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CAPÍTULO 51
“É ica, endición de cuen as en los medios de comunicación y sus con enidos
aplicados al Se icio de De enso ía de la emp esa B asil de Comunicación”
“Media Accoun abili y Sys em, e hics, and
i s ea u es when applied o he Radio Ombudsman
se ices o B azilian Public B oadcas e ”
Fe nando Oli ei a Paulino (Uni e sidade de B asília)
Lau indo Leal Filho (Uni e sidad de B asil)
Luiz Ma ins da Sil a (Uni e sidade de B asília)
Licenciado Jai o Fa ia (Uni e sidade de B asília)
Resumen:
El ex o busca analiza y p omo e pa áme os é icos pa a el se icio de
De enso de los oyen es, conside ando la expe iencia del De enso en la EBC, la
emp esa pública de comunicación en uel a con el plu alismo em B asil. La EBC es
compues a po una ele isión pública, ocho es aciones de adio y una agencia de
no icias. Su público puede en ia sus c í icas, elogios y quejas pa a la De enso ía.
La expe iencia de De enso ía puede se conside ada una p ác ica de endición de
cuen as. Su a ea es asegu a que el con enido ansmi ido siga los p incipios é icos
es ablecidos. Los au o es hicie on una e isión de la li e a u a y analiza on los mensajes
encaminados en e 2008 y 2010.
Ellos en ienden que el desempeño de la De enso ía p o iene isibilidad y
anspa encia a los e o es y dilemas asociadas com las unciones de los medios, aendo
más c edibilidad y dialogo com el público, y enco ajando una cul u a de endición de
cuen as en e los p o esionales.
Los in es igado es e isa on los documen os é icos y pe ca a on la impo ancia
del canal de mediación, que p o iene isibilidad po in e medio del p og ama semanal.
La inicia i a p omo e un eje cicio de disciplina y cuidado po pa e de los p o esionales
y el público de la Emp esa Pública de Comunicación
Abs ac : This pape goal is o analysis and p o ide e hics pa ame e s o Radio
Ombudsman se ices, conside ing he expe ience o he Ombudsman a he EBC, i is a
public company engaged wi h he plu alism in B azil. The o ganiza ion is composed by
he Public TV, eigh adio s a ions, and a news agency. I s audience can ely on he
Ombudsman se ice as a di ec channel o c i icism, e iews and complain s.
The Ombudsman expe ience may be conside ed a Media Accoun abili y Sys em.
I s ask is o assu e ha he b oadcas con en will ollow e hical p inciples es ablished.
674
The au ho s accomplished a li e a u e e iew and analyzed emails sen be ween 2008
and 2010.
They ind ha he ombudsmen pe o mance p o ides isibili y and anspa ency
o e o s, issues and dilemmas associa ed wi h he media unc ions, s imula ing mo e
c edibili y, p omp discussion wi h public, and encou ages a cul u e o g ea e
accoun abili y in he news oom.
F om he e iew o e hical documen s, also, hey came ac oss wi h he ac ha
he EBC Ombudsman sough o be a media ion channel ha p o ides isibili y o
ma e s aised up du ing a weekly p og am. The ini ia i e can also insc easily p omo e
an exe cise o discipline and ca e on he pa o public communica ion ins i u ions and
i s p o essionals.
1 P o esso PhD, Jou nalis and PhD in Communica ions a Uni e si y o B asilia
(2008 wi h an in e nship a Uni e sidad de Se illa). P o esso and esea che a he
Labo a o y o Communica ion Policies (LaPCom) a UnB. Paulino coo dina es he UnB
Communi y Communica ion P ojec . He is he Di ec o o ALAIC (La in Ame ican
Associa ion o Communica ions Resea che s) and he adio Depu y-Ombudsman o he
B azil Public Communica ions O ganiza ion. A ounde o UnB SOS P ess P ojec and a
membe o he Obse a o ies P ess Na ional Ne wo k. He coo dina es he B azilian
Fo um o he Righ o Access o Public In o ma ion. Holds a chai a he E hics
Commi ee o P o essional Jou nalis s Union o B azil Fede al Dis ic . Au ho o
"Media Social Responsabili y: concep ual analysis and p ospec s o applica ion in
B azil, Po ugal and Spain" and o ganize o he publica ions "Communica ion and
Heal h" and “LUSOCOMUM: T anspa ency, Go e nance, Accoun abili y and Public
Communica ion". Add ess: Faculdade de Comunicação. Uni e sidade de B asília.
