Cobertura jornalística da política

: o "caso TSU" no jornal da noite da SIC

Abstract

Having as theoretical framework the Political Communication, this report
presents a study of television journalistic coverage of the "Caso TSU" (Single Social Tax) by Jornal da Noite - SIC, during the time period from 7 to 15 September 2012. Through theoretical and empirical background, the work seeks to identify the journalistic standards present in the coverage of the case and intends to reflect on how it makes television coverage of politics in Portugal, as well as their potential impact on Portuguese society. The first part of the report is composed of a theoretical framework on political communication, in particular on the impact of media corporations in political activity, the policy for the media and the contemporary political journalism. In the theoretical part we also reflect on the concept of political scandal, for having been fundamental to
better understand the coverage of "Caso TSU". In the second part of the paper we present a methodological strategy that guided the empirical research which has shown that the construction of journalistic story was hyped oriented criteria, based on dramatization and staging of events, the customization policy, the negative environment and political conflict. The study also concluded that "the life cycle of the story" of the "Caso TSU" has evolved according to the sequential structure of political scandal, theorized by John B. Thompson. This finding allowed us to reflect on the potential impact of negative media coverage of politics, given that political scandals can effectively have a corrosive impact in democratic societies.

Date of Award	8 Apr 2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rita Figueiras (Supervisor)