TERRA NEWS: Sensationalism and Fait-divers on the Internet

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the news program Jornal do Terra (Terra News) shown on the Terra website. The study involved two aspects: forms of news presentations on TV, based on studies by Pedro Maciel, and criteria of news value, based on Mário Erbolatto’s view. In addition, we used Luis Arthur Ferraretto’s studies of the news formats used specifically on the radio. The objective of this work was to verify what kind of news is transmitted by the news program Terra News, and to compare it with the traditional news program we watch on TV. The study confirmed that Terra News utilizes conventional formats of news presentation and makes a selection of sensationalist news about fait-divers.

Full text

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BRAZILIAN NEWS PORTALS CHARACTERISTICS
INTRODUCTION
In the last ten years, we have been watching a real technological
revolution in the telecommunication area. The Internet has been
changing deeply the way we interact with people, study and have fun
(Lévy, 1999). In Brazil, the World Wide Web was regulated in May 1995
by Law 147, promulgated by the Ministry of Communication and the
Ministry of Science and Technology. This law concerns the quality and
efficiency of the services offered to the users and also fair and free
competition among the providers (Pinho, 2003).
According to Pinho (2003, p.113), the Internet is “a synthesis of all
the media, with the visual advantages of TV, the mobility of radio, the
capability for giving details and analysis of newspapers and magazines
and the interactivity of multimedia”. Pinho’s definition is pertinent, but
in practice, communication by means of the Internet advances little by
little, adapting itself to the needs of the web user.
In this context of changes in the form of consumption of media
content, Terra TV was born, a TV channel designed to be viewed on
TERRA NEWS:
Sensationalism and Fait-divers
on the Internet
CARLOS GOLEMBIEWSKI
UNIVALI, Brazil
DIÓGENES PANDINI
UNIVALI, Brazil
ABSTRACT This article presents an analysis of the news program Jornal do Terra
(Terra News) shown on the Terra website. The study involved two
aspects: forms of news presentations on TV, based on studies by
Pedro Maciel, and criteria of news value, based on Mário Erbolatto’s
view. In addition, we used Luis Arthur Ferraretto’s studies of the
news formats used specifically on the radio. The objective of this
work was to verify what kind of news is transmitted by the news
program Terra News, and to compare it with the traditional news
program we watch on TV. The study confirmed that Terra News
utilizes conventional formats of news presentation and makes a
selection of sensationalist news about fait-divers.
Key-words: Online Journalism; news value; sensationalism; Terra
News.
Copyright © 2009
SBPJor / Sociedade
Brasileira de Pesquisa
em Jornalismo
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Carlos Golembiewski and Diorgenes Pandini
the Internet, more specifically on the Terra website. Because of that, the
channel operates with some concepts that exist on the World Wide Web:
Image, Sound, Upgraded Information and Interactivity. Its programs in
general are mainly about sports and entertainment with interviews,
movie trailers, sports programs, etc made exclusively for cyberspace.
With a very dynamic format, the Terra TV channel can be accessed by
anyone without having to pay anything.
Aside from having its own programs, the channel offers options for
those who wish to follow the programs of Senado (Senate) TV, Câmara
(Chamber of Deputies) TV and NBR – Notícias do Brasil (News of Brazil),
all public TVs. On Terra TV, part of the programs is developed by the
Terra team, formed by editors, reporters, cameramen, journalists and
anchormen. The rest is purchased from news agencies like Reuters and
TV channels like CNN, Band News, etc.
Because of the huge quantity of available content and the complexity
of this new way of producing television, we are going to restrict our
research to the Jornal do Terra (JT) – Terra News (TN), a news program
offered by Terra website. It can be viewed everyday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
At the moment it is presented by journalist Maria Lins. This program
is the object of study of this work. For this purpose we recorded three
editions of it on June 20, 21 and 22, 2007 and we developed a problem-
question: What are the ways in which the news is presented and what are
the news value criteria of Terra News?
Is TV on the Internet TV?
Since the beginning of the research, one doubt persisted. Can we
really call television this type of TV on the Internet? We do not have a
definitive answer yet, but the figures regarding the Internet in Brazil
can give us an idea of the potential that this new media represents. The
latest information published by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography
and Statistics) in 2005 says that there are 32 million web users in our
country. The data reveals that on the average they are 28 years old,
have more than 10 years of schooling and have a monthly income of
about R$ 1,000.00. The research also shows that half of people access
the Internet from their home and the rest do it using computers at their
workplaces, in schools and in public or private places.
