Observatorio (OBS*)

Mourning Salazar: the ideologic oriented grief in the Portuguese newspapers during the dictatorship

Abstract Death is one of the most prominent news values, especially when combined with another characteristic of newsworthiness: the notoriety of the individual. Based on the combination of death and prominence of the personality, this paper proposes an approach to media discourses on the death of the political Portuguese leader, António de Oliveira Salazar, former President of the Council during the dictatorial regime, known as Estado Novo (New State). Considering the newspapers published at the time of his death, July, 1970, and taking into account the existence of the censorship, this study analyzes the coverage of the event, as well as the apologetical discourse used by the journalists and the newsworthiness of the event.

Intergenerational solidarity or intergenerational gap? How elderly people experience ICT within their family context

Abstract Starting from the concept of intergenerational solidarity, this paper examines how relations of 36 elderly people with younger generations of their families influence their appropriations and uses of ICT. A multi-qualitative approach - non-participant observation in ICT classes attended by the participants, followed by focus groups and semi-structured interviews - conducted in Brazil and Portugal reveals that the family contexts influence how older people deal with ICT in distinctive ways. In both countries, the influence happens either by building up social interactions and increasing communication inside and outside the family or by contributing to social and emotional isolation, even when family generations are physically close. Even within families - where supportive ties tend to be stronger than outside - intergenerational solidarity regarding digital access and use cannot be taken for granted.

How the Turkish-Germans Construct Their Imagined Communities on Social Media? Textual Analysis of the Facebook Page “Turks in Germany”

Abstract One of the most crowded diasporic communities in Europe are the Turkish community, and the majority of them reside in Germany. Nowadays, social media platforms, such as Facebook, gives them the opportunity to get together online and help them to create online imagined communities via groups and pages on Facebook. For this study, we selected the “Turks in Germany” page on Facebook to examine. In accordance with this purpose, the selected page’s one-year activity is textually analyzed. We used qualitative content analysis and examined different discourses that are circulating on this page to construct an online imagined community, based on Benedict Anderson’s theory. The results suggest that, on the Turkish-German Facebook groups and pages the imagined community is mostly built in relation to the country of origin, rather than the country of residence.

Online dating platforms: incorporation and integration dynamics on a domestication logic

Resumo Entre o conjunto de aplicações disponíveis parasmartphonesas específicas deonline datingtêm sido alvo de atenção por parte da imprensa e da academia. Porém, este interesse não se traduziu numa tentativa de descrição e problematização de comportamentos no âmbito da domesticação das mesmas. Face a esta lacuna, este estudo tem como objetivo identificar e caracterizar padrões de uso em função da fase de incorporação e concluir face à integração das plataformas deonline datingno quotidiano dos seus utilizadores. Para tal, recorreu-se a uma metodologia quantitativa através da aplicação de um questionário distribuído online e dirigido a utilizadores portugueses de plataformas deonline dating(n=326). Foi realizada uma análise de correspondência múltipla (ACM) e uma análise de agrupamentos (clusters) que indiciou a existência de três perfis distintos. Os perfis diferenciaram-se em função da dimensão incorporação no âmbito da temporalidade (antiguidade, frequência e intensidade de uso) e da socialização (iniciativa no envio da primeira mensagem, contacto de perfis e rutura comunicacional sem motivo aparente), assim como em função da dimensão integração (partilha de contacto alternativo, procura de informação nas redes sociais online e partilha de perfis com outros). Tais características permitiram concluir que os perfis se distinguem em função da experiência e de uma utilização mais ou menos consolidada. Adicionalmente a distinção também reside na transposição das lógicas comunicacionais para o ecossistema dos media sociais mais alargado, evidenciando o dinamismo do processo de domesticação.

Abstract Among the set of applications available for smartphones, those specific to online dating have been the focus of attention by the press and academia. However, this interest did not attempt to describe and problematize behaviors within their domestication. In view of this gap, this study aims to identify and characterize usage patterns according to the incorporation phase and conclude with the integration of online dating platforms in the daily lives of its users. To this end, a quantitative methodology was used through the application of a questionnaire distributed online and addressed to Portuguese users of online dating platforms (n = 326). A multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and a cluster analysis were performed that indicated the existence of three distinct profiles. The profiles differed according to the incorporation dimension in terms of temporality (seniority, frequency and intensity of use) and socialization (initiative in sending the first message, contacting profiles and communicational disruption for no apparent reason), as well as in function of integration dimension (sharing alternative contact, searching for information on online social networks and sharing profiles with others). These characteristics allowed us to conclude that the profiles differ according to experience and more or less consolidated use. In addition, the distinction also resides in the transposition of communicational logics to the wider social media ecosystem, showing the dynamism of the domestication process.

Citizen Facebook: The Strategic Communication of Local Power in Social Media

Abstract Local power requires a differentiated communicational analysis with strategies appropriate to its context in the immediate scenario which social networks impose on those who engage in proximity governance. In this sense, this exploratory case study arises from an interest in communication as a tool for strategic and political operationalization, at the level of the preliminary diagnosis on digital communication within the Lisbon local government between November 2017 and May 2019. The objective has been to analyse digital data taken from the official Facebook pages of the 24 Local Councils and cross-referencing them with voter turnout data and, in a descriptive analysis of the information gathered, to arrive at an initial interpretation of the evolution of the performance and degree of involvement of electors and voters in digital municipal communication in Lisbon.

