Media roles, and ethics: perceptions of Brazilian, American and French journalist
This paper analyzes self-perceptions of media roles and ethics of a sample of Brazilian journalists and compares them with American and French journalists. French and American styles of journalism have had major inﬂ uences on Brazilian newspapers at different points in time. The study included a self-administered survey with 402 journalists working for 13 leading news organizations and personal interviews with renowned journalists of Sao Paulo- Brazil’s main media hub.  The typical Brazilian journalist in this study was a young white middle-class male, politically left leaning oriented, more likely to be married and Catholic. Respondents held a pluralistic view regarding media roles and expressed higher tolerance of controversial journalistic practices compared to that of their counterparts. Findings are in line with the social-political environment in which journalists operate. They do not enjoy special rights of access to government information, tend to distrust public institutions and have still been adapting to press freedom since the country’s redemocratization.
Coverage of the 2010 Brazilian Presidential Elections
A framing analysis of mainstream online organizations and their bloggers and columnists on the 2010 Brazilian Presidential Elections revealed that framing do have the potential to expose ideological elements on how the media position themselves in the public sphere. Thematic and episodic frames dominated the news with a special focus on press freedom, social and economic problems, corruption and abortion. The mainstream media focused their coverage on the Workers’ Party employing primarily a critical/ adversarial tone as opposed to an interpretive analysis tone. Professional ideology mixed with political preferences both by journalists and media owners marked the Brazilian online coverage blurring the lines between the private and the public, exactly in the same way that outgoing President Lula da Silva acted during the presidential campaign. Journalism status quo emerged as a main topic in the coverage as a free press under attack quickly reacted with rage causing a rift between news organizations that criticized the outgoing president and those that supported him. Furthermore, a popular president apparently unaffected by corruption scandals and the country’s most powerful media groups confronted each other in an exhaustive and unfinished battle.
Ten Years of Public Interest Disclosure Legislation in the UK: Are Whistleblowers Adequately Protected?
Purpose The purpose of this article is to assess the operation of the UK’s Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA 1998) during its first 10 years and to consider its implications for the whistleblowing process. Method The article sets the legislation into context by discussing the common law background. It then gives detailed consideration to the statutory provisions and how they have been interpreted by the courts and tribunals. Results In assessing the impact of the legislation’s approach to whistleblowing both in the UK and elsewhere, the author draws upon empirical research. Conclusion The author concludes that PIDA 1998 has not adequately protected whistleblowers and makes 12 recommendations for change. Despite the European Commission’s acknowledgement that whistleblowers can play a part in the fight against corruption, the author notes that common standards for their protection still seem a long way off.