To provide an idea of what these figures represent, the total number
of newspapers printed does not reach the mark of 8 million copies per
day, according to information published by ANJ (National Association of
Newspapers) in 2007. Therefore, even being a new media, the Internet

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TERRA NEWS
already occupies an important place among the various types of media
in Brazil. The figures for advertising divulged by ANER – Associação
Nacional dos Editores de Revistas (National Association of Magazine
Publishers) in 2007 show this. In 2007, the Internet made R$173 million,
which represents almost 20% of what the newspapers earned in the same
period. Compared with the previous year, the increase was considerable.
These values indicate that the trust of the advertising agencies and the
publishers increased significantly.
Pinho (2003) observes that the Internet is a very different media
comparing to the traditional mass media because it uses some elements
that are not present in these other media. The author lists the non-
linearity, physiology, instantaneity, interactivity and personality as some
of the fundamental characteristics of this new form of information.
Observing Terra News we perceive at first glance that the program is still
being made as it were being shown on television. It does not make use
of the possibilities of this new media. It is just a traditional news program
placed on the Internet.
By just putting the program online, some basic elements that exist
on the Internet are denied. For example, the news goes readymade on
the air with no participation by the public, although the anchorman says
that people can participate through chats. Therefore the interactivity
does not work and the program ends up like a one-way street, without
any feedback. Pinho (2003, p.53) observes: “the online content that does
not offer a minimum standard of interactivity has almost no value for the
user and makes comprehension of the message more complex”.
Without the possibility of interacting, this format of Terra News casts
the spectator as a passive receiver, something that goes against the basic
principles of the Internet. This one-way street does not permit “non-
linearity” either; it does not offer the possibility for the viewer to “travel”
throughout the program, offering links for what is being shown. Pinho
says that the web is a “pull” media, where the person has to pull the
information which is in his/her interest. As we can see, a news program
similar to the one made for television cannot offer that.
Theoretical support
To face the challenges of the question underlying our research, we
used two classic authors of Brazilian Journalism. Pedro Maciel (1995)
with his book Jornalismo de Televisão (Journalism on television) will
give us support to verify the forms of news presentation on Terra News.
Besides Maciel, we had to use Ferraretto (2000), because while we were

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recording the news we perceived that it uses bulletins and interviews by
telephone; these formats are widely consolidated in radio journalism. To
verify the criteria of news value, we consulted Mário Erbolatto´s (1991)
studies published in his book Técnica de Codificação em Jornalismo
(Codification Techniques in Journalism).
According to Maciel (1995), the main Brazilian news programs use
basically four manners of presenting news on television. In Naked Live
– the anchorman reads the news without showing images of it. Covered
live is Naked Live with images, composed of lead-in and Voice Over -
VO (which will be explained below). Covered live brings a synthesis of
the news supported by images. Besides these two formats, there is the
Bulletin when the reporter presents the information in loco. The author
is the focus of attention in the Bulletin; it can be live (then it is called
Remote) or recorded.
Lastly, there is Reporting, which in Maciel’s view is the most complete
way to present news. According to him, reporting is composed of five
elements: Lead-in – the anchor copy that introduces the story to the
spectators. It conveys in two sentences the lead of the news; Voice Over
(VO) - text read by the reporter that narrates the images of the news;
Bulletin or Remote – as already explained above, in reporting it may
be used to open or close, as well as appearing in the middle; Interview
– a short interview made by the reporters to supplement the reporting;
Footnote – a live note that comes after the exhibition of the news. It
is used to supplement the information recently presented. Maciel notes
that reporting does not need to have all the above elements.
Still analyzing the forms of news presentation, we observed that
Terra News utilizes two formats presented on the radio: Interview and
Remote. Ferraretto (2000) defines Interview as a direct contact between
the source and the public, mediated by a journalist. Remote (Bulletin) is
considered the maximum expression of a radio reporter’s work by the
author. “It is information that, after being verified, will be transmitted by
the journalist who collected the data at the time the event occurred and
directly from the scene of the action”. (Ferraretto, 2000, p. 265).