B asília-DF. 70.910-900. B asília-DF; [email p o ec ed]
2 P o esso PhD. Lau indo Leal Filho, Sociologis , PhD in Communica ion om he
Uni e si y o São Paulo (1990) and pos -doc o al ellow a Goldsmi hs College, London
(1995). Published he books "Behind he Came as, ela ions be ween S a e, Cul u e and
Tele ision”, “The bes TV in he wo ld, he B i ish model o ele ision", “TV unde
con ol, socie y's esponse o he powe o ele ision" and "Voices o London, he BBC's
B azilian memo ies”. He eaches a he Uni e si y o Sao Paulo and he Pos -G adua e
School o Communica ion Caspe Libe o. He has expe ience in he a eas o
Communica ion and Sociology, wo king on he ollowing opics: poli ics, policies,
public communica ions, ele ision, public ele ision, adio and jou nalism. He p esen s
he p og am “Ve TV”, ansmi ed “TV Câma a” and “TV B azil”. Add ess: Escola de
Comunicação e A es. Uni e sidade de São Paulo. São Paulo-SP. 05508-020. BRAZIL;
[email p o ec ed]
3 P o esso PhD. Luiz Ma ins da Sil a, Jou nalis wi h a mas e deg ee in
Communica ion a Uni e si y o B asília (1986), Ph.D. in Sociology a UnB (wi h an
in e nship a Uni e si y o No a de Lisboa, 1995). He wo ked a a ious newspape s
(Jo nal de B asília, O Globo and Veja, among o he s). P o esso o UnB since 1988.
Resea che since 1990, ocusing in ad ising ac i i ies o Scien i ic Ini ia ion, mas e and
doc o s uden s. Also coo dina es a social mobiliza ion uni e si y p ojec : he SOS-
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P ess (which moni o s and analyzes cases o media mis akes and abuses). A eas o
ac i i y: li e a u e and jou nalism, public jou nalism, public communica ion, and
communica ion o social mobiliza ion. Pa icipa es in he Resea ch Line "Jou nalism
and Socie y" wi h he p ojec "Jou nalism as a democ a ic heo y" (PQ-CNPq
schola ship). He has w i en and published poe y since 1977. [email p o ec ed]
4 Jou nalis wi h a majo in Communica ion om Uni e si y o B asília (UnB). He is a
mas e s uden and esea che o he UnB Communi y Communica ion P ojec .
[email p o ec ed]
EBC is a public communica ion company engaged wi h he igh o access
in o ma ion, he plu alism o opinion and B azilian social and cul u al di e si y
mani es a ion. The o ganiza ion is composed by he new Public Communica ion TV
(es ablished in 2008), eigh adio s a ions, a news agency and o he se ices. I is
managed wi h socie y con ol h ough an au onomous Boa d o T us ees. I s audience
can ely on he Ombudsman se ice as a di ec channel o c i icism, e iews and
complain s.
The Ombudsamn expe ience may be conside ed a MARS, Media Accoun abili y
Sys em (BERTRAND, 2002), ocused no only on jou nalism bu music and
en e ainmen . I s ask is o assu e ha he b oadcas con en will ollow p inciples
es ablished by ede al law 11,652/2008.
The au ho s accomplished a li e a u e e iew and analyzed le e s sen be ween
July 2008 and Decembe 2010.
They ind ha he ombudsmen pe o mance may be a MARS, since i p o ides
isibili y and anspa ency o e o s, issues and dilemmas associa ed wi h he media
unc ions. Thus i s imula es mo e c edibili y, p omp discussion wi h eade s, lis ene s
and iewe s, and encou ages a cul u e o g ea e accoun abili y in he news oom.
