Vem no New York Times de hoje, mas não passa pela cabeça de entrevistadores e comentaristas tratar de coisas sérias. Esta imprensa é um pesadelo dispensável.
Não importam os factos e os números, mas sim os "recados", as frases retiradas do contexto, a esgrima eleiçoeira, o folhetim, e o medo jornalístico de parecer fazer fretes ou não ser do contra - por falta de envergadura profissional. Uma entrevista não é uma batalha, nem sequer um confronto político, nem um debate (para isso seria preciso haver adversários políticos, o que os jornalistas não devem ser, nem querer parecer). Trata-se de criar uma oportunidade de fornecer esclarecimentos, de inquirir para obter respostas, em televisão ou por escrito. Entrevistar um escritor sobre um novo livro não é e não deve querer ser um exercício de demolição - o modelo de entrevista deve ser o mesmo para ser credível. Assim, o sucesso político do espectáculo está assegurado. Ainda bem.
"The nation’s <a Espanha> jobless rate, already a painful 15.5 percent, could soon reach 20 percent, a troubling number for a major industrialized country.
With the combination of rising unemployment and falling prices, economists fear Spain may be in the early grip of deflation, a hallmark of both the Great Depression and Japan’s lost decade of the 1990s, and a major concern since the financial crisis went global last year.
Deflation can result in a downward spiral that can be difficult to reverse. As unemployment rises sharply and consumers cut spending, companies cut prices. But if sales do not pick up, then revenue can decline further, forcing more cuts in workers or wages. (...)
Nowhere is this cycle more evident than in Spain. Last month, it became the first of the 16 nations that use the euro to record a negative inflation rate. The drop, though just 0.1 percent, had not happened since the government began tracking inflation in 1961, and Spanish officials have said prices could keep dropping through the summer. (...)
“Alarm bells are going off,” said Lorenzo Amor, president of the Association of Autonomous Workers, which represents small businesses and self-employed people. “Economies can recover from deceleration, but it’s harder to recover from a deflationary situation. This could be a catastrophe for the Spanish economy.”
Deflation is not just a Spanish concern. Luxembourg, Portugal and Ireland have reported price drops, too. While the declines have been slight — and prices rose modestly after factoring out food and energy prices, which can fluctuate widely — other figures released this month suggest the risk of deflation is growing." (...)
Nelson D. Schwartz on Deflation in Spain: "Spain’s Falling Prices Fuel Deflation Fears in Europe" Published: April 20, 2009