When we talk about the Criteria of News Value (the reasons why
the editor publishes and divulges certain news items) we use the criteria
presented in Erbolatto´s studies (p. 60 – 65). As there are many criteria,
we opted to cite just those which appear in this research. Because of
space limitations, we give below a brief summary of each one:
a) Adventure and conflict - News of murders, fights, and also news
that reveals audacious people who plan, as if it were a real adventure, the
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most fantastic schemes to get rich illicitly.
b) Consequences – An epidemic that is happening outside Brazil
may not even be published here. But if there is a possibility of its reaching
the country, it will be announced.
c) Impact – The moral impact caused on people by impressive or
shocking events.
d) Importance – Here it is up to the editor to decide. The beginning
and the end of a war are important matters.
e) Human Interest - Cold news has a lot of numbers and data. It is
important to focus on the dramas experienced by human beings.
f) Personal Interest – News made for pre-determined people. For
example, the date for applying to universities, the date of a civil service
examination, etc.
g) Editorial Policies of the Journal - Each company has its own
standards: more attention to crimes, or sports, or politics, or agriculture…
h) Prominence – Everything that has to do with important people.
i) Originality – This type of news can be confused with that
classified as “rarity”. For example, twins suffer accidents in the same part
of the body.
j) Rarity – What is not routine is interesting.
k) Rivalry – Sports competitions or ethnic conflicts are examples of
rivalry.
l) Utility – Useful information for the reader/spectator. Drugstores
that remain open, movie schedules, cultural agenda…
Methodological options
The Comprehensive Sociology of Maffesoli, the method chosen to
develop this article, is based on five suppositions explained in the book O
Conhecimento Comum (The Common Knowledge), written in 1985 and
published in Brazil three years later. They are: 1 – Criticism of Schematic
Dualism; 2 – “Form”; 3 – Relativist Sensibility; 4 – Stylistic Research; and 5
– Libertarian Thought. Maffesoli (1985, p.25) considers Comprehensive
Sociology as a type of romantic sociology: “An attitude that thinks in
global terms, that refuses the discrimination, the evaluation of what
would be important or not”. According to the author, Comprehensive
Sociology “describes what was lived and what that is, discerning the
views of the different authors involved”.
In 2006, Maffesoli explained during a seminar held in Porto Alegre
the role of Comprehensive Sociology. According to him, its function is to
comprehend everything that was separated in Modernity. He observed
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that in Latin the word “comprehend” comes from com/preendere, which
means “to pick all together”. He explained that during Modernity (19th
Century), the epoch in which the Individual was invented, the idea
predominated that there was a need for “separating” in order to explain
the world. According to the French theorist, one of the consequences of
this form of thinking is the destruction of nature. Man believed he could
do everything and nothing could happen to him. Today, in the beginning
of the 21st Century, we are witnessing a global struggle to preserve what
still survives on the Earth.
In the Porto Alegre Seminar (2006), Maffesoli said that the function of
the intellectual is to crystallize what is on his/her mind, giving emphasis
to what already exists. He stressed the idea that Existence comes first
and then its formation. This latter aspect is what he calls Formism: “the
term does not matter; I wanted to indicate with it the predominance of
appearance, the need for taking seriously everything that serious spirits
consider frivolous. In just a few words, integrating a very common idea
into the analysis of social life: what is, is” (1998, p.82).
Therefore, the second hypothesis is “Form” – because, according to
the author, the most important aspect is “the way things are said”. In this
aspect, there is a need for integrating and promoting the equilibrium
between “logical and non-logical”. One of the ways of doing this is to use
unreal categories to discover the “real”. Maffesoli (1985, p. 30) adopted
this procedure when he studied bureaucracy, violence and everyday life.
He used these categories, like Power, Ritual, etc. To the author, these
classes are modulations of Form: “They do not actually exist; they are
unreal and are not, except methodologically, very useful to illustrate,
propose images of all these little nothings or all of these microscopic
structures that constitute our societies”.
In relation to Form, Maffesoli (2006) explains that he uses categories
or notions because there is a need for offering a broader view of “social
reality”. The author emphasizes that “concept” is something closed, with
an end, an unfinished product, a thing that has nothing to do with life.
