The Digital Communication Flows in the Public Institutions: The Institutionalization and Instrumentalization According to the Perception of the Content Producers of the City Councils

Abstract

Legislative communication is efficient when it leads to new political behaviors and a closer relationship between representatives and society (Leston-Bandeira, 2012). As a result, public institutions have participated in the digital environment not only because of the legislation’s requirements, but also because of their own initiatives aimed at visibility, transparency, accountability and proximity to the citizens. In this scenario, the institutional public communication practice is undergoing new dynamics, especially due to the characteristics of the different branches of government. Thus, this article seeks to understand – according to the perception of agents in the field-which variables interfere in the institutional communication of municipal legislatures, characterized by less infrastructure, reduced staff, low institutionalization of information flows and which, by nature, are marked by proximity to citizens. Through semi-structured interviews, focusing on ten advisors in charge of communication in the local parliaments of Paraná, one could notice five issues that stood out: lack of interest on the part of managers, professional demands, limits and “fears” in producing messages, party-political interests and obstacles in the relationship with the public. In general, the digital communication of the local city councils moves between the institutionalization and instrumentalization of information flows.