Los marcos del compromiso: Framing y Engagement digital en la campaña electoral de España de 2015

Resumen Framing y engagement son dos planteamientos teóricos frecuentes en Ciencias Sociales en general y en Comunicación en particular, sin embargo, la interrelación de ambos en el mundo digital está comenzado a indagarse. Por ello, esta investigación estudió la implicación de los usuarios con los marcos informativos empleados por los seis principales partidos políticos españoles (PSOE, PP, Podemos, IU, UPyD y Ciudadanos) en sus páginas de Facebook, utilizando el estudio del caso de las elecciones generales de 2015. Se analizaron todos los mensajes publicados durante dos semanas de campaña electoral por estos seis partidos y sus candidatos, midiéndose el engagement mediante las variables Me gusta, Compartir y Comentar. Se detectó que no siempre los marcos más empleados por las formaciones políticas son los que mayor número de interacciones reciben por parte de los usuarios de las redes sociales. Así, el marco estratégico, si bien poco utilizado por los políticos, cuarto de un total de seis, fue el segundo con mayor nivel del engagement. Por el contrario, el marco temático, tercero más frecuente, sólo fue el quinto en implicación de los seguidores. Además, las tres variables indicadoras de engagement variaron en diferente proporción ante cada marco analizado.

Abstract Framing and engagement are two usual theoretical approaches in Social Sciences in general and in Communication in particular, however the interrelationship of both in the digital world has barely begun to be investigated. Therefore, this research studied the involvement of users with the news frames used by political parties in their Facebook pages, using the case study of the 2015 spanish general election. All the messages published during the two-week election campaign by the six main parties were analysed, measuring engagement through the variables I like, Share and Comment. It was detected that the frames most used by political fomations are not always the ones that receive the greatest number of interactioins fro user of social networks. In addition, the three variables that integrated the engagement index (Like, Share and Comment) vary in different proportions before each analyzed frame.

Oncological diseases in the news: the strength of medical research

Resumo É através dos media noticiosos que grande parte da população encontra informação sobre o campo da saúde. Isso dota o trabalho jornalístico de particular responsabilidade, na medida em que os conteúdos interferem inequivocamente nas perceções sociais. No que diz respeito à cobertura noticiosa da saúde, particularmente na imprensa, os estudos demonstram que os jornalistas não se interessam muito pelas doenças, mas, quando isso acontece, são as doenças oncológicas aquelas que têm uma prioridade substancial no agendamento noticioso. Neste artigo, procuramos saber de que modo o cancro se torna notícia nos jornais diários portugueses. Para isso, analisámos todos os textos noticiosos publicados no Público, Jornal de Notícias, Diário de Notícias e Correio da Manhã entre 2010 e 2018, ou seja, 1.255 artigos onde são citadas 2.471 fontes de informação. Do nosso estudo salienta-se a força da investigação médica na tematização desta doença e a hegemonia das fontes especializadas como interlocutores privilegiados para transformar este tópico em notícia.

Abstract Most lay people find health information through the media. This is a great responsibility for journalism, since news contents influence social perceptions. Research shows that the media coverage of health, especially in the written press, does not pay much attention to diseases. When that happens, cancer is the most highlighted disease in the news. In this study, we aimed at understanding how cancer becomes news in the portuguese daily newspapers. In order to do so, we analized all the news texts published in Público, Jornal de Notícias, Diário de Notícias and Correio da Manhã from 2010 to 2018 - our corpus has 1.255 texts in which are quoted 2.471 news sources. Our analyses emphasizes the strength of medical research in the media coverage of cancer and the power of specialized news sources as the number one source in putting cancer in the news.

The influence of partisanship in the reception of fake news and fact-checking in a polarized political context

Resumo A conjuntura de crescente polarização política no Brasil, ligada a uma intensa circulação de fake news nas eleições presidenciais de 2018, motiva a realização deste estudo exploratório, enfocado em apreender a confiança que o público atribui a boatos e checagens fornecidas por agências especializadas em fact-checking, tomando por referência o atentado contra o então candidato do PSL, Jair Bolsonaro, ocorrido em 6 de setembro de 2018 em uma visita de campanha a Juiz de Fora (MG). A pesquisa envolveu a aplicação de um questionário online que recebeu 108 contribuições de estudantes universitários. Os dados coletados foram discriminados pela inclinação partidária dos participantes na última eleição e os resultados corroboram argumentos presentes em estudos anteriores de que: a) os cidadãos se informam sobre os acontecimentos também a partir de boatos; b) a credibilidade ou ceticismo diante de fake news são influenciados por preferências políticas; c) a concordância em correções oferecidas por fact-checkers é também moderada pelo partidarismo dos respondentes.

Abstract The growing political polarization context in Brazil, coupled to fake news intense circulation during presidential elections of 2018, motivates this exploratory study, aims to explore the trust that public attributes to rumors and corrections provided by fact-checking agencies, taking as reference the assault against the then-candidate of PSL, Jair Bolsonaro, which occurred on September 6, 2018, during a campaign visit to Juiz de Fora (MG). The research involved the application of an online survey that received 108 contributions from college students. The data collected were discriminated by party inclination of participants in the last election, and the results corroborate arguments presents in previous studies who proposes that: a) citizens are informed about the events also from rumors; b) political preferences influence both the reliability or skepticism about fake news; c) the partisanship of the respondents also moderates the acceptance of fact-checkers' corrections.