US">biggest investigative TV show, Globo Reporter</span>, sent </span>one of their investigative reporters, Caco Barcellos, to
our house, to interview my father on the 15th anniversary of the failed car
bomb attack. He refused to speak to camera, but agreed to speak off the record briefly.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">During the interview, the cameraman held
the camera down and told my father it was off, but kept on filming, and caught
him explaining where the bomb had been placed in the car. He maintained the
Army line, but as he was still serving as a lieutenant-colonel at the time, he
wasn’t allowed to talk about it, and received a mighty bollocking after the interview was aired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As a young lieutenant, of course my father
was obeying orders. He loved the military – it was his career, had been his
father’s career, his grandfather’s career, and so on, and generally, even
though it’s not my cup of tea, it’s not a bad career to have.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And I believed that was ok for a long time. It wasn’t until I was 16, in my last year
at Military School, that I stopped repeating my parents’ political views and started developing my own.
Deep down, I always knew there was something entirely unacceptable and utterly disgraceful about
authoritarian governments, regardless of how good for the economy, as some
claim in Brazil, they might have been. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That was also about the time I found out
that my granddad on my mother’s side had been arrested for a few days for
speaking out about the government in the 60s. The police knocked on his door one day, told him to pick up some clothes and go with them. Terrifying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One of my history school teachers had been
tortured in the 60s. Our current president, Dilma Rousseff, was part of the
guerrilla movement, and was herself tortured at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One of our most famous newspaper
columnists, Hildegard Angel, lost her mother, Zuzu, and brother, Stuart, during
the regime. Her brother was arrested and killed by the secret police – his body
never found. His mother, Zuzu, tried to fight the state to get recover her
son’s body, and was murdered too. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">These are only some of the examples of violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The main evidence that growth without civil
and individual liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, is
unsustainable, is that Brazil collapsed into the worst decade and a half of its
economic existence from 1980.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After all the story-telling, my main point is I'm not proud of my family's own personal experience with a dictatorship, but I'm glad that hearing the most horrendous stories and political views at home has made me despise authoritarian regimes of all kinds.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So, anyone willing to praise any dictatorship to me, for whatever reason, will have to do better than
say it did wonders for the inflation rate, or gave power to the "best" ideology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And think of those murdered, abused, the violence, and all the censorship, before saying any dictatorship is ok.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-59131264141633072412012-06-11T21:29:00.001+01:002012-06-11T21:29:05.195+01:00France and football often make for bad news<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US">I have two issues with the French football
team. One is that they beat Brazil to win the 1998 World Cup, and I hate them for that. The
other is because they were partly responsible for one of my most nightmarish
crime shifts from the time I worked at <a href="http://odia.ig.com.br/" target="_blank">Jornal O Dia</a>, in Rio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Watching the Euro 2012 match today brought
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<span lang="EN-US">It was July 1, 2006, a Saturday. I was
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<span lang="EN-US">I arrived in the newsroom, met the
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genius – will write more about her soon), sent us all down to a French restaurant in
Ipanema called Olivier Cozan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The homonymous chef had set up a giant
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<span lang="EN-US">It was all going well - we were given some
food, the guests were nice people, Brazil was resisting France’s attacks - until
at 57’, Zinedine Zidane (known in Brazil as “Carrasco” or executioner) took a
free kick. The ball found Thierry Henry and, subsequently, the back of the net.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I am a very proud Brazilian supporter and
having to stand there, clutching my notepad, whilst the French guests (and our
host) jumped up and down, was horrific. I couldn’t say a word, of course – I
was working. I couldn’t drink either, but I may or may not have had a beer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By the time the match ended, I was livid.
The French were laughing at other Brazilians who happened to be there too, and like
me, looked miserable. I went outside to call Hilka and give the news desk a
quick update on the reaction, and was about to summon the snapper to go back to
the newsroom. She picked up and I started reporting to her, and while I did, someone
started shouting in the street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A guy appeared out of nowhere, running
after another guy on a bike, shouting “catch him, catch him, he’s got my bag”.
Then this other guy standing next to me – he had been at the restaurant with
his children and wife, watching the match – ran across the road and launched
himself onto the robber, who was cycling on the pavement and got knocked off his
bike. He hit the shutters of a closed shop on his way down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By that time I had already scanned my side
of the pavement to check if the snapper was there. When I looked again at the
two guys, the robber had drawn a gun (looked like a revolver, but it all
happened a bit too fast) and was about to get back on his feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That was about the time all hell broke
loose. I was half perched behind a car, too excited to care whether the guy
was going to shoot in our direction or not, shouting at my snapper “take a photo, take a photo now”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man’s wife
was hysterical, and other people carried her inside with her children. What happened next, to
my utter amazement, was that instead of taking pictures the snapper grabbed me (she was
much bigger than me) and pushed me inside the restaurant too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After the guy drew the gun, I’m not so sure
what happened. There weren’t gunshots, as far as I can remember, but the guy
who tried to be a hero probably had to run away for a while, because it took
him about 10 minutes to come back to the restaurant. Unscathed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was inside for about two seconds, when I realised
the news editor was still on hold on my mobile phone. She had heard the whole
thing, so I explained what had happened. She asked me if everyone was ok and if the snapper had taken any
pictures, and I had to tell her the truth. I got a little bollocking, even
though it wasn’t my fault, but that was how Hilka rolled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Looking back at it now, I probably should have at
least hidden all of myself behind the car, but I don’t regret staying out and watching
the scenes unfold at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I do understand the snapper’s reaction
though. Photographers at Jornal O Dia risked their lives pretty much every
day, and still do, next to lunatics (police and criminals) waving guns, and she
probably thought it wasn’t worth it that day. I was angry for a while, but I
don’t blame her for not wanting to take a bullet for nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Half an hour later, we went back to the newspaper
feeling deflated and upset. Brazil had been eliminated and we didn’t deliver what would have been an
incredible front page story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even though I didn’t feel it at the time, I now understand
her fear. But I sometimes still wish we had nailed that story and made that
horrible day a little bit better.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3496337934994722327.post-59048615681512418182012-06-08T12:57:00.000+01:002012-06-08T13:11:40.213+01:00Local newspapers are great and you should know it<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Most journalists who have never worked at
local newspapers have no idea how great local newspapers are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Some will say local reporters only write about school<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">fêtes</span></span>, giant sunflowers, endure boring council meetings to
write a down page (the second most important story on a page, usually about 200
words’ long), and churn press releases. That’s one way of looking at it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When I used to work at a local newspaper,
what I saw was a newsroom full of people who knew their trade inside out.
