The role of media in constructing and deconstructing narratives: Eike Batista's story
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v18i4.63873Abstract
This paper aims to analyze the influential role of media in shaping perceptions of Eike Batista's image, exploring the formation and alteration of public views. The media serves as a crucial influencer, disseminating interpretive frameworks that underpin societal realities and interactions. This study applies the theoretical constructs of sensemaking and sensegiving to elucidate the media's ability to generate and convey meaning. Employing a qualitative, interpretive, and descriptive methodology, this research conducts a comprehensive analysis based on various sources. These include ten televised interviews with Eike Batista, 5,117 news articles from O Estado de São Paulo newspaper, and scrutiny of four journalistic books. The investigation identifies a three-phase evolution in media discourses: construction, transition, and deconstruction, characterizing the amalgamation of shared meanings that propagate biased perceptions. Through diverse narratives, the media significantly shapes public perceptions of the entrepreneur's actions and persona. This study significantly contributes to understanding the processes of sense formation and dissolution, providing deeper insights into the media's societal impact. Furthermore, it proposes an interdisciplinary approach bridging media studies and organizational research, emphasizing the concurrent exploration of sensemaking and sensegiving. Thus, this research introduces avenues for interdisciplinary scholarship and analysis.
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