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Cited by 22Media Studies and CommunicationJournalism and Media StudiesMedia Influence and Politics

The Instrumental Mediated Visibility of Violence: The 2013 Protests in Brazil and the Limitations of the Protest Paradigm

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Jiménez-Martínez, César·2021·The International Journal of Press/Politics
DOI 10.1177/1940161220923984
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Abstract

Studies examining protest news coverage often look at it through a “protest paradigm,” arguing that “mainstream” media delegitimize protests by emphasizing violence and marginalizing grievances. Focusing on the June 2013 protests in Brazil, this article takes the discussion in a different conceptual and empirical direction, examining the forces that, according to national, alternative, and foreign journalists, shaped the coverage of violence during those demonstrations. Drawing on forty-three in-depth interviews, the accounts of these individuals confirm the need to move beyond deterministic approaches suggested by the protest paradigm, acknowledging that the mediated visibility of violence does neither invariably lead to support for the status quo nor to a demonization of social unrest. News coverage of violence emerges alternatively as an instrument with the potential to be strategically exploited for diverse political, ideological, and commercial purposes. A closer examination of the frictional processes leading up to mediated visibility also recognizes that sensationalism and drama are not exclusive to the mainstream media. Despite their potential to broaden the mediated visibility of protest, alternative and foreign journalists may narrate demonstrations as politically legitimate but ultimately shallow spectacles, where the drama of violence—committed by either authorities or demonstrators—obscures the underlying grievances driving people on to the streets. The views of journalists are an important contribution to debates about protest news coverage, given the scarcity of studies examining their accounts during these episodes.

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Authors
Jiménez-Martínez, C.
Affiliations
Cardiff University (GB)
Corresponding author
Jiménez-Martínez, César
ORCID
Jiménez-Martínez, César
Venue
The International Journal of Press/Politics
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2020-06-09
Volume
26
Issue
3
Pages
525-546
ISSN
  • 1040-1620 (ISSN-L)
  • 1940-1612
  • 1940-1620
DOI
10.1177/1940161220923984
OpenAlex
W3035745614
Cited by
22
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2
FWCI
5.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • The International Journal of Press/Politics (publishedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (acceptedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Theses Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (submittedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Economic and Social Research Council (ES/S011846/1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Media Studies and Communication
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Journalism and Media Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Influence and Politics
Keywords
2013 Brazilian protests, protest paradigm, media coverage of violence, journalists' perceptions, alternative journalism, foreign journalism, mainstream media, sensationalism, political legitimacy, social unrest

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