He prefers to use the word “notion” or words that are as less wrong as
possible, because it is not the “truth” that is in play anymore. In this
connection, he also makes it clear that “notion” can accompany reality
and not create it. In this article, we are working with two main notions:
Forms of Presenting News, of Pedro Maciel (1995) and Criteria of News
Value, of Mário Erbolatto (1991). Besides, as there is no unique truth, we
relate the notions to other authors.
The third supposition is “Relativist Sensibility”, since “there is no
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unique reality, but different ways of understanding it”. Maffesoli (1985,
p.31) does not condemn Positivism and Marxism, but considers them
important concepts for the historical moment in which they were born.
Today, they cannot fit the reality we are living:
It is not about invalidating them for what they are, but showing
that they come from and explain another period. They were developed
at a time stigmatized by the homogenization of civilizations in
expansion; they are not (as they were) adequate to describe the process
of heterogeneity that comes after the decline of a civilization.
In this aspect, Maffesoli (1985) tries to avoid a narrowing view
of social reality. There is a need for prudence and moving away from
“coherence terrorism”. He cites, for example, the concept of homo
economicus that is not applied only by the economic laws, but also
by a larger group of situations which include Communication and
technological development. This thought also signifies that scientific
research cannot be something done, ended, definitive. Maffesoli uses
Max Weber to explain his reflection:
Every unfinished scientific work does not have any other
meaning than to provoke some new questions: it demands its own
“development” and condemns itself to obsolescence. He who wishes to
serve science must accept this fate (Maffesoli, 1985, p.33)
The French intellectual (2006) remembers that Modernity
advocated universal values like human rights, order and progress. But,
as time passed, these values lost their relevance for understanding
the contemporary world. The author notes that Relativist Sensibility
emphasizes “multiculturalism, polytheistic values”, and proclaims: “I just
exist by means of and from the other’s point of view”.
The fourth idea of Comprehensive Sociology is Stylistic Research.
According to Maffesoli (1985, p. 36), each epoch has its own “particular
type of literature” that serves as a pretext to say everything. He
exemplifies that “history” was the 19th Century’s featured literature and
“philosophy” was the 18th Century’s one. “There is a quotidian style,
made up of gestures, words, theater and pieces of work in capital and
small letters that we need to note”. Later, the author (1985, p.37) makes
it clear: “The existence of language specification is particularly evident.
Words, in the same way, are part of our instrumentation – that also
includes ‘little tricks’ and abilities of ‘knowing how to do’ or ‘knowing
how to say’”.
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Libertarian Thought is the fifth supposition of Comprehensive
Sociology. In this item, the fundamentals of this form of producing
knowledge are articulated: the universality of parameters and the
subjectivity of interpretation. Maffesoli writes (1985, p.41 and 43) that
there is a need for “working for the freedom of the view” and admits
that there exists an alteration between the researcher and the subject
researched. “Sometimes there is connivance, complicity; I would say
it is empathy. Maybe this is what constitutes the specification of our
discipline. Comprehension involves the spirit’s generosity, the proximity,
the correspondence”. Lastly he clarifies the need for being content to
“say what it is” – knowing in diverse manners that “we are elements of
this reality”.
Separating video and sound from the news
In this part of the article, we present what we analyzed during the
research: three editions of Jornal do Terra (Terra News). To make the
production of results and the comprehension of the readers easier, we
put together in each table the elements that answer the question of
our research. Each chart contains the following items: format of news
presentation, criteria of news value and their explanations of use.
Besides, we automatically put each news item in one section. These are
the results:
TERRA NEWS – 20/06/2007
PRESENTATION OF NEWS AND CRITERIA OF NEWS VALUE
News #01 – Diet pills
Lead-in: The collateral effects of a new diet pill make the U.S prohibit
the sale of the medicine. The European Union is checking the medicine´s
license. Here in Brazil, the diet pill is already prescribed by some doctors.
The medicine will arrive here in August.
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News #02 – Robbery with murder
Lead-in: Two men went to jail for robbery and murder of a taxi
driver in São Paulo. The crime happened last week. The criminals used
toy guns to render the victim helpless.
News #03 – Store assault
Lead-in: A guy goes into a photography store to rob and threaten
the staff with a gun.
News #04 – Bank robbery
Lead-in: The FBI is looking for a mysterious woman who robs
banks. By looking at her profile, no one would say she is dangerous.
