Tim Lopes

Just read  that one of Tim Lopes' killer, Xuxa, is now out from jail after serving a few years in prison.  How is that possible? 

Award winning journalist, Tim Lopes was tortured and brutally killed in 1992.  He was reporting in Vila Cruzeiro, a favela in Rio de Janeiro.

What kind of justice is this?  A few years later the killer is given parole. No wonder Brazil has one of the highest crime rates in the world.  Over 90% of the homicides go unsolved, and of those who don't a few years in jail will do it.

The murder of Tim Lopes has not only put an end to his life and his excellent reporting, but also sent a message to the journalist class, stay away, "we" judge, "we" kill.  Meaning "we" , the drug dealers whose reign continues to grow in Rio de Janeiro.  We as media, are hostages of a corrupt and inept judicial system where the victims are guilty, and the murderers are set free.

Interview given on reporters' kidnapping by drug gangs

Excellence in Multimedia coverage

These are great examples of international multimedia coverage.  All three, New York Times, NPR and BBC are leaders in international news coverage and use of multimedia.  The last link is a multimedia story, the shoe episode in Iraq, probably the most viewed image of the year, and an issue that concerns all journalists.

links:  www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/world/africa/12cholera.html?_r=1

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=98266034

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7782422.stm

New book on Brazil "Samba, Axe and pitada de Pimenta malagueta"

Stories on Brazil, its culture, people, and customs.  It should be fun and easy to read.  Kind of a beginner's book on Brazil for gringos..

In gringos I mean non-Brazilians like me, not necessarily north of the Rio Grande.   

I must say I did not find Brazil an easy place to comprehend, even though I am a next door neighbor.  Brazil has magic, secrets, mystique, power, extreme love and anger... powerful combination of vibrant emotion.

Two Brazilian journalists, Marcia Carmo, and Monica Yanokiev wrote an insightful book on Argentina... their book instigated me to work on a similar project.

Web headlines that could be improved.

Economy in turmoil and bailout plan adrift.

This is not new, it lacks novelty, punch. Not enticing enough

Job losses amount as economic picture worsens.

Here again  weak headline.  It needs to tell more of the story. What numbers, or how.

Oversight for auto bailout a key issue as drive for vote looms.

Does not tell a story or attract the reader.

Potential Obama pic visits education department.

Does not tell a story, or is this headline enticing.

Senators propose changes at DHS

It does not tell a story, and could explain more.

Enticing headlines

This is for the journalism class:

Are you the future of journalism?

This title was catching because it caught  my attention, since the future is now, and I am a journalist.  It got the point across, and made me want to read more.  Alluring title.  

4 ways to produce a web story better than the NYT.

Here again , enticing headline.  Journalists love competition and what more than with the NYT. Persuasive.

Obama warns economy will worsen.

Here it gets the point across. Situation will get worse,  the headline makes the story a must.

Top 12 Facebook marketing hacks.

Gets the point across and entices the reader. 

Schools with highest carcinogen levels.

Here it is an alarming headline,  tells a story in one line... there are schools with high carcinogen levels. 

Outstanding Brazilian Blogs..

I think the following blogs are an essential tool do understanding present day Brazil:  Blog do Mino, Blog dos Blogs, and Blog do Luis Nassif.

Mino Carta won the Foreign Press Award in 2006 for its outstanding reporting.  Blog dos Blogs, is an open debate on Brazilian politics and Luis Nassif is a must.  He was the first journalists to introduce internet reporting. He has won several awards for economic coverage, including the Comunique-se award 2008 - where he was elected the best by fellow journalists.

RSS feeds

iGoogle 

Food supply

Mercosur leaders meet to discuss possible solutions for the financial crisis that has hit the agricultural market. Leading breadbasket countries like Argentina and Brazil are expected to reduce their 2008/09 crop due to tighter credit.  

Brazil will import wheat from Russia instead of its traditionally supplier, Argentina.  

Argentina was hit by a drought, government policies, and high input costs that dropped production. 

Brazil and Argentina are the 2nd and 3rd largest soybean producers in the world.  The situation going forward looking grim.