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Acero, L. (2022). Regenerative Medicine in Brazilian Television News: Storytelling and Public Engagement. Advances in Social Sciences Research
Journal, 9(6). 250-269.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.96.12487
(PEST), TV news plays a key role for people’s comprehension of medicine, as well as for
informed decision-making concerning personal health.
RM changes conventional medical practices, focusing upon the repair and regeneration of cells,
tissues and genes. Research into RM is accompanied by narratives of hopes for new cures
[Bubela et al., 2012]; stem cell and gene-based therapies have been mainly used to treat fatal
and rare diseases. While presented as promising, these therapies are raising key matters of
concern on risk and uncertainty as well as the need for new forms of regulation [Morrison,
2012].
This essay is based on a science and technology in society (STS) coproduction and PUS approach
applied to the study of one sector of “peripheral” science/medicine in an emerging economy
[Kreimer & Vessuri, 2018; Rodriguez Medina et al., 2019]. It explores TV news items,
rebroadcasted in video format and hosted in YouTube, on regenerative medicine (RM) in Brazil,
and sets out to answer the following two questions:
1.What are the main characteristics of Brazilian TV science communication in the context of
PUS/PEST (in RM in particular)?
2.Which are the main RM-associated meanings, experiences and emotions transmitted by
recent Brazilian television news segments published as videos?
Trends in Latin American TV Science Communication
While the public communication of scientific findings has received more academic attention in
recent decades [Castell et al., 2014; Murcott & Williams, 2013], it remains under-studied in
Latin America [Patiño et al., 2017]. In this region, science communication takes place mainly
through TV programmes, the printed press and social media resources [Massarani et al., 2017],
though other scientific-oriented activities have been promoted through public policies for “the
popularization of science” [Tait Lima et al., 2010].
Television news is often accorded second-class status due to the “superficiality” and
“sensationalism” of content transmission [Da Silva Ribeiro & Massarani, 2010, p. 5]. The
preconceptions of journalists about the public – their “presumed audiences” – have also been
identified as hindrances to accurate TV reporting [Halpern & O’Rouke, 2020].
A number of empirical studies on television news at a regional level [e.g.; Massarani, 2014,
2015] or in the larger Latin American countries have been published [among them, Orozco,
2014 a, b ] . Carvalho [2016], basing his analysis on data from the National Science Council
[CNPq] in Brazil, determines the local academic relevance of public media because it is the
object of study of 9 research groups with a total of 15 lines of research - only two of them dealing
with TV science communication. Moreover, only a few studies on Brazilian science and health
TV programmes have been published [e.g. Porto, 2007, 2012; Ramalho et al.,
2012; Castelfranchi et al., 2014; Da Silva Ribeiro & Massarani, 2010; Reznik et al., 2014;
Ramalho et al., 2017].
As the “democratic opening” unfolded in Brazil towards the end of the 1980s, there was
heterogeneous growth of national and regional news channels. The Globo channel lost its
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 9, Issue 6, June-2022
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
monopoly, though it still has the highest audience share, especially at peak hours. Globo also
changed its “editorial concept” or publishing strategy [Ardèvol-Abreu & Gil de Zúñiga, 2016],
distanced itself from simply reporting official versions of affairs, and introduced science
segments within daily newscasts [Porto, 2007]. The new line of coverage placed limits on the
freedom of journalists to determine agenda-setting, news content and programme
characteristics.
The daily national news produced by the private channel O Globo, Jornal Nacional [JN)] is
broadcast at peak times and has an audience of more than a fourth of national households [O
Globo, 2019]; it dedicated 7.3% of its time to cover scientific news between April 2009 and
March 2010 [Ramalho et al., 2012]; the news items deal mostly with health and typically only
have a duration of less than two minutes. The channel lacks a specialized section on science,
nor does it have scientific reporters in its team, as local science journalism has not established
its legitimacy [Massarani, 2015]. News programmes praise novelty and scientific progress,
though the reporting lacks critical interpretation [Castelfranchi et al., 2014].
Reznik et al. [2014], who analyzed one year of science news coverage of the programme
Repórter Brasil, as shown on the national channel TV Brasil, identified 72 television news
segments that took up, on average, 3.8% of daily airtime and usually covered national scientific
breakthroughs. Meanwhile, Ramalho et al. [2017], comparing TV science news in Brazil and
Colombia in 2009–2010, observed that JN’s coverage was double that of the Colombian
programme Noticias Caracol, and more frequently presented longer segments, with better
visuals. To date, no Brazilian studies of TV news concerning RM have been published1, indeed
these are lacking across the Latin American region2. Brazilian and regional studies on TV news
tend to address scientific/medical coverage as a whole [Massarani et al., 2017; Massarani, 2014,
2015].
Public Perceptions of Science and Technology and Regenerative Medicine in Brazil
The first national opinion poll evaluating social perceptions on science and technology (S&T)
in Brazil was carried out in 1987, with subsequent surveys being conducted in 2006, 2010 and
2015, and 2019 (the last of these still only partially processed) [Centro de Gestão e Estudos
Estratégicos [CGEE], 2020]. The 2015 national survey showed that general interest in S&T was
very high, especially on topics related health and medicine. Paradoxically though, 93% of the
respondents stated that they did not know the name of any well-known local scientist and only
13% recalled the name of a Brazilian research centre [CGEE, 2017, p.16]. The survey also found
that TV news was the main source of information on science for 79% of interviewees [CGEE,
2017, p. 48]. The number of people who very frequently consulted the internet and social media
regarding science was double the number who consulted printed newspapers. More than half
of the survey participants considered the quality of internet and TV news to be satisfactory;
those unsatisfied mentioned the following reasons: (a) coverage of an insufficient number of
scientific topics, (b) frequent use of untrustworthy sources, (c) low-quality content, (d) biased
reports, (e) omissions of the risks caused by S&T, and (f) difficulties in understanding the news
contents. These results contrast strongly with almost two-thirds of interviewees ́ expressed
contentment with internet/social media news quality. Also, 43% of participants considered
scientific progress in Brazil to be lagging due to scarce investment in research, most especially
in medicine.