This study takes as a starting point the importance and dependence of the media to obtain information about the pandemic. The dependency theory of the media system was developed in the 1970s when mass media were the dominant source of information. Today, at a time when media choices have become abundant, studies are needed to understand the phenomenon of media dependence in light of new dimensions made important by the transformations that have taken place in the social and media fields—where the coexistence of mass media with social media platforms stands out. As large-scale crises rarely occur and the media environment changes rapidly, it is important to analyze how media dependence relates to choose and trust in different media (traditional media vs. social media) in times of crisis. Several questions arise. What is the trust attributed by individuals to social media as sources of information about COVID-19? How well informed are the individuals who choose these sources as the main sources of information? From a questionnaire administered to 244 individuals in Portugal, during the first week of the state of emergency (March 2020), this research seeks to identify how people gained access to information about COVID-19, how they acted critically towards the various sources and how they assess the reliability of different media. Finally, it analyzes the association between the type of medium chosen and adherence to misinformation content about the virus. The results reveal the existence of a phenomenon of dependence on the media, with a strong exposure (both active and accidental) to informative content, with conventional media being privileged as the main source, and positively distinguished in terms of confidence. Finally, a statistically significant association of a positive sign was identified between the use of social media as the main source and the acceptance of misinformation.

This article re-evaluates the relevance of the concept of gatekeeping in the 21st century. Sustained in the literature on this subject, it argues that, in an age marked by new media and digital journalism, a classical understanding of the concept of gatekeeper will narrow the scope of the study of journalism and its relationship with the public.  Taking into account the predominant trends and lines of research, and analyzing practices and events that, from a political point of view, marked the most recent years, this article seeks to reflect upon new directions with civic value for the practice of journalism and on a reconfigured concept of the gatekeeper in the western word. It concludes by showing the normalization of the new media devices and their appropriateness to conventional values and practices of journalism.Este artigo reavalia a relevância do conceito de gatekeeping no século XXI. Sustentado na literatura sobre esta matéria, argumenta que, numa era marcada pelos novos media e pelo jornalismo digital, um entendimento clássico do conceito de gatekeeper cerceará o âmbito do estudo do jornalismo e da sua relação com os públicos. Deste modo, tomando em consideração as tendências e as linhas de investigação predominantes, e analisando práticas e acontecimentos que, de um ponto de vista político, marcaram os anos mais recentes, o artigo procura equacionar novos sentidos, com valor cívico, para a ação do jornalismo e para uma noção reconfigurada do gatekeeper no mundo ocidental. Conclui mostrando a normalização e a adequação dos novos dipositivos mediáticos a valores e práticas convencionais do jornalismo.Este artículo re-evalúa la relevancia del concepto de "gatekeeping" en el siglo XXI. Sostenido en la literatura sobre este tema, argumenta que, en una época marcada por los nuevos medios y el periodismo digital, una comprensión clásica del concepto de gatekeeper reducirá el alcance del estudio del periodismo y su relación con el público. Teniendo en cuenta las tendencias y líneas de investigación predominantes, y el análisis de las prácticas y eventos que, desde un punto de vista político, marcaron los últimos años, este artículo busca reflexionar sobre nuevas direcciones con valor cívico para la práctica del periodismo y sobre un concepto reconfigurado del gatekeeper en el mundo occidental. Concluye mostrando la normalización de los nuevos dispositivos y su adecuación a los valores y prácticas convencionales del periodismo.

