Ética Periodística a Principios del Siglo XXI - Monitorando

1. MEDIA REGULATION: POWER AND ACTION
The purpose of this work is to analyze the end of a Portuguese news bulletin
called “Jornal Nacional de Sexta”, broadcasted in the private broadcaster “TVI”. Also
the legal framework related to the reasons appointed for its end as well as the regulatory
activity it originated are approached. The finale of this program was on September 3,
2009 and was a decision of the company’s administration, a day before it was supposed
to come back to the screen after a pause for vacations.
The announcement of the decision by the voice of Bernard Bairrão 57 led to
resignation of a few companies’ professionals. Accordingly, Manuela Moura Guedes
and João Maia Abreu resigned from their executive positions at the station (Deputy
Director and Director of Information, respectively) as well as Mário Moura, who
resigned as deputy director. This brief review of the case allows us to see that several
topics rose up in this context, having triggered the performance of the Regulatory Entity
for the Media (ERC) 58 in February. In fact, its Regulatory Council considered the end of
the program an "illegal" act and decided towards the opening of a inquiring procedure
(Resolution 6/Out-TV/2009) 59 .
This is not the first intervention of the state media regulatory entity in episodes
involving this operator’s performance. In fact, there were previous resolutions which
focused on the mentioned program’s content following complaints against some of their
issues (Resolution 11/CONT-TV/2009) 60 . However, ERC’s intervention on this
particular case is intimately related to legal matters regarding the legitimacy of the
administrative decision to end the program, under Article 8, paragraph a) of ERC’s
Statute, which posits the "free exercise of the right to information and freedom of
press".
57 Bernardo Bairrão has, cumulatively, the duties of managing director of Media Capital and of managing director of
TVI (after departure of José Eduardo Moniz, current Vice President of Ongoing Media).
58 ERC was created by legal provision (Law No. 53/2005 of 8 November), under the powers of Parliament (c) of
Article 161 of the Portuguese Constitution).
59
Available online at http://www.erc.pt/index.php?op=downloads&enviar=enviar&lang=pt&id=1234 [accessed
12/11/2009].
60
Available online at http://www.erc.pt/index.php?op=downloads&enviar=enviar&lang=pt&id=1023 [accessed
30/01/2010].
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