Also, hey came ac oss wi h he ac ha he EBC Ombudsman sough o be a
media ion channel ha p o ides isibili y (SILVA, 2008) o ma e s aised up du ing a
weekly p og am: “Radio on Deba e”. The ini ia i e can also insc easily p omo e an
exe cise o discipline and ca e on he pa o public communica ion ins i u ions and i s
p o essionals.
F om he e iew o e hical documen s (Radiob ás W i ing Manual and he E hics
Code o B azilian Jou nalis s) and he b oadcas e s edi o ial s a emen s, he depa men
has sough o poin pa hs o B azil Communica ions O ganiza ion adios (“Rádio
Nacional do Rio de Janei o”, “Nacional de B asília AM”, “Nacional de B asília FM”,
“Nacional da Amazônia”, “Nacional do Al o Solimões”, “MEC AM”, “MEC FM” e
“MEC B asília”), conside ing audience demands h ough le e s and du ing he
b oadcas in e iews.
1. Means o Ensu e he Social Responsibili y o he Media (MARS)
The ac i i ies o he media, unde s ood as he se o communica ion ins i u ions
(RIBEIRO, 1996), should p o ide ci izens wi h he in o ma ion hey need o he
p ocess o ci cula ion and poli ical decision-making. As such i becomes necessa y o
deba e and implan Media Accoun abili y Sys ems, a e m ini ially de ined by Claude-
Jean Be and as “ he means o ensu e he social esponsibili y o he media”
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(BERTRAND, 1997), a concep used in he a icle, in acco dance wi h Be and (2002),
as “Means o Ensu e he Social Responsibili y o he Media (MARS).
Fo Be and, he i e e sible mediaza ion o public space in con empo a y
socie ies p oduced he need o c ea e mechanisms “designed o help he espec o
deon ological p inciplesxiii, main ain he con idence o he public, and de end he
espec i e eedom om he h ea s o he powe s ha be and he ma ke ”
(BERTRAND, 1997, pg. 16). This opinion is sha ed by Wisconsin Uni e si y p o esso
Da id P i cha d, o whom “media accoun abili y ac ually unc ions [...] om he
pe spec i e o consume s o media con en ; accoun abili y is concep ualized as a
p ocess se in mo ion by people who complain, who seek o hold media accoun able.”
xiii The mechanisms o p omo ing he social esponsibili y o communica ion
ins i u ions a e, he e o e, dis inguished om censo ship, which is pe cei ed as ad ance
p ohibi ion, and sel -censo ship, pe cei ed as jou nalis ic omission.
The possible pa hs a e epo ed by Claude-Jean Be and as ways o p omo e
e hical conduc and quali y in he unc ioning o he media: a) he “ ee” ma ke in he
ope a ions o communica ion ins i u ions; b) he ac ion o he S a e; and c) he ques o
cons uc coope a i e spaces, inso a as:
Some claim ha eedom, by i sel – he “ma ke ”- esol es he p oblems: le he
consume , he people, decide wha hey wan and need. O he s a gue ha only he law
and egula ion a e wo h us ing: he ma ke , once i is ee o ac , p oduces only ash
and exploi a ion. None heless, in ecen yea s a hi d heo y ended up eme ging, he
na ional ha quali y can come om he combina ion o he ma ke , law, and e hics. A
iple solu ion o a capi al p oblem. An o ensi e waged on h ee on s on behal o
excellence. Th ee pilla s o suppo o he media building (BERTRAND, 2002, pg.25).
The coope a i e app oach is also p esen in he o mula ions o Hugo Azna ,
p o esso o E hics and Mo al P inciples in In o ma ion Sciences a he CEU San Pablo
de Valencia (Spain), who, in his a icle “Means o Communica ion and he Public
Sphe e”, p oposes he need o p omo e complemen a y measu es be ween legal no ms
and mechanisms o social pa icipa ion. Azna belie es ha i is necessa y o encou age
he public, beginning wi h he idea ha in he same way as he media e ol ed and is
inc easingly powe ul echnically and mo e in luen ial cul u ally, “socie y can also
acqui e – h ough mechanisms o sel - egula ion – g ea e awa eness and knowledge o
he e hical and mo al p inciples ha should go e n i s labo .” (AZNAR, VILLANU-
EVA, 2000, pg. 9).
