Crise política e mídia: a construção do caso mensalão nas capas das Revistas Veja e Carta

Abstract

Several kinds of scandals always happen. But, with all the transformations that shaped modern societies, the nature, size, and consequences of these scandals were modified. In this scenario, the media political scandal (MPS) comes up, it impacts people's life and the construction of the political debate. In Brazil, a series of cases gained visibility with consequences that last until now. The 'Mensalão' case is a legitimate example of political scandal that has become a media event. For months, several media outlets highlighted the subject, causing the population to get involved. Considering this context, the present study is aiming to examine the construction of the 'Mensalão' case on the covers of the Veja and Carta Capital magazines paying attention to the expressiveness of the colour elements, text and photo-illustration. The body of the research encompasses editions from may, to December 2005, apex of the brazilian political crisis, created because of this scandal. Seeking to achieve the objectives, we use the most appropriate methodology, content analysis, and relevant literature sources. Based on data from the research and in the presented reflections, it can be said that the construction (or approach) of the 'Mensalão' case on the covers of Veja and Carta Capital followed the script of the theoretical proposed models.