O papel do jornalismo no debate público nas redes sociais

: o caso do Público

Abstract

The development of the Internet has brought many changes and adaptations to the media, including the press. As a result of the changes that have taken place in the digital press, newspapers have adapted, starting to use the Internet and social networks as a way of sharing their content, obtaining more information from different sources and creating a greater connection with their audience. Several newspapers have created their own websites and social media accounts over time, such as the Público newspaper. The problem of this dissertation is to study the journalistic practices of the Público newspaper in disseminating content and strategies on social networks. It seeks to answer the following research question: "How are social networks used by the Público newspaper to
disseminate news and communicate with its audience?". The relevance of this research lies in the fact that the use of social networks in journalism is relatively recent and little studied about portuguese newspapers, and the fact that the presence of journalism on social networks increases debate in the public sphere, an important theme in this study. The aim of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of the use of social networks by the portuguese media,
helping to provide an insight into this issue from a national perspective, providing a portuguese perspective on the issue and relating it not only to the journalistic role in social networks but also to the role of social networks in journalism. In order to carry out this qualitative case study, a theoretical approach and literature review was carried out that encompasses the three themes of this study: the Internet and journalism; social networks; and social networks and journalism. After the theoretical framework, we proceeded with a qualitative methodology in which we observed and monitored posts and comments on Público's Instagram in four selected months; a semi-structured interview was conducted with the newspaper's social media editor. A content
analysis was then carried out on all the material collected throughout the study.
The main results indicate that social networks are used by Público to share informative posts on topics that are relevant to society, most of which are about politics and the economy. It is also concluded that there is public interaction through comments and likes, creating a space for debate and discussion on the topics published, which are of public interest, despite the lack of interaction on the part of the newspaper.

Date of Award	17 Jan 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Isadora Ataíde Fonseca (Supervisor)