Limits in the media: the representation of the Tri-Border Area in the newspapers Folha de S.Paulo and O Globo (2011-2019)

Abstract

The Tri-Border Area between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay is often seen as a lawless region, which ignores its character as a center of energy resources, commerce, and tourism. The focus of this article is to identify the representations about the region in Brazil’s two most widely read newspapers, the Folha de S.Paulo and O Globo, and if they reinforce these images. To do so, the concepts of framing and agenda-setting are used. A qualitative analysis was complemented by the use of NVivo software to detect the words most frequently associated with the region. The results indicate a predominance of issues related to illegalities in the press coverage, especially terrorism. Of the total texts about the Tri-Border Area published between 2011 and 2019, 55.5% in O Globo and 47% in Folha contained references to illegalities. The root terror- was present, respectively, in 39% and 40% of the texts. We conclude that the press coverage of the region does not follow specific events (event-driven). Members of security forces are the preeminent sources of reports, and the absence of dissonant voices tends to reinforce the region’s image of insecurity and the need for solutions that involve support border surveillance and control solutions.

Triple Frontier; press; terrorism; framing; agenda-setting