A imes he deba e abou he possibili ies o p omo ing MARS is ied o he idea
o ma ke eedom, since “many media p o essionals would p e e doing wi hou his
g ea sou ce o powe cons i u ed by he public” (BERTRAND, 2002, pg. 23), whose
pa icipa ion is seen by hem as an unwa an ed in e e ence ins ead o a way o imp o e
he quali y o jou nalism. The jus i ica ion o en o e ed is ha , ollowing he his o ical
s uggle on behal o eedom o exp ession (chie ly in he coun ies ha unde wen
pe iods o poli ical dic a o ship), some p o essionals wind up ega ding i as a sup eme
alue and “no a condi ion o se ing he public” (BERTRAND, 2002, pg. 24).
Mo eo e , acco ding o Be and, he e a e jou nalis s who ail o pe cei e how
limi ed hei p o essional eedom ac ually is, since, in he majo i y o cases, con ol
o e he con en ansmi ed, sala y, and ca ee ad ancemen lies in he hands o he
owne s and adminis a o s o he communica ion ins i u ions. Be and (2002, pg. 43)
ypes and classi ied he MARS (Sys em o Media Accoun abili y) in h ee ways, named
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acco ding o he o igin o he ac i i y:
2. Ini ia i es in e nal o he communica ion ins i u ions: Media Desk o P og am,
Le e by he edi o , in e nal memo andum, consume ad iso y, Awa eness-
building P og am, Space o co ec ing e o s, Code o e hics, media epo e ,
consume epo e , e hics commi ee, e alua ion commission, edi o ial
commi ee, il e agency, in e nal s udy o p oblems, esea ch on he eade ship,
and e hical audi .
3. Ini ia i es ex e nal o he communica ion ins i u ions: Al e na i e Media,
Resea ch wi hou p o i goals, Jou nalis ic magazine, opinion esea ch abou he
media, media li e acy campaigns, ilm/ epo /c i ical book, “Media in he
school” p og am, websi e ela ed o he media, pe i ions o p essu e he media,
ci izens’ associa ion, public decla a ion o he execu i e in cha ge, non-
go e nmen al o ganiza ion ocused on he media, highe educa ion o
jou nalis s, cou se in e hics, and independen egula o y agency;
4. Coope a i e o ms: Le e o he edi o , Reade s’/Viewe s’ Club, online
messages, local P ess Council, Ombudsman, Annual Con e ence, Complain
Cen e , Na ional P ess Council, session o consul a ions wi h consume s,
ques ionnai e on p eciseness and hones y, Associa ion link o he media,
in e na ional coope a ion, public mee ing, non-go e nmen al o ganiza ion o
aining, con inued educa ion, media use s panel, p izes and o he ewa ds, and
ci izen pa icipa ion in he Edi o ial Boa d.
Some MARS, such as he sending o messages o communica ion ins i u ions, we e
acili a ed by he ise o he in e ne . In B azil and numbe o use s o he wo ldwide
web su passed 20 million in 2005, acco ding o he In e ne Managemen Commi ee in
B azil (CGI.BR). In 2007, when he en i e popula ion wi h access o he in e ne
anywhe e (a home, wo k, school, cybe ca és, and lib a ies) is included, he e we e 39
million use s, mo e han 20% o he B azilian popula ion, acco ding o a epo by Ibope
Ne Ra ings.
The in e ne has assis ed in he implan a ion o media wa chdogs. In 1994 he
Gu enbe g Ins i u e (www.igu enbe g.o g) was c ea ed by he jou nalis Sé gio Bua que
de Gusmão, and he P ess Obse a o y (www.obse a o iodaimp ensa.com.b ) appea ed
in 1996. The Na ional Ne wo k o P ess Obse a o ies (www. enoi.blogspo .com) was
o med in 2005. The solu ions o e ed a e all consis en wi h he p inciples es ablished
by he Theo y o he Social Responsibili y o he P ess (GOODWIN, 1993), and, e en
hough hey a e di e en , hey don’ compe e wi h one ano he . They all seek o
con ibu e o he cons uc ion o a mo e balanced media.
