By Maira Magro
José Carlos Stachowiak, host of a police program on cable TV in Ponta Grossa, Paraná, made grave threats on the air against a journalism student who wrote a blog post criticizing his work. See the video in this post Querido Leitor (Dear Reader), by local journalist Rosana Hermann.
A student at Ponta Grossa State University, Lucas Nobuo Waricoda, had published this story (written as a class assignment) online, critizing his program. In retaliation, Stachowiak, known as “repórter Zeca,” directed a 20-minute stream of threats against the student, and repeatedly insulted his family and students at his university.
The statewide journalists union criticized the presenter's work, saying it could result in "civil and criminal repercussions."
In an interview with Portal Imprensa, Stachowiak admitted he'd behaved badly. "I felt very offended and said whatever came to mind." He said he didn't know if he would press charges against the student. (Shouldn't it be the opposite?)
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
