Sistema deliberativo e tensões entre interesses públicos e privados : a criação da Empresa Brasil de comunicação em debate no Congresso e na imprensa

Abstract

This thesis investigates the public debate about the creation of the first Brazilian public broadcasting system – the Brazil Communications Company (EBC, in Portuguese). My premise is that the formation of public opinion and the discursive policy-making process take place in a range of contexts that pertain to a Deliberative System. I analyze the argumentative dynamics in two deliberative moments: (1) the mass media (the main arena of visibility and representation of public opinion in contemporary democracies); and (2) the Parliament (a discursive sphere of political representation and decision-making). I consider the contexts, actors and arguments present in 236 parliamentary speeches on the Brazilian House of Representatives Floor, and 235 stories published in print media (Carta Capital, Veja, Folha de S. Paulo, and O Globo), from 2006 to 2008. The results showed that while the Floor is more likely to discuss themes strictly tied to the voting agenda, the media are more prone to cover and promote middle- and long-term debates. The participation in parliamentary debates was egalitarian; nonetheless there were explicit conflicts between party leaderships. In this regard the press had privileged those actors institutionally authorized to speak on behalf of the EBC. The work found evidences of the argumentative capacity of both spheres, but, in the cases here analyzed, only the press portrayed the controversy and changed their initial positions. There was public deliberation about (1) the policy making process itself, (2) the regulation of mass communication, (3) the character and values of public service broadcasting, (4) the quality standards of broadcasting stations, and (5) technical and administrative issues. The outcomes of discursive process about the creation of EBC included: (1) the improvement of some decisions, and (2) the development of the debate about some topics. Some parts of this process have had non-deliberative characteristics: one identified (3) decisions that resulted of agreements and bargaining, (4) decisions taken unilaterally by a majority group, and finally, (5) the stagnation of the issue, by its incomplete thematization.