“We are from the Frontier of Peace: Journalistic identity and cultural identity, silence and discrimination

Abstract

The debate on journalism and cultural identity allows the reflection about journalism as a practice that is institutionalized and internationalized and, simultaneously, is anchored in a specific place and time, fulfilling a key role in cultural and symbolic exchanges. This article addresses the position adopted by the press of the ‘Frontier of peace’, composed of the border cities Santana do Livramento (Brazil) and Rivera (Uruguay), facing the main mark of identity of the region: portunhol, which gained new importance with the arrival of COVID-19. The case study analyzes, from a quali-quanti perspective, the approach taken by two local newspapers: A Plateia (Santana do Livramento) and Diário Norte (Rivera). The sample is composed of editions from two time periods: May 2016 and May-June 2020, when the “Cuplé de Rivera” was released, on the radio program La mesa de los galanes, broadcast by FM del Sol, from Montevideo. The research highlights the “negotiation” between journalistic identity and cultural identity in local journalism. As well as observes some of the plots developed in the construction of meaning around the portunhol and its cause in silencing and discrimination.