O cão que nem sempre late: o Grupo Globo e a cobertura das eleições presidenciais de 2014 e 1998

Abstract

The studies on media behavior during elections in Brazil have identified a consistent bias against left wing parties and politicians, particularly the Labours Party (PT). Nonetheless, those same media often justify their behavior by saying that they play an important role as a watchdog of the public interest and this leads them to have a pronounced critical stance toward those in power. This paper aims to test these hypotheses. We compare the news coverage of the TV news program Jornal Nacional and the newspaper O Globo, two major media outlets that belong to Globo Corporation, during the 2014 presidential electoral campaign. First we test the hypothesis that there was continuity between their past anti-PT behavior of previous elections and their behavior during the 2014 election. Then we test the watchdog hypothesis by comparing the media coverage of that election to the 1998 election – in both cases the incumbent was running for reelection and the contending parties were PT and PSDB, which alternated the roles of opposition and situation from one election to the other. By conducting the content analysis of those media’s coverage, we confirm the hypothesis of the anti-PT bias’ continuity and reject the watchdog hypothesis.

Keywords

• media
• elections
• Globo corporation