How Chilean editors perceive and define the role of melodrama in television news

Abstract

Several studies have addressed the role of drama and emotion in television news, oftentimes regarding them as opposed to quality journalism. Such approaches ignore the cultural resonance of melodramatic features in television newscasts in regions like Latin America, and pay little attention to how newsworkers perceive dramatic news and melodramatic treatment of news events. Based on in-depth interviews with 14 news editors from four major Chilean broadcasters, this study taps into their insights on audiovisual language and melodrama in television news. The findings suggest a common perception among Chilean editors of audiovisual language as inherently dramatic - emotional and close. Emotionalization and personalization are described as a communicative potential of television journalism, and melodrama is framed negatively as an excess of emotion that damages information.