[Nuevo artículo de Antonio Pedroso y Tomás Undurraga en Journalism Studies]
The Elective Affinity between Elite Journalists and Mainstream Economists in Brazil
Abstract
This article explores the ties between elite economic journalists and mainstream economists in Brazil. It does so by investigating the influence of mainstream economists on journalists’ careers, and therewith, on Brazil’s public discussion. Using mixed methods, we study the main achievements that help to explain economic journalists’ position. We present a multiple correspondence analysis of 53 economic journalists, 30 who are in elite positions and 23 who are from the same cohort but are not in elite positions. Elaborating on 58 interviews, we explore the field’s professional dynamic, examining the sources that produce scoops, how journalists formed their economic perspectives and how economic sources link to the press. We find that there are two elites of economic journalists in Brazil with different career paths. Although careers among elite journalists might diverge, there is a manifest elective affinity between them and financial elites. Key economic journalists reached elite positions by sharing the doxa of mainstream economists. Journalists who worked in the Central Bank, economic ministers or private banks tended to rise in their professional careers. The familiarity with key financial agents of non-elite journalists, by contrast, is more limited. The article concludes by discussing the implications of this elective affinity for the public sphere in Brazil. Continue reading →
Research Associate: Economics in the Public Sphere – 2 Posts, – Ref:1458983. Salary (inclusive of London allowance) £33,353 -£40,313 per annum. Duties and Responsibilities. UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies seeks to appoint 2 Postdoctoral Research Associates as part of a European Research Council funded project, “Economics in the Public Sphere: USA, UK, France, Brazil and Argentina since 1945”. “Economics in the public sphere” examines the social and cultural factors shaping the media’s representation of economic knowledge. It sets out to study newsrooms as sites for the production of knowledge. From this vantage point we examine how journalists’ parse competing claims of expertise by scholars, political elites and social movements. We look at the formation of journalistic genres and interrogate how they frame representations of the economy, of value, and of economic reason. The postholders will contribute to the overall project objectives, and will undertake specialised research on the national economic press since 1945 for one national case study, to be assigned by the project director. The two case studies are United Kingdom and Argentina. The postholders will be expected to define a research agenda within the broad framework of the project’s central questions. The posts are available for 12 months in the first instance, with an expected start date of no later than 1st September 2015. Continue reading →
In 2018 the Economist magazine will be 175 years old. This conference is a prelude to a book that will examine the political, economic and cultural impact of one of the most significant news publications in the modern world. The workshop will take place at University College London over 2 days: 24-25 of September 2015. We seek to bring together journalists and researchers from many fields including economic, social and political historians, cultural analysts, sociologists, literary and media scholars. Papers are invited on any topic connected to The Economist, past and present, and the following suggested topics are intended to be neither prescriptive nor comprehensive: Continue reading →
Valor Economico is currently the leading economic journal in Brazil. Despite it’s being relatively new (it was created in 2000), it has quickly become the top venue for specialised economic discussion. Inspired by the Financial Times, Valor aims to produce pluralistic, well-informed, analytical reporting on the economy, and the social and political issues that surround business. As its title suggests, the journal claims to produce news that generates economic value. How to explain Valor’s rapid success? This post draws on three months of ethnographic observations in Valor Economico’s Sao Paulo newsroom and on thirty interviews with members of its staff. I’m grateful for the generous disposition of Valor’s editorial direction, and the many journalists who shared their working practices and perspectives with me. Without their openness, this research would not be possible. Continue reading →
Estudios de la Economía 