News #05 – Interview with Gabeira (a politician)
Lead-in: The more Senator Renan Calheiros tries to prove he used
his own money to pay journalist Mônica Veloso, the more the situation
becomes complicated. Friends try to save him, but the pressure for his
resignation just grows stronger. Nevertheless, Calheiros insists that he is
going to stay on the job. We are going to talk with Fernando Gabeira who
proposed the campaign “Down with Renan ” if the Ethics Council ends
the case against him.
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News #06 – Medical bulletin
Lead-in: After the last bulletin saying that Antônio Carlos Magalhães
became worse, no further bulletins were divulged.
News #07 – INSS* Doctors *National Institute of Social Security
Lead-in: Doctors are afraid to work in the INSS offices in the State
of Rio Grande do Sul and the regional medical council threatens to close
the unit in the city of São Leopoldo because of aggressions against the
doctors.
News #08 – Bank robbery (repetition)
Lead-in: The FBI is looking for a mysterious woman who robs
banks. By looking at her profile, no one would say she is dangerous.
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TERRA NEWS – 21/06/2007
PRESENTATION OF NEWS AND CRITERIA OF NEWS VALUE
News #01 – Police confiscate fireworks
Lead-in: Police from Bahia apprehended 500kg of fireworks in the
interior of the state. Companies are used to buy illegal explosives from
small producers.
News #02 – Federal Police discovers plan to evade taxation
of merchandise
Lead-in: The federal police discovered an association between
drivers, entrepreneurs and policemen to evade taxation of merchandise
on the federal highways in the State of Ceará. Eight people were arrested;
six of them are policemen.
News #03 – Attempted kidnapping
Lead-in: An attempted kidnapping ends in serious car crash. The
police needed to break the car window to arrest the criminal.
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News #04 – American man raises alligator at home
Lead-in: An American was arrested for raising an alligator inside his
house. Apart from losing the animal, he has to give explanations to the
police.
News #05 – Soldiers punished for War crimes
Lead-in: Three men were arrested for war crimes in Sierra Leone.
Former soldiers were tried for crimes against humanity during the civil
war in the African country between 1998 and 2002.
News #06 – Lula promises electricity to everyone
Lead-in: President Lula went to the inauguration of an avenue in the
city of Belo Horizonte and in his speech says Brazil will provide electricity
for everyone by 2010.
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News #07 – Interview with Senator
Lead-in: The Ethics Council is looking for a new public investigator
for the Renan Calheiros case. Senator Ralf says he will assume the post
if no one else wants it.
News #08 – American man raises alligator at home (repetition)
Lead-in: An American was arrested for raising an alligator inside his
house. Apart from losing the animal, he has to give explanations to the
police.
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TERRA NEWS – 22/06/2007
PRESENTATION OF NEWS AND CRITERIA OF NEWS VALUE
News #01 – Federal Police arrest seven people
Lead-in: Federal Police arrested seven people in an operation
against graft and corruption. The fraud involves many millions.
News #02 – Policeman hits retired man
Lead-in: A retired man was punched inside a supermarket in the city
of Salvador after complaining about a policeman who passed in front of
him in the waiting line of an ATM. He suffered brain trauma and is in the
hospital now.
News #03 – A Jew is arrested with a bomb in a gay parade
Lead-in: An Orthodox Jew was arrested with a bomb during a
gay parade in Jerusalem. Thousands of policemen tried to avoid a fight
between right-wing radicals and the participants.
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News #04 – Lake disappears in Chile
Lead-in: Scientists are trying to discover why a lake disappeared in
Chile. Suddenly, the area equivalent to 10 soccer fields was completely dry.
News #05 – Students leave rectory
Lead-in: Students decided to leave the rectory of USP* this Friday. It
was invaded 51 days ago. Reporter Fabiano Falsi is there and has more
information. *University of São Paulo
News #06 – São Paulo wants to decrease pollution
Lead-in: On the first day of winter São Paulo carried out an operation
to try to decrease pollution. The fine for vehicles that emit more black
smoke than what is permitted (because of the diesel fuel) can reach
R$6,800.00.
