O agenda-setting em ação

: o processo de seleção de notícias da SIC

Abstract

The present report is the result of a case study originating from an experience of a curricular internship program for a period of six months in the television news network, SIC. Through an empirical study of the planning (agenda) and the programming of news reporting within the studied television station, it was intended to confer the news-values and criteria used during the process of news selection. Furthermore, the aim of this investigation is to understand if and how any form of agenda-setting is carried out during this news selection process at SIC. First of all, an introductory note about the institution, SIC, was made, just as a short reflection on the internship carried out, where we offer a personal testimony of the experience lived during six months internship in a television news network. Secondly, in order to achieve the goal of this investigation, the practical application of the theoretical components of the present case study was carried out through an empirical analysis of the data obtained during the week in study from the planning and scheduling of news reporting at SIC. A comparative analysis was carried out between the two segments (planning and programming of news), with the aim of determining the influence of the process of planning and programming in the selection of news stories in terms of newsworthiness and news criteria, just like any other aspects approached in the theoretical component of this report. In the course of this investigation, we were able to confirm reasons why television news covers certain information, the reasons why certain thematic categories have a greater prevalence in the coverage of news, as well as the appetence for covering what is already scheduled. The results of this investigation show a strong representation of what is in the agenda, that is, what was previously scheduled to report, in the programming of news reporting – namely, the agenda-setting in action. Through this research we were able to give evidence of the existence of imponderable criteria, involved during the process of selecting newsworthiness and the production of news.

Date of Award	24 Sept 2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Eduardo Cintra Torres (Supervisor)