A parte que me cabe nesse julgamento: A Folha de S. Paulo na cobertura ao processo do "mensalão"

Abstract

This article analyses the role of one of the main Brazilian newspapers, Folha de S. Paulo, in the understanding of Penal Action 470 - the judgment by Brazilian supreme court of important members of Brazilian Workers' Party for their involvement in corruption during the first government of Lula da Silva. It discusses the relationship between press and PT in Brazil and, also, the way plurality is organized in Brazilian political journalism. In the news here discussed, plurality equals guarantees for a restricted defense of some individuals in face of the narrative that organizes the coverage. While a circumscribed defense is presented as self-interested, that narrative is presented as nonpartisan and stuck to the facts. The angle presented as legitimate in the news is naturalized while conflicting positions are excluded or domesticated as reactions to the facts. Partisanship has its expression, then, in the prevalence of the moral dimension of politics.