About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

5 Int'l J. Soc. Sci. Stud. 31 (2017)
Media Valuations of Health Journalism and Health Dynamics in Brazilian Printed Media

handle is hein.journals/ijsoctu5 and id is 35 raw text is: International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 5, No. 1; January 2017 m ISSN 2324-8033 E-ISSN 2324-8041 Published by Redfame Publishing URL: http://ijsss.redfame.com Media Valuations of Health Journalism and Health Dynamics in Brazilian Printed Media Tatiana Breder Emerichl, Aline Guio Cavacal, Edson Theodoro Santos-Netol, Victor Israel Gentilli2, Adauto Emmerich Oliveira' 'Post-Graduate Program in Collective Health, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil 2Post-Graduate Program in Communication and Territoriality, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil Correspondence: Tatiana Breder Emerich, Post-Graduate Program in Collective Health, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Received: November 21, 2016 Accepted: December 6, 2016 Available online: December 20, 2016 doi:10.1 1114/ijsss.v5il.1997 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v5il.1997 Abstract The objective of this study was to understand the opinions of journalists and health managers regarding the dynamics of health news dissemination in printed newspapers from the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three journalists from the A Tribuna newspaper, three journalists from the A Gazeta newspaper, two editors from these newspapers, two press officers from the Department of Health of Espirito Santo, Brazil and five health managers. The interviews were analysed using content analysis, with Social Representation Theory as a reference. The data analysis revealed that the newspapers tend to value the negative, the quantitative, the novel, and the aesthetic. Similarly, evidence was found for the factors that determine which health issues/diseases will be addressed by the printed media. The respondents' answers also emphasised the main difficulties of health journalism, which mainly concern journalists' relationship with their sources. It was concluded that harmony between these actors is rare, which can lead to a decrease in the quality of health news. Keywords: health communication, public health, mass communication, qualitative study, health journalism 1. Introduction 1.1 Introduce the Problem The world stage is marked by the influence of the mass media in various sectors of society. The media is society's main source of information about public policy. For this reason, the media tends to shape public opinion both generally and in the domain of public health policies (Collins, Abelson, Pyman, Lavis, 2006; O'Connor & Jeffe, 2013; Hilton, Wood, Patterson, Katikire, & Nikora, 2014). The prominent field of Communication and Health emerged in Brazil in the mid-1990s. It includes knowledge from the fields of Communication and Public Health and thus includes the debate over the representation of health news in the mass media (Arafijo & Cardoso, 2007). The actors involved in the mediatisation (Fausto Neto, 2012) of health- or disease-related topics include several professionals, managers, and figures who publicise the different topics and approaches (Romeyer, 2010; Hilton, Wood, Patterson, Katikire, & Nikora, 2014). Therefore, understanding the opinions of these key actors involved in the propagation of health news becomes an important object of study. 1.2 Explore Importance of the Problem Daily printed newspapers share what is important and/or interesting to life and to the world through news (Traquina, 2004). With regard to health, newspapers include news on diseases, life stories, deaths, births (Traquina, 2004; Romeyer, 2010), health systems and policies, (Oliveira, 2000; Collins, Abelson, Pyman, Lavis, 2006; Menegon, 2008; Ortona & Fortes, 2012; Hilton, Wood, Patterson, Katikire, & Nikora, 2014), aesthetics (Cavaca, Gentilli, Zandonade, Cortellete Junior, & Emmerich, 2012; Oliveira, 2013), and prevention (Castiel & Vasconcellos-Silva, 2006; O'Connor & Joffe, 2013), among other topics. The definition of news is neither a closed, static concept nor a scientific concept (Traquina, 2013). It exists when there 31

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most