Voices & audiovisual: the Coronavirus crisis and the coverage of The Intercept Brasil on Instagram

Abstract

The study uses as an empirical object the coverage of The Intercept Brasil about the Coronavirus published on Instagram stories in order to understand how different voices are incorporated into the audiovisual content that was produced. The corpus was composed of nine highlights on the Intercept’s profile, totaling 260 stories. Based on bibliographic research, the parameters of analysis were determined, and the documentary research guided the contextualization of the empirical object, in a qualitative approach. The narratives promote trust and credibility in what is told from the witness point of view that the subjective camera allows, taking the public around environments, permitting them to observe places and people, interact with subjects, constituting records of referenciality reinforced by direct sound. The editing features with the insertion of textual elements ensures the understanding of what goes on without the audio being activated. The presence of different contributions is in line with the editorial proposal of the vehicle and reveals characteristics such as horizontality, participation and user engagement. The stories are used to tell narratives, not just serving as a way to redirect to the site. The coverage gives visibility to realities that do not usually gain space in traditional business models and was driven to/on Instagram by the situation created by the pandemic and social isolation.

Keywords: Audio visual. The Intercept Brasil. User generated content. Instagram. Coronavirus.