Reporters who did a sterling job covering court cases, and who could build an
argument and present it in front of a judge to have a court order lifted.
Reporters who gave local councils, NHS Trusts, and police a hard time, if they
chose to hide their murky business from the public. Reporters who would work
the longest hours during the week and yet volunteer to work at weekends
(because of the money as well – we all had to pay our rents).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Local newspaper newsrooms are where
reporters learn to be reporters. They learn how to deal with people and become
welcome at their homes; they learn to be compassionate when listening to their
stories, and to identify the issues that are important for local
communities. They are the ones, despite the hard times and severe cuts in most
newsrooms in the country, who are closest to the public.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you are a local reporter, you need to
talk to people to get stories. You need to get to know the busybodies, the
politicians, the shop owners, the community leaders and as many local people as
you can.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That is precisely the reason why so many
national newspapers look to local newspapers for stories. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It is hard for the public to notice when a
story has been sold by a local newspaper to a national. It’s usually done via
news agencies, but reporters also sell their own stories sometimes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Consequentially, it is hard for the public
to know when local newspapers have been shortchanged. But it happens a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The most recent example I can give is
happening to my old paper, the <a href="http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/" target="_blank">Streatham Guardian</a>. Their reporter <a href="http://twitter.com/streathamjourno" target="_blank">Rachel Blundy</a>
(who writes the whole newspaper by herself) landed <a href="http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/9748157.Press_officer_leaves_job_over__napalm__tweet/" target="_blank">an exclusive</a> that was
reproduced by the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/9317113/Press-officer-quits-after-suggesting-Streatham-should-be-napalmed-on-Twitter.html" target="_blank">Daily Telegraph</a>, with no credit and no pay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I don’t particularly like or agree with the
story, but it pains me to see young talented local reporters being robbed of
the credit for their hard work. When Rachel contacted the Telegraph news desk, according to her,
they said there was nothing they could do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, I have a couple of suggestions: 1) you can give her a byline on your website, and 2) you can pay her the appropriate fee for a story that goes in print (as this one did).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I have emailed the reporter whose byline
appeared at the top of the story, <a href="http://twitter.com/richardalleyne" target="_blank">Richard Alleyne</a>, to ask if the story came
from a news agency. I’ve had no response yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If the story came from a news agency, I
understand from speaking to Rachel that, whichever agency that was, they were
not authorised to sell it on the Streatham Guardian’s behalf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, this dismissive and disrespectful view of local papers has been growing for a few years now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Due to the attitude of most national
newspapers - including the Guardian, the Telegraph and so on - it is highly
unlikely that local newspaper reporters, despite their training, knowledge and
capability, will end up in staff jobs at those newspapers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">To add insult to injury, they
constantly have their work lifted by nationals, with no credit whatsoever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With all due respect to many young national
reporters I know, who are very talented, the reality is that newspapers have
been taking on kids straight out of their MA courses, from top universities,
with no real work experience. By doing that, they are not only filling their
newsrooms with inexperienced reporters, they are putting themselves at risk
(remember the reporter who tweeted a juror’s name and made a trial collapse),
and denying those who are trained and experienced an opportunity to work at
national level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I know one extremely talented award-winning
reporter who was given shifts at a national, after nearly four years working at
a local paper. When she started, her colleagues, who mostly fit the category
above, told her she would have to “up her game now” because that wasn’t the
same “as some local newspaper”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All I can say is, despite the prejudice,
she is so great she’s been wiping the floor with them. But that doesn't make it any less absurd that
this is the view being perpetuated in national newsrooms nowadays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I wish editors like Alan Rusbridger, James
Harding, Tony Gallagher and others would change their minds about turning their
newspapers into exclusive clubs for those who have the privilege to go to top
universities. They might claim local newspapers are dying, but ignoring the gold
that comes out of them is only hammering another nail in their coffin, and denying reporters from a multitude of backgrounds a chance to work for a major title.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It would also help, of course, if they
recognised they benefit from the good work done by locals, by always paying
them for their stories or not forgetting to credit their reporters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But since it seems unlikely things will change,
my advice to local reporters out there is, if someone steals your story, give
them a hard time. Your hard work is worth a lot, so don’t let them get away
with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Thais Portilhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02807761078953729457noreply@blogger.com8