Telejornalismo Regional no Maranhão: Rotinas de produção e percepção dos profissionais de comunicação das TV Mirante e TV Difusora

Abstract

This dissertation aims to understand the concept of regional journalism from the structures and perception of the communication professionals of the newsrooms of TV Mirante, affiliated of Rede Globo, and TV Difusora, affiliated of SBT in Maranhão. The purpose of the research is turning our gaze to those who have an essential role in the mediation between clippings from the regional reality and the journalistic product. In this way, we can see the need to analyze how the professionals who work daily in the construction of the broadcasters’ newscasts understand the regional journalism, through their production routines. In view of this, the question that guides this research is: How is the regional journalism understood and structured by the communication professionals from the TV stations in Maranhão? In order to answer this question, this dissertation has as specific goals: 1) Mapping the distribution of the television system in the state of Maranhão from TV Mirante and TV Difusora broadcasters; 2) Verifying what characteristics the regional journalism has from the perspective of the professionals of the two vehicles; and 3) Identifying aspects of the production routine of the professionals in a regional environment. In all, 18 professionals who operate in the broadcasters' locations were interviewed. The main reasons that led to the investigation of TV Mirante and TV Difusora were due to the fact they were linked to the two largest media conglomerates in Maranhão, and because they had a significant reach, both in terms of coverage and structure. In addition, a mapping of the operational and journalistic organization of the two broadcasters was carried out, seeking to identify how they are distributed in the state. In the empirical part of this paper, the qualitative research method was used with the aid of two research techniques, document analysis and in-depth interviews, which were carried out with the editors-in-chief and producers of the two communication vehicles. The results found by the mapping point to the strong connection of the vehicles with political groups, the reduction of newsrooms that interfere in the manifestation and exercise of the regional journalism, the precariousness of journalistic work and the centralization of content production in the state capital. The main findings, from the interviews, indicate that the professionals even understand in theory how the regional journalism works and the impact of its exercise on people's lives; however, the reduction of teams and the low financial investment limit the regional coverage of the newscasts, especially in the locations in the countryside, where the lack of more equipment, professionals and structure causes dependence of the network head, affecting the plural production of regional content.