Brazilian journalists' perceptions of media roles, ethics and foreign influences on Brazilian journalism

Abstract

This paper analyzes the perceptions of journalists in São Paulo, Brazil's main media hub, concerning media roles, ethics and foreign influences on journalism and compares them with perceptions held by American and French journalists. American and French models of journalism have influenced Brazilian journalism at different points in time. The study employs quantitative and qualitative methods to illustrate that Brazilian journalists embrace a particular pluralistic view regarding their role in society and appear to be very tolerant of controversial journalistic practices. While most of them believe they emulate the American model, some critics interviewed for this study suggest that these journalists have developed a caricature of American journalism and lack a clear perspective on how to deal with foreign journalistic influences.