When public health systems are news: A comparative analysis of the journalistic coverage in Brazil and Spain

Abstract

This study aimed to undertake a comparative analysis of the journalistic coverage of the National Health System (SUS) by “Folha de São Paulo”, and the National Health System (SNS) by “El País”. This qualitative study was anchored in the news values theory focusing on selection and construction news values and content analysis. All the contents published during 2013 of both newspapers were analyzed. “Folha” brought 88 covers, with 100 cover stories in total, and “El País” had 37 covers and 39 cover stories. “Folha’s” coverage focused on the “Mais Médicos” program, while most of the news in El País focused on the privatization of the Spanish public health system. The most important news value in both was related to government. As a second category, in “Folha”, con-troversy prevailed, focusing on the clash between the Federal Councils of Medicine and the Ministry of Health. Impact was the second most popular category in the Spanish newspaper. Concerning the news values of construction, we found that the newspapers used diverse resources. “Folha” adopted simplification in its approach, whereas “El País” invested in personalization and drama-tization to sensitize readers with accounts of users, where the background was often the privatization process of health care services.