História da historiografia da imprensa e do jornalismo no Brasil : do século XIX ao XXI

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to recapitulate the trajectory and critically examine the transformations of historical knowledge about the press and journalism produced in Brazil. It goes from the analysis of the first accounts, originating from the activities of the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute and its provincial/state counterparts, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, to the specialized academic production, which emerged with the institutionalization of the area and subsequent expansion of postgraduate studies at the turn of the 21st century. With regard to protagonism, it is observed that there was a transition from a dilettante intelligentsia — whose prominence fell to the northeastern elite, and was represented by doctors, jurists and engineers who occasionally wrote on the subject —, until reaching the current university generation, in which stands out women’s work. Regarding the exposition, the first part organizes and analyzes research in the history of the press and journalism, while the second focuses on contemporary case studies. What is sought to know and show during the investigation is: 1) how do historians in this field organize their knowledge on the subject? 2) how are historical findings presented and what evidence are they based on? 3) is the historical narrative constructed argumentatively, articulating the collected data and the theoretical references? 4) are the conclusions supported by the results extracted from the documental analysis? The evaluation of this indicates that there were significant changes in the approach and focus of the study, related both to the broader historical-social context and to specific factors, linked to the institutional environment of the research. The history of ideas reveals that journalism has gone through different conceptualizations over a century and a half. During the Empire and the Old Republic, it was seen as a means of public instruction and a mirror of events. After the Estado Novo, there was a tendency to treat it as an instrument for manipulating opinion and a suspect source. With the end of the Military Regime, it finally came to be examined as a mediating element of public debate and a space for sociability. Regarding this last moment, the thesis argues, in conclusion, that, despite the current pretensions to subordinate the history of the press and journalism to that of communication, the field still lacks more significant historiographical undertakings, outside the sector represented by the print media.