Sobre a comunicação político-partidária na Internet: um estudo dos informativos digitais do PT e do PSDB

Abstract

Political party communications on the Internet: a study of the digital newsletters of the PT and the PSDB – The purpose of this work is to evaluate how Brazilian political parties use their newsletters distributed by e-mail, which are intended to provide opinion-forming information for citizens with access to the Internet. The main question here is how President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration is characterized in two specific newsletters: the first, called Informes PT, produced by the leadership of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party) in the Chamber of Deputies; the second, called Diário Tucano, published by the leadership of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democratic Party), which opposes President Lula’s administration in Congress. At certain points, the argumentative dispute about certain issues extends beyond the floor of Congress, reaching the Internet through party websites and newsletters. The news and opinions set forth in the aforementioned newsletters is analyzed to ascertain to what extent these two main Brazilian parties use the Internet as another instrument to compete for citizens’ votes and political support. The main conclusion is that the conventional media (such as radio and television) still receives the major portion of attention and investment by Brazilian parties and their media consultants, who have yet to learn how to deal with a medium that can provide more interactive opportunities for political participation and discussion.