Health as science and the biological body as an artifact: The case of Brazil’s national TV news program jornal nacional

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a study of the coverage of health, science and technology during 2012 by the Jornal Nacional, a national television news program in Brazil produced by the Rede Globo de Televisão. A total of 246 news stories addressing health-related topics were analyzed, half of which addressed scientific research, technological innovation and hospital care, and were shown to represent a doctor-centered discourse. The findings also show that 82% of the news stories concerning science and technology advertise products that are about to be introduced onto the market, illustrating the commercial nature of this research. The article discusses two aspects portrayed by these news stories that characterize the biological body as an artifact: the construction of a virtual and fragmented body through the diffusion of images of the inside of the body; and the importance of biotechnological issues, which leaves life processes open to molecular manipulation and alteration. The study also questions the nature-culture hybridization present in biotechnological objects.