Ninguém disse que era fácil | No one said it would be easy

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Infelizmente, as agressões fazem parte da profissão. A violência sobre os jornalistas existe em todo o lado e acontece por razões diversas, e é aplicada por cidadãos anónimos, os sujeitos da notícia, por agentes da autoridade, ou mesmo entre colegas de profissão. Já fui ameaçado apenas por andar num carro da RDP, vi colegas a serem agredidos por populares ou “encostados” pela segurança do Presidente da República, e comi cotoveladas e esquivei-me a repórteres de imagem e às traseiras das camâras de vídeo  nos aglomerados que se formam em busca da declaração, da imagem. Toda a gente tem nódoas negras para lembrar. É um trabalho arriscado, não se esqueçam que todos os anos são assassinados dezenas de jornalistas, fora os que são presos apenas por fazerem o seu trabalho. Estas coisas não nos contam quando nos matriculamos no curso de jornalismo. Isto tudo vem por causa de um site dedicado a estas coisas: o Schmuck Alert! mostra esses momentos difíceis que volta e meia lá acontecem na vida de um jornalista. Uma coisa vos garanto, é mais calmo do que trabalhar num bar de discoteca. Têm algum desses momentos complicados que queiram partilhar connosco? Alguma história que vos tenha marcado fisicamente? É só deixar nos comentários.

Unfortunately, agressions come with the job. Violence upon journalists happens everywhere and there are different reasons for it, and it is applied by different people, from  the anonymous citizen to the subject of the news, by law enforcement officers and even other journalists. In my own experience i was threatened just by riding a marked car with the logo of the company, i saw colleagues being hit by mobs or “nudged” by the President’s security team, i was elbowed and had to duck swinging backends of video cameras held by agressive cameramen, in those agglomerates where we all herd after that precious statement, the  right image. Everyone has bruises to remember. It is truly a risky job, don’t forget that every year dozens of journalists are murdered throughout the world, not counting the ones arrested just because they were doing their job.  No one tells us this stuff when we sign in for a Journalism degree. This comes all about a website dedicated to these events: Schmuck Alert! shows those difficult moments that now and then happen in a journalists’ life. I can assure you one thing, it’s more peaceful than working at a disco bar. Do you have one of those complicated moments that you’d like to share with us? Some stories that have left some physical souvenirs? Just post them in the comments.

For years, photog bloggers and other surly citizens have taken it upon themselves to issue Schmuck Alerts, public notices that someone’s being a complete douche-bag in full view of professional camera crew. This in itself is not always a crime, but too often that mall cop, fresh felon, town founder or d-list debutante goes positively mental and assaults the aforementioned member of the media. Like Nancy Kerrigan said just after being whacked in the knee by Gillooly and his goons, “WWWWHHHHHYYYYY?!?!?!”

A-hem. Anyway, until now key members of the Fourth Estate have been issuing their Schmuck Alerts on their individual websites. No more! Now, with the establishment of this very site by the good folks at the Lenslinger Institute, schmucks everywhere have a place to come and hang their heads in shame. Remember, sports fans, that cat with the Sony on his shoulder ain’t doin’ it for his health, Most likely he (or she) has spent the day chasing cops, politicians, criminals and – EGADS! – television news reporters. Trust me, you’d be pissy too. So think twice before taking a swing! Chances are we won’t fight back too hard, but we’ll damn sure KEEP RECORDING….

After all, it’s what we do.

Confiança e integridade | Trust and integrity

Chris Cramer

Numa recente apresentação na Nottingham Trent University, Chris Cramer, consultor na Reuters depois de uma carreira de 11 anos na CNN, abordou dois conceitos chave na produção jornalística: confiança e integridade. Mas o seu discurso vai muito mais longe do que as questões éticas e enquadra-as nas perspectivas global e tecnológica actuais. Uma intervenção para ler e reflectir. A transcrição da apresentação pode ser lida aqui.

In a recent presentation at the Nottingham Trent University, Chris Cramer, consultant at Reuters after as 11 year career at CNN, talked about two key issues in journalistic production: trust and integrity. But his speech goes way beyond than just ethic questions but he frames them in the current global and technological perspectives.His intervention is a great source for reflection. The full transcript of the presentation can be read here.

So I’d like to talk today about what role the media can play in a changing world and what its responsibilities should be.

Is it a passive window on the world, an inanimate mirror which reflects simply what is happening or does the media have a true social responsibility beyond getting ratings and readership and making profit? Can the media and journalists make the world a better place? Or are they just lazy tools of a fickle society?

Have readers and viewers and consumers lost trust in the mainstream media and do they now prefer to gather their own information via the internet and blog sites?

‘Trust and integrity in the modern media’ – Chris Cramer’s speech to Nottingham Trent University