The Limits of Politics and the Deflation of Conflicts: Journalism as a Manager of Consensus

Resumo

This article discusses the political activism of journalism building upon a critical analysis of the effects of the distinction between partisan and professional journalism. Journalism actively expresses a situated political stance or position that is not circumscribed to conjunctures in which it must choose sides or electoral disputes. It is an expression of one part or party in disputes, even when stable political or partisan alignments are inexistent. The notion of impartiality or the capacity to transcend disputes is embedded, and not an alternative, to partisanship. Journalistic activity will correspond to the naturalized expression of an understanding of politics that define the boundaries within which controversy unfolds, the agenda and the actors to be regarded as politically legitimate. By reproducing in newscasts the boundaries of democratic politics in its current configuration, journalism promotes the deflation of fundamental conflicts that are essential to achieve greater political pluralism. At the same time, it positions itself as a “manager of consensus”.