The Globo Television Network and the Election of 1998

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4501504
AutoresLuís Felipe Miguel (0000-0002-0420-6327, Department of Political Science at the University of Brasilia), Paulo Simões (0000-0002-3685-9162)
Año2000
Volumen27
Número6
Páginas65-84
Fecha de publicación2000-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLatin American Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0094-582X • E-ISSN: 1552-678X
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0094582x0002700605
OpenAlexW2049082750
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas5

In October 1998 Brazil experienced its third direct presidential election since its redemocratization in 1985. This was also first election in which presidential incumbent was eligible for a second term. This article analyzes electoral race that led to return of Fernando Henrique Cardoso to office of President of Republic from a specific angle-that of behavior of media and, more precisely, of principal television news journal in country, Globo Network's Jornal Nacional, watched daily by approximately 50 million people. In general, political analysts disregard media, seen-at most-as supporting actors in a play whose protagonists are parties, candidates, and sometimes union leaders or military. However, as Murray Edelman has observed (1985: 10), critical element of political debate is the creation of meaning: construction of beliefs about significance of events, of problems, of crises, of policy changes, and of leaders. In contemporary societies, capacity for dissemination of representations of social reality is concentrated in media (Miguel, 1999). It is clear, therefore, that political impact of content they diffuse cannot be ignored. It is a lasting impact that is advanced by various methods and types of programming, posing both as entertainment and as information. In short term and within context of an election, informative media are especially important, since they become-directly or indirectly-an essential means for providing cognitive resources that voters must employ in making their choices. Thus what media transmit or refrain from transmitting is significant from point of view of social reality that will be made available to its consumers. Methodologically, it is always complicated to work with what is not being processed or with possibilities that are not being realized (see Offe, 1984

Political science · Telecommunications · Computer Science · Media and Communication Studies · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics