By JEAN PIERRE CHAUVIN*

The lexical choices, devices and filters applied by the authors of reports and news will depend on who is being spoken to and who the daily newspaper is intended for.

The first step for a reader or viewer, interested in the origin of the news and the accuracy of the journalists, would be to read and/or listen with due attention to what is written or said.

On Monday, November 25, Reinaldo Azevedo published an opinion article on the UOL portal[I] in which he questioned the excessive use of certain euphemism formulas, that is, of softening in the verbal language.

Referring to the original text, the journalist demonstrates some cases that suggest this practice. This is what happens when a columnist uses “suposto” – which can be used both as an adjective, when referring to something that still needs to be proven (as we see in “o supuesto golpe”); and as a verb, if we understand that “suposto” would correspond to the past participle of suppose (for example, “The reporter had supposed”).

Another resource used in the mainstream press to slow down what is being reported or commented on involves the imperfect past tense (indicative mood). For those who don’t remember the grammatical terminology, it involves conjugating verbs in such a way as to combine two terms: the auxiliary and the main. This is the case of “teria disse”, for example, in which “ter” (inflected in the imperfect past tense) is combined with “dizer” (in the past participle). Both terms participate in a verbal phrase, that is, they acquire a new semantic load, articulated with the same objective: to reduce the impact, or perhaps the virulence, of what certain statements claim.

Reinaldo Azevedo was precise in his warning to readers and colleagues. In fact, what we notice when comparing some of the headlines published on different websites and radio, television or internet channels is that the approach of some professionals or collaborators varies according to the publication to which they are linked. Beyond the perspective of the maintainers and editors, the greatest metric for newspapers is the audience and the impact of what is published in them – which can be measured with less complexity today, thanks to the use of tools and algorithms in the digital space.

Let the reader not repeat the fallacy that Reinaldo Azevedo is supposedly a PT member or that he is a party cronym. In addition to his ties to the PT being very brief (from 1980 to 1981), between the 1980s and 2010 the journalist became one of the biggest opponents of several actions and measures adopted by the party. Spoiler for the binarists and haters on duty: criticizing the coup attempt orchestrated by the former (dis)government, which occupied the presidency of the republic between 2019 and 2022, does not imply blindly and uncritically defending the government that succeeded it…

Similarly, the fact that I celebrate the content of Reinaldo Azevedo's text on this occasion does not imply that I will be in absolute agreement with everything he writes or says. This is why the journalist and this professor, each in their own way and with the resources at our disposal, in the spaces in which we operate, advocate the encouragement of the formation of competent interpreters of reality, capable of exercising critical thinking at all times.

If it weren't for the ability to investigate what is beyond and beyond the articles that appear in newspapers, talk shows or podcast, I would not suggest that the reader of this pseudo-chronicle check the groups and companies that sponsor the newspapers that pride themselves on carrying greater credibility. Perhaps this information will help them to, at least, speculate with a greater degree of foundation about the impossibility of a vehicle being neutral, disinterested and impartial.

Obviously, I don't need to say that this is also reflected in the language, that is, in the lexical choices, in the artifices and in the filters applied by the authors of reports and news, depending on who is being spoken to and who the daily newspaper is intended for.

*Jean Pierre Chauvin Professor of Brazilian Culture and Literature at the School of Communication and Arts at USP. Author, among other books by Seven Speeches: essays on discursive typologies. [https://amzn.to/4bMj39i]

Note

[I] https://noticias.uol.com.br/colunas/reinaldo-azevedo/2024/11/25/chega-de-tantos-supostos-e-futuros-do-preterito-compostos-na-imprensa.htm

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