“The political and public health crises Brazilians faced in 2020 have made journalism stronger. Public agents’ erratic and irresponsible management of efforts against the spread of the coronavirus helped the press claim its role as a key player in defense of people’s lives. When it became clear that trustworthy information was a matter of life and death, journalism guaranteed access to data that governments could not manage or would not publicize. Awareness of the profound relationship between the health of the people and the right to information materialized the need to advocate for democracy. That need reaffirmed the importance of journalism even when under attack by the federal executive power and parts of society.
In 2021, coronavirus will remain in circulation, governments will lack, and attacks will not cease. In order to gain more relevance and respond to the hostilities accordingly, journalism must broaden its understanding of and its relationship with the society it serves. On the one hand, it must strengthen the mechanisms that allow it to watch over the public good, especially investigating. On the other, it must make an even more significant effort to embrace the plurality of an unequal continental country. That sometimes means pushing our own boundaries and working side-by-side with other players in favor of democratic values.”
