(In)dependência das iniciativas jornalísticas digitais do século XXI com escopo na região amazônica: análise dos sites Amazônia real e Infoamazonia

Abstract

In a cenario that is stimulating the establishment of self-proclaimed independent Brazilian journalism initiatives, specially on the internet, with small to medium editorial newsrooms, the aim of this study is to analyze, through case studies, how this self-proclaimed independent journalism in digital media is characterized in the Amazon region in the 21st century. The objective of this research, which was conducted in accordance with the main research topic, that is, the Process of journalism production, in the Post-Graduation Program Master’s in Journalism at Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, is: to ascertain the characteristics of the journalistic field of the professionals who created the self-proclaimed independent sites Amazônia Rea e InfoAmazonia; to identify what is meant by “independence” in a context that is defined by new management models; and to gauge a possible relation between aspects of newsworthiness and journalistic independence. What do these self-proclaimed independent initiatives in the Amazon region reveal both about professional culture and underlying professional standards? Does the professional experience of the founders of Amazônia Real and InfoAmazonia influence the management models adopted? Does the establishment of a self-proclaimed independent initiative give the journalist professional authonomy? What type of tensions interfere in the professional practices of these initiatives? For these purposes, this analysis considers the transformation of the journalism market in the 21st century, its repercussions on the professional field and the emergence of new management models. The theoretical principles are based on the social and journalistic fields, hypercompetition, governance and new management models, basic concepts of the definition of possible independent journalism and professional culture, based on bibliographic and documental research. Besides these methodologies, this dissertation uses interviews techniques with the founders of the self-proclaimed independent journalism initiatives Amazônia Real e InfoAmazonia, the representing of Ford Foundation, that directly contributes with Amazônia Real and indirectly with InfoAmazonia, and a systematized analysis of the journalistic products conceived by these organizations. One of the final considerations applies that even though defined by new management models, different from the ones practiced by traditional media, the self-proclaimed independent initiatives need to develop other characteristics that justify the “independence”, like the newsworthiness.