A feminine noun took over the world news: the word crisis. It has been used all the time to define the present time. Financial, political, economic crisis. Crisis of powers and institutions. Crisis, which is multifaceted. “The crisis depends a lot on each person’s place of perception. For the manager of a company or institution it is dramatic; for the press it is 'one more'”, says Jorge Duarte, coordinator of Science and Technology Communication at Embrapa, first speaker at the Symposium “Communication: University and Society”, promoted by Unicamp's Communications Office (Ascom) and held last 7th, at the Unicamp Convention Center.
In addition to crisis management, the event addressed topics such as science communication, the role of the spokesperson in an institution, how science can become news, and the relationship between scientist and journalist. At the opening table, the rector, José Tadeu Jorge, participated; the general coordinator of the University, Alvaro Penteado Crósta; and the event organizer, journalist Clayton Levy, chief advisor and editor responsible for Ascom.Jorge Duarte highlighted that some crises are very impactful and can affect the entire society. “The role of communication in the crisis is the articulation between the different sides, between the community, governing body and society so that everyone can dialogue, coexist and articulate in the best possible way”.
The speaker added that communicators need to establish “a flow of communication and not defend one side”, as if he were a lawyer for the company or institution. “The only recipe is to be prepared. Dialogue needs to be present, the communication area very well prepared, a trained spokesperson, in short, having the instruments to give quick responses to society”. When there is “competence in place”, said Duarte, the crisis can just turn into a stumble. Another issue to be thought about, according to the speaker, is that the crisis is always the responsibility of all actors involved and is not just communication.
The event organizer, Clayton Levy, commented on the investment of public resources at the university and the role of communications teams. “Disseminating science is being accountable to the taxpayer and Ascom, within the scope of Unicamp, has sought to play this role”.
He also recalled that, over the last two decades, the Journal of Unicamp has already published around 5 academic research studies, with a “multiplier effect” that occurs when the press reports based on the topics covered by the newspaper. Levy paid tribute to the creator and creator of the press area at Unicamp, the writer and journalist Eustáquio Gomes, who passed away in 2014.
For rector José Tadeu Jorge, present at the opening table of the event, this is the most opportune moment for the University to discuss the issue of communication, the event's proposal. “We are certainly experiencing the biggest economic and political crisis. It is difficult to speak of a more favorable moment for dealing with the crisis from an institutional point of view than the one we are living in”, he highlighted.
According to the dean, it is very important that communication is committed to showing society what science does for people's lives. “People watch cable TV in their homes, but they have no idea that fiber optics, in this country, was developed at Unicamp. The first Brazilian optical fiber was produced here.”
Unicamp's general coordinator, Alvaro Penteado Crósta, highlighted that the challenge for communication teams is to ensure that the majority of news released shows the excellent work that the institution does, supported by taxpayer resources. He made a comparison showing that universities in São Paulo cost the State almost the same as the area of public security, however the importance and visibility of both are different for the citizen. “That’s the biggest challenge we have.”
Spokesperson
One of the ways in which the institution can be prepared to face crises is by using the figure of a spokesperson. It was the subject of the second lecture, with journalist and consultant Olga Curado. “The 'DNA' of the press is identifying what is missing and not what works, this makes the role of the spokesperson very important because he works like a firefighter to minimize the damage caused by negative facts”.
Olga explained that the spokesperson's role is to clarify the population. “He needs to have facts and data, he needs to be prepared not to enter into the subjectivity of communication”. The consultant stressed that the spokesperson cannot act as a public relations person. “It translates the organization’s thinking. It is your representative, the official position that speaks for organizations, the university, company or party. He is not a person, but an entity and therefore needs to be aligned with the institution’s thinking”.
In times of crisis, Olga Curado stressed that organizations really need to “show their faces”. “If you communicate in an impersonal way, you end up reducing the possibility of intervening in the other person’s perception. What is written does not clearly convey the feelings of the person communicating.” Humanization is fundamental in the communication process, she reaffirmed.
Globo reporter
How science becomes news on Globo Repórter is the subject addressed by speaker Marislei Dalmaz, editor of the Rede Globo program. She highlighted that it is the science that most concerns people's daily lives that is on the agenda at Globo Repórter, such as food issues, for example. Marislei said that there is intense pre-production work so that news in the area reaches the public in an understandable way and that it is up to other programs on the network, such as Fantástico, to dedicate themselves to a type of research without immediate application, more complex.
However, the publisher believes that all types of studies can become news, as long as journalists use creativity. “For example, we went to do a story that talks about allergies, which is on the air, we 'invented' a soap bubble and put the reporter inside the bubble. There is always a solution, but it depends on the newspaper.” Science, he states, has a very large space, “but there is always that question we ask ourselves: how can this be useful for my audience?”Journalist Sabine Righetti, columnist for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, told many stories from the daily life of the newspaper's editorial staff to talk about the relationship between scientists and journalists. Sabine stated that science "is not neutral" and that the journalist also has the role of questioning it, so the news will not always be considered positive by researchers. According to Sabine, in Brazil, there are still several difficulties in the relationship between reporters and scientists, unlike what happens in some countries where researchers see journalists as their allies in communicating with society.
