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The Role of Media in Improving Democratic Governance
now been replicated in more than 50 cities in 10 countries across Latin
America, which are now part of the
Cómo Vamos
Network of Cities.
Piecing Together the Puzzle
Daniela Arbex is one of the most important investigative journalists
in Brazil. Among the things that make her unique is that her work,
for which she received the Knight International Journalism Award
in 2010, is conducted from a newspaper with local circulation, the
Tribuna de Minas
, which prints 15,000 copies daily and is distributed
in a city of 600,000 inhabitants.
Though far from the big metropolises of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or
Brasilia, and although her paper does not have the support of major
national media outlets, Arbex has achieved much more than simply
denouncing irregularities or exposing abuses of power through her
investigations. From this modest public tribune, this reporter has
united with society and government officials to carry out what can be
considered a successful model for the role of media in governance in
Latin America – a model that many can learn a lot from.
The first component of this model is a professionally trained journalist
and a dedicated media outlet, both with a sense of service, and
motivated by the common good and social justice. Together these
create an ethical, responsible and quality news product, which is clearly
defined in its function as a source of information rather than a source
of judgment, a trait which both must strive to closely guard. Daniela
Arbex documented and the
Tribuna de Minas
exposed, in different
instances, the lack of public policies and government neglect of rape
victims who were seeking preventive help for HIV/AIDS; the abuse
and disregard that scores of mentally ill patients experienced while
hospitalized at a government run hospital; the unpunished sale of
drugs to students at a local school; and the network of corruption and
impunity in the allocation of building contracts by one of the most
influential politicians in the city.
