Framing protest events: interpretative disputes surrounding the 2013 demonstration cycle in Porto Alegre

as disputas interpretativas em torno do ciclo de manifestações de 2013 em Porto Alegre

Abstract

The subject of this research is the dispute promoted by media vehicles surrounding the coverage of social movements actions. We seek to, empirically, identify the interpretative frameworks built by three newspapers (Zero Hora, Diário Gaúcho and Sul21) about the 2013 protests cycle, in Porto Alegre/RS. Methodologically, we constructed a database with all the publications of each newspaper, at the coverage of the mobilization cycle and we interviewed journalists responsible for producing the content of these publications. From the data analysis, we formulated a typology of interpretative frameworks adopted in different moments of the year. The chronological analysis denoted disputes between these different types of coverage, with the establishment of a "battlefield" of interpretation. Conclusively, (a) we affirm the need for studies that identify the mediatic framework as an interactive process and (b) we question the part of the theory that assumes that the mediatic frameworks would necessarily have a "negative" valuation in relation to activism.