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News #07 – Doctor talks about respiratory illness
Lead-in: The story is repeated every year. Respiratory illnesses and
allergies become worse during the winter, especially in large polluted
cities like many Brazilian state capitals. Let u talk with Agricio Crespo, an
ear, nose and throat specialist, and a Professor at Unicamp*. *University
of Campinas
News #08 – Policeman hits retired man (repetition)
Lead-in: A retired man was punched inside a supermarket in the city
of Salvador after complaining about a policeman who passed in front of
him in the waiting line of an ATM. He suffered brain trauma and is in the
hospital now.
Forms of news presentation - Interpretation of data
a) The formats reporting and covered live predominate in the three
analyzed editions of Jornal do Terra (Terra News), which indicates that
Terra is following the traditional ways of TV when it comes to forms
of news presentation. The TV language is just being transferred to the
Internet. It is important to observe that a large part of the reporting
exhibited came from TV Bandeirantes (Bandeirantes TV), which means
that the material was bought or Terra had an agreement to use it. This fact
shows that Terra News does not have its own team to offer coverage on
the national level. The number of covered live stories was high because
they were news items purchased from international news agencies. The
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editor translates the text and uses the images.
b) On June 20th, five out of eight news items (62.5%) were given in
the reporting form.
c) On June 21st, five out of eight news items (62.5%) were exhibited
in covered live form.
d) On the last day of analysis, June 22nd, there was equilibrium
between the two most used formats: three reporting items and three
covered live ones, which represented 80% of the program.
e) Another perceived situation is the use of interview by telephone
and remote (bulletin by telephone), traditional radio formats also
transferred to the Internet. These formats were used in the three editions
analyzed. On 06/20/2007, for example, the reporter does a remote from
the hospital where former Senator Antônio Carlos Magalhães was. He
presented the news just like it is done on the radio. This bulletin goes
against what Pinho (2003) says about the Internet. According to him, the
web is a “synthesis of all media”. During the time that the reporter was
talking, it seemed as if we were listening to the radio. The interviews also
followed this path; the anchorman behaved like he was in a radio studio.
They had durations of between five and six minutes. This is a long time
for television, but appropriate for radio.
f) Regarding a possible adaptation to the Internet, we noted two
differences as compared to the traditional news on TV:
1. Before the presentation of each news item, they use a “stamp” as a
form of identification of the subject that will be presented. For example:
Health, Security, etc. It is a way of helping the web user, in case he/she
has missed the Lead-in.
2. Also to situate the viewer, before and after each news item, the
anchorman says: Before – Este é o Jornal do Terra (“This is Terra News”)
After – Você está no Jornal do Terra (“You are on Terra News”)
Sections - Interpretation of data
Content separated by section in the three programs analyzed:
Police: 13 General: 06 Politics: 03 Health: 02
a) According to Mello (1985), we perceive the editorial standard of
a means of communication by analyzing the news. In the case of Jornal
do Terra (Terra News), the preference for divulging police news is clear.
During the three days of analysis, 13 (out of 24) news items were in
the Police Section. More than 50% of the news was related to crimes,
robberies, aggressions, murders, etc.
b) There is a preference for sensationalist news. According to Sommer
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(2003, p.49), sensationalism is “one of the forms of treating information
in order to attract the attention of a huge public”. The author says that
this form of journalism received its impulse during the 90’s on Brazilian
television. One of the most important programs at that time was Aqui e
agora (Here and now) – exhibited by SBT channel.
c) When we observe the tables above we note that in each edition of
the program there is at least one news item that can be called Fait-divers
– information which attracts attention more for its fantastic content than
for the information itself. For Morin (1997, p.100), these are not events
to inform the world, but gratuitous acts that serve to “affirm the presence
of passion, death and fate”, situations that people frequently suppress.
Criteria of news value - Interpretation of data
With respect to the Criteria of News Value, we know that not
everything that happens in our city, our state or our country becomes
news. For an event be noticed it needs to satisfy the needs of the media.
For example, if I am the director of a teen magazine, it does not make
sense to publish a report about wedding dresses. We understand that in
this phase of life, teenage girls are beginning to date and are not worried
about their weddings. Therefore, in every publication we always have to
know which public is our target, whom we want to reach.
