The Narrative of Exposés in South American Journalism

Abstract

Studies have examined how reporters use narratives to deal with moral issues within the limits imposed by the rules of objectivity. This article analyzes the uses of narratives and the construction of a moral order by considering a journalistic culture that differs from the best studied cases in developed democracies. The focus is on the discursive frameworks used by two Brazilian newsweeklies during the coverage of Collorgate, the scandal that brought down former president Fernando Collor de Mello. The principle of dispassionate, impartial reporting carries less weight in Latin America than in Western journalism. The analysis shows that narratives have formulaic analytical frameworks and put forth moral judgments. Disregarding objectivity, exposés weave facts and opinions and combine universal and local cultural themes to express editorial positions. By relying on stock narratives that neatly cast characters in morality plays, journalism provides superficial portrayals of the moral order.