Since c edibili y is one o he chie goals o he media, especially when i comes o
jou nalism, he pa icipa ion o he public, jus like he esul ing co ec ion and
p e en ion o e o s, can be made a pa o in e nal campaigns, since “e hics sells”
(CAMPS, 1995, 54), ha is, sales can also be measu ed in e ms o he symbolic weigh
o us , he c edibili y o he media, he deon ological commi men o i s espec i e

678
publics.
Deon ological codes o codes o p o essional e hics we e es ablished in a ious
coun ies in he 20 h cen u y. Wi h espec o he unc ioning o he media, he codes
e eal he beha io s conside ed mos adequa e, ollowing deba es ela ed o p o essional
issues. P inciples such as e aci y and hones y a e included in he majo i y o codes
h oughou he wo ld, as one can obse e in he able below, based on a s udy conduc ed
by Hugo Azna in hi y Eu opean coun ies:
Table 1: Mos equen e hic p inciples in Eu opean deon ological codes (AZNAR,
1999b, pg. 30):
P inciples F equency
Ve aci y, hones y, and p eciseness o in o ma ion 90%
Co ec ion o e o s 90%
Non-disc imina ion on he basis o ace, e hnici y, and eligion 87%
Respec o p i acy 87%
P ohibi ion o b ibe y and o he bene i s 87%
Hones me hods in ob aining in o ma ion 84%
Re usal o bow o ou side p essu es in he exe cise o he ole o jou nalis 84%
Non-disc imina ion on he basis o gende , social class, e c. 81%
F eedom o exp ession, commen a y, and c i icism 74%
P o ec ion o sou ces 74%
Re usal o ake ad an age o he ole o jou nalis o ob ain pe sonal bene i s 68%
Con ex ualiza ion be ween sou ces and con en s o news s o ies 65%
Dis inc ion be ween ac s and opinions o supposi ions 65%
P ohibi ion agains omission and dis o ion o in o ma ion 65%
Respec o in ellec ual p ope y and ci a ion ules 65%
Special ca e in he ea men o c imes, acciden s, e c. 61%
Consul all he sou ces in ol ed in he s o y 58%
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P ohibi ion o calumny, de ama ion, and un ounded accusa ions 58%
P esump ion o innocence 58%
Conscience clause 58%
Sepa a ion o publici y om edi o ial con en 58%
Responsibili y o wha is epo ed 55%
S uggle agains censo ship 52%
2. The Ombudsman as MARS
The c ea ion o a deon ological code does no in i sel ensu e ha communica ion
ins i u ions conduc hei ac i i ies in adhe ence o e hical p inciples. Ne e heless, he
de ini ion o deon ological no ms may poin ou a pa h o be ollowed and con ibu e o
he ope a ions o ins umen s, such as MARS, which p omo e and sa egua d he
p o essional no ms de e mined, ideally, in a coope a i e manne among owne s,
p o essionals, and he public.
Acco ding o he Ombudsmen News O ganiza ion (ONO), a leas 30 ehicles
a ound he wo ld ha e unde aken expe iences wi h ombudsmen in hei news ooms.
The expe ience, which was o iginally concei ed in Sweden (in Swedish, ombuds:
public, man: ep esen a i e), has been he heme o con inuous deba es. The pos ha
goes by his name was c ea ed in 1809 and gi en he esponsibili y o ecei ing and
expedi ing he claims o ci izens wi h ega d o he unc ions o he go e nmen and he
public adminis a ion. Since hen he expe ience has been imi a ed and adap ed in o he
coun ies.