RESUMO -Que perceção têm os jornalistas sobre o papel dos cidadãos na vida democrática? Qual é o papel que os jornalistas atribuem ao público na construção da agenda informativa? O principal objetivo deste estudo é investigar a relação entre a imprensa local, os cidadãos e as práticas cívicas. Toma como ponto de partida uma abordagem teórica dupla -a teoria da democracia deliberativa e o movimento do jornalismo público -para avaliar o alcance de uma conceção de "jornalismo deliberativo." No âmbito do projecto "Agenda dos Cidadãos: jornalismo e participação política nos media portugueses", um conjunto de questionários foi aplicado a 45 jornalistas dos principais jornais regionais em Portugal. Com o enfoque na importância da agenda do cidadão para o processo de decisão dos jornalistas, os resultados mostram que, embora os jornalistas apreciem os princípios subjacentes aos movimentos do jornalismo público e da democracia deliberativa (o que sugere que uma consciência deliberativo estará a emergir), também expressam a persistência de uma abordagem própria do jornalismo convencional. Palavras-chave: Imprensa Local. Democracia Deliberativa. Jornalismo Público. Práticas de Jornalismo. Agenda-Setting.PODe a ParticiPaÇÃO Da cOMUNiDaDe Ser GeraDa Pela aGeNDa Da iMPreNSa lOcal? Práticas deliberativas na imprensa regional portuguesa ABSTRACT -What are journalists' perceptions of the citizen's role in democratic life? What is the role that journalists attribute to the public in the construction of the news agenda? The main goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between the local press, citizens and civic practices. It takes as starting point a dual theoretical approach, the theory of deliberative democracy and the public journalism movement, to assess the scope of the concept of "deliberative journalism." Under the aegis of the project "Citizens' Agenda: journalism and political participation in the Portuguese media", questionnaires were delivered to 45 journalists from the main regional newspapers in Portugal. Focusing on the importance of the citizen's agenda for the journalists' decision making process, the results show that although the journalists appreciate the principles underlying the public and deliberative journalism movements (which suggests that a deliberative consciousness is emerging), they also express the permanency of a conventional journalism approach. Keywords: Local press. Deliberative democracy. Public journalism. Journalism practices. Agenda setting. 185BRAZILIAN JOURNALISM RESEARCH -Volume 9 -Number 2 -2013 DOES COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION SET THE LOCAL PRESS AGENDA?¿PUeDe Ser GeNeraDa la ParticiPaciÓN De la cOMUNiDaD POr la aGeNDa De la PreNSa lOcal? Prácticas deliberativas en la prensa regional portuguesa RESUMEN -¿Qué percepción tienen los periodistas sobre el papel de los ciudadanos en la vida democrática? ¿Cuál es el papel que los periodistas atribuyen al público en la construcción de la agenda informativa? El objetivo principal de este estudio es investigar la relación entre la prensa ...

This study takes as a starting point the importance and dependence of the media (Ball-Rokeach & DeFleur, 1976) to obtain information about the pandemic. The dependency theory of the media system was developed in the 1970s when mass media were the dominant source of information. Today, at a time when media choices have become abundant, studies are needed to understand the phenomenon of media dependence in light of new dimensions made important by the transformations that have taken place in the social and media fields - where the coexistence of mass media with social media platforms stands out. As large-scale crises rarely occur and the media environment changes rapidly, it is important to analyze how media dependence relates to choose and trust in different media (traditional media vs. social media) in times of crisis. Several questions arise. What is the trust attributed by individuals to social media as sources of information about the COVID-19? How well informed are the individuals who choose these sources as the main sources of information? From a questionnaire administered to 240 individuals in Portugal, during the first week of the state of emergency (March 2020), this research seeks to identify how people gained access to information about the COVID-19, how they acted critically towards the various sources and how they assess the reliability of different media. Finally, it analyzes the association between the type of medium chosen and adherence to misinformation content about the virus. The results reveal the existence of a phenomenon of dependence on the media, with a strong exposure (both active and accidental) to informative content, with conventional media being privileged as the main source, and positively distinguished in terms of confidence. Finally, a statistically significant association of a positive sign was identified between the use of social media as the main source and the acceptance of misinformation.

Que perceção têm os jornalistas sobre o papel dos cidadãos na vida democrática? Qual é o papel que os jornalistas atribuem ao público na construção da agenda informativa? O principal objetivo deste estudo é investigar a relação entre a imprensa local, os cidadãos e as práticas cívicas. Toma como ponto de partida uma abordagem teórica dupla - a teoria da democracia deliberativa e o movimento do jornalismo público - para avaliar o alcance de uma conceção de “jornalismo deliberativo”. No âmbito do projecto “Agenda dos Cidadãos: jornalismo e participação política nos media portugueses”, um conjunto de questionários foi aplicado a 45 jornalistas dos principais jornais regionaisem Portugal. Como enfoque na importância da agenda do cidadão para o processo de decisão dos jornalistas, os resultados mostram que, embora os jornalistas apreciem os princípios subjacentes aos movimentos do jornalismo público e da democracia deliberativa (o que sugere que uma consciência deliberativo estará a emergir), também expressam a persistência de uma abordagem própria do jornalismo convencional.