Political press coverage bias during the Brazilian presidential elections of 2002, 2006 and 2010

Abstract

This article analyzes the political bias of the press coverage in the presidential elections of 2002, 2006 and 2010, based on the content analysis of the Folha de S. Paulo, O Estado de S. Paulo and O Globo newspapers. As a first hypothesis, it assesses whether the space granted to the candidates in the newspapers would be at odds with their political importance or their position in the electoral contest. However, since these criteria do not necessarily guarantee a balance in coverage, the second hypothesis evaluates whether there is a significant difference in coverage by the newspapers, based on an anti-PT coverage bias index. The statistical tests used were Granger causality test, ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD. Although there are biases in the press coverage, mainly in the opinionated content, the analysis rejected the existence of a clear and systematic pattern of preference for a particular party or candidate on the newspapers’ pages.

Keywords:
press coverage; media bias; Brazilian presidential elections; printed newspapers