The p esence in he media o he ombudsman o linguis ic a ia ions such as
de ende o he eade (Spain), media o (F ance), and se an o he eade s, lis ene s,
and iewe s (Po ugal), a ose as a o m o p omo ing jou nalis ic deon ology in
communica ion ins i u ions. The idea began in 1967 in he Louis ille Cou ie -Jou nal
and he Louis ille Times in he s a e o Ken ucky in he Uni ed S a es. P o esso Má io
Mesqui a (1997, pg. 37) de ines se en le els o ac i i y o he ombudsman in he media:
2. C i ical and symbolic unc ion: discusses he newspape in i s own pages,
ex ending o he space o he public he deba e abou edi o ial decisions ha
a e adi ionally con ined o he news oom and he jou nalis ic milieu;
3. Media ing unc ion: es ablishes a b idge com he eade s, answe ing hei
complain s and c i icisms;
4. Co ec i e unc ion: akes ca e o he co ec ion o imp ecise and incomple e
ac s, appealing o expe s i necessa y;
5. Pe suasi e unc ion: ecommends measu es mean o emedy ac ions p one o
iola e he igh s o he eade s
6. Pedagogical unc ion: explains he mechanisms o jou nalis ic p oduc ion o
he eade s, anging om he ela ionship wi h sou ces o he selec ion o
in o ma ion;
680
7. Dissuasi e unc ion: h ough his(he ) c i icisms, he ombudsman can
e en ually a ec he decisions o edi o s and epo e s;
8. Ci ic unc ion: he ac i i y o he ombudsman can os e deba e on poli ical,
economic, and social issues.
Acco ding o Hugo Azna xiii, ecei ing and esponding o he claims o he
public is he chie unc ion o ombudsmen, “which implies a signi ican compensa ion
o he adi ional de ici o he media in momen s o paying due a en ion o he
public.” The complain s can be di ided in o h ee majo g oups: a) hose ha e e o
e o s and inexac nesses in ol ing mino de ails; b) hose ied o mo e se ious e o s
and con o e sial issues in ol ing he ea men o in o ma ion and o he media
con en s; and c) hose oiced by people who see hemsel es as a ec ed by a s o y wi h
which hey a e dissa is ied. Ideally, h ough con ac wi h he pa ies in ol ed, he
ombudsman makes a decision guided by deon ological codes, he edi o ial manual o
he communica ions ins i u ion, o c i e ia associa ed wi h p o essional p ac ices. A e
analyzing he case in poin , he ombudsman makes he si ua ion public in his(he )
column (o adio/ ele ision space), which appea s a egula in e als.
In he B azilian expe iences, he ombudsman’s column (o p og am) is published
(o b oadcas ) once a week, p o iding hose who made complain s and he gene al
public an analysis wi h an explana ion o he case. A con o e sial aspec o he
ombudsman’s unc ion has o do wi h he exe cise o c i icism by someone who, in he
majo i y o cases, was al eady pa o o occupied a p o essional ole in he
communica ions ins i u ion i sel , which has he po en ial o aising cons an doub s
abou he impa iali y and balance o his(he ) ac ions. In any case, he p esence o an
ombudsman can imp o e he image o he ins i u ion and con ibu e o media ion and
he s imula ion o new expe iences o MARS, as one o he Council o Eu ope’s epo s
on p ess sel - egula ion and co- egula ion s a es: “ he ombudsmen (…) a e legi ima e
edi o ial ins umen s and can ca y ou use ul unc ions in conjunc ion wi h genuine
p ess councils.”xiii
3. The Ombudsman o he B azil Communica ion Company
In B azil he concep o a public b oadcas ing se ice is no easy o g asp, since
in o ma ion and en e ainmen a e in la ge pa ansmi ed by p i a ely owned
communica ions ins i u ions. In May, 2007, he Minis y o Cul u e sponso ed he Fi s
Na ional Fo um o Public TVs, o ganized in pa ne ship wi h he B azilian Associa ion
o Public, Educa ional, and Cul u al B oadcas e s (ABEPEC), he B azilian Associa ion
o Uni e si y Tele ision (ABTU), he B azilian Associa ion o Communi y Channels
(ABCCOM), and he B azilian Associa ion o Legisla i e Tele isions and Radios
(ASTRAL). Rep esen a i es o he Radiob ás and he Roque e Pin o Educa ional
Communica ion Associa ion (ACERP) also a ended he e en .