In the specific case of Terra News, the news program produced
specifically for Terra website, we verified that the editors want to reach
the traditional public who watch the news on TV: an adult (but not old)
public, between 25 and 45 years old. After applying the Criteria of News
Value, constructed by Erbolatto (1991), we prepared a ranking for the
three programs analyzed:
The criteria of news value that appeared the most (Impact, Editorial
Policies and Adventure/Conflict) show the essence of what constitutes
Terra News. The program opted for a sensationalist path; it wants to
attract the public’s attention with the most perverse things that exist in
society: crimes and unbelievable facts.
Regarding the other criteria, we noticed that the editors choose
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news that causes an impact on people. As we observed before, more
than half of the news disseminated in the editions analyzed was in the
Police section. Therefore, there is a clear preference for matters that
involve crimes, deaths, robberies, and the essence of political subjects.
Even when they had to repeat a news item, they chose the one that
represented a fait-diver. In the first edition (20/06/2007),the repeated
headline was: FBI IS LOOKING FOR YOUNG BLOND LADY WHO ROBS
BANKS. On the following day (6/21/2007), there was no difference.
The repeated news was: AMERICAN MAN WILL BE PROSSECUTED FOR
RAISING AN ALLIGATOR INSIDE HIS HOME. In the last edition (6/22/2007,
the news item which was repeated was national: POLICEMAN PUNCHES
RETIRED MAN IN BAHIA. The interesting thing is that the Lead-ins are
written in the traditional style of telejournalism, but when we watch the
news, the option for sensationalism comes across strongly as a way of
attracting audience attention
Final conclusions
On concluding this article, we recall Masffesoli’s words about the
researcher’s role: “He/she must show what already exists, not make
things up”. We believe we have achieved this objective in this research
on Jornal do Terra (Terra News). With respect to the forms of news
presentation, we conclude that the program opted for the traditional
formats that exist on TV, especially for Reporting and Covered live. What
caught our attention is the fact that most of the reporting was taken from
a TV channel. This indicates that Terra News does not have a production
structure capable of producing its own material.
On analyzing the news stories, it was clear that Terra News did not
exploit all the potential available on the Internet. Interactivity is basically
null in the program; none of the editions analyzed showed the web users´
view. The program is made like a one-way street, in the classic style of
news on television. Also the program does not develop the language;
there is no indication that the news can be watched or read in another
place. There are no “links” and the web user cannot make a non-linear
reading, one of the main characteristics of the Internet.
With regard to the Criteria of News Value, it was clear that Jornal
do Terra made an option for police news and put at least one fait-diver
in each edition of the program in order to attract more audience. This
position appeared clearly in the ranking of the criteria most utilized
by the editors of the program. In first place was the criterion Impact;
in second, “Editorial Policies” and in third, “Adventure/ Conflict”; the
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program opted for presenting “sensational” and “extraordinary” news
that could shock people.
Jornal do Terra (Terra News) is based on a model that has been
dominating the Internet, according to the evaluation of journalist Lee
Siegel (2008): “The main criterion of success on the Internet is popularity”.
Siegel does not seem to be wrong, because when we observe the videos
most accessed by the web users on the Terra TV website, we note that
the “winners” are those which show absurd, violent and tragic situations
that happen every day around the world.
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Websites:
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Associação Nacional do Jornais (National Newspaper Association) – www.
anj.org.br – accessed on 3/12/07.
Associação dos Editores de Revistas (ANER) (National Association of
Magazines Publishers) – www.aner.org.br - accessed on 2/20/07.
Jornal do Terra (Terra News) – www.terra.com.br – accessed from July
20th to 25th , 2007.
Carlos Golembiewski is a Journalist and PhD. in Communication. He
has been teaching Telejournalism since 1994 in Univali – Universidade
do Vale do Itajaí (University of Itajaí Valley). In this same institution
Golembiewski participates in the LAMCE – Laboratório de Mídia, Cultura
e Estética (Media, Culture and Esthetics Laboratory) research group. He
has also been teaching Radiojournalism in IBES - Instituto Blumenauense
de Ensino Superior (Blumenau Higher Education Institute) since 2006.
E-mail: c.golembiewski@univali.br
Diorgenes Pandini is a journalism student in Univali – Universidade
do Vale do Itajaí (University of Itajaí Valley), and a researcher and
photographer. He is in his third year of the University and monitors the
photo laboratory of Univali. E-mail: pandini@univali.br
TERRA NEWS