The discussions in ol ed a ious sec o s o ci il socie y, including academic
specialis s, communica o s, ilmmake s, jou nalis s, and di ec o s o non-comme cial
adio and ele ision s a ions, as well as o ganiza ions commi ed o e lec ions abou
communica ions. The Fo um decla ed i sel o be in a o o he c ea ion o a public TV
sys em, which he P esidency o he Republic (PR) pledged o implemen . Fi e mon hs
a e he Fo um, he PR published Tempo a y Dec ee 398, la e ans o med by he
Cong ess in o Law 11,652/2008, which c ea ed he B azil Communica ion Company
(EBC), assigned he ask o uni ying and managing he adio and ele ision s a ions
he e o o e unde he con ol o Radiob ás (Na ional TV, Na ional Radio o Rio de
681
Janei o, Na ional AM and FM Radio o B asília, Na ional Radio o Amazonia, and
Na ional Radio o he Uppe Solimões) and ACERP (Educa ional TV o Rio,
Educa ional TV o Ma anhão, MEC AM Radio, MEC FM Radio, and MEC B asília
Radio).
Law 11,652/2008 egula edxiii pa o a icle 223 o he Fede al Cons i u ion,
which s ipula es ha he S a e, p i a e, and public sys ems complemen one ano he and
included he Ombudsman as an ins umen o se ice o he public. I s p ima y unc ion
is o complemen he ac i i ies o he Council o T us ees o he EBC in he social
con ol o he company, ac ing as an in e media y and seeking esponses om hose in
cha ge o he ope a ions o he b oadcas e s o he c i icisms, complain s, and
sugges ions o iewe s, lis ene s, and o he use s. The law p o ides o he Ombudsman
o discha ge his accoun abili y o he public h ough weekly 15-minu e segmen s on he
EBC adio and ele ision s a ions, o e ing c i icisms and sugges ions o imp o e he
con en s ha a e ansmi ed.
An in e nal company no m, au ho ized by he Adminis a i e Council and he
Council o T us ees, de e mined ha he Chie Ombudsman be assis ed by h ee Depu y
Ombudsmen: one o he eigh adio s a ions, one o he B azil (news) Agency, and
ano he o TV B asil ( he esul o he me ge be ween he o me Educa ional TVs and
Na ional TV)xiii. All o hem, like he Chie Ombudsman, ecei e a wo-yea manda e,
an essen ial p e equisi e o hem o ac wi h o al independence o he execu i e boa d.
Thus, he Ombudsman seeks o bexiii:
“one o he main doo s opened o socie y by he EBC. Th ough i ci cula e
he demands, he expec a ions, he sugges ions, he complimen s, and he
c i icisms o he public abou hei ehicle o communica ion. And, in e u n,
in a wo-way p ocess, he esponses, when equi ed. Bu no hem alone.
Ques ions, oo, inso a as i is up o he Ombudsman o p od he public o
pa icipa e in his deba e.”xiii
Unlike an Ombudsman’s se ice in a s ic ly jou nalis ic ehicle, he
Ombudsman in he b oadcas ing s a ions o he EBC also handles messages ela ed o
en e ainmen , echnical aspec s o wa e ecep ion, and he ul illmen o he edi o ial
plans o he s a ions. The in oduc ion o he Ombudsman’s p og am in o he
p og amming o he adio s a ions and TV B asil poses an addi ional challenge, since
he public canno a oid lis ening o he ansmission o he Radio in Deba e p og am,
including indi iduals who ha e no a p io i in e es in he con en ha is ansmi ed,
whe eas in a p in ed o online ehicle hey can skip eading he Ombudsman’s column.
4. Radio in Deba e: he P og am o he Ombudsman on he Radio S a ions
o he EBC
Be ween Oc obe , 2008, and Decembe 2010, he Chie Ombudsman and he
Depu y Ombudsman in cha ge o he adio s a ions me wi h he people in cha ge o he
ope a ions o he adio s a ions o he EBC o de ine he o ma s and schedules o he
ansmission o he p og am o he Ombudsman. I was decided ha he p og am would
be b oadcas on F idays, wi h a e ansmission on Sa u days. The p og am, called Radio
in Deba e, ook i s inspi a ion om na ional and in e na ionalxiii p ac ices, choosing a
weekly hemexiii o gene al in e es o he EBC adio channels (Na ional Radio o Rio
de Janei o, Na ional AM Radio o B asília, Na ional FM Radio o B asília, Na ional
Radio o Amazonia, Na ional Radio o he Uppe Solimões, MEC AM Radio, MEC FM
Radio, and MEC B asília Radio) o occupy he i s wo blocks o each edi ion. The e