“Immune to Injunctions of Power”: How Brazilian Newspapers Use Metajournalistic Discourse to Defend Journalistic Authority

Based on the premise that neoinstitutionalist theory aids a better understanding of Journalism practice, this article examines how Brazilian quality papers defend journalistic authority through metajournalistic discourse. To this end, this study encompasses a Content Analysis of 823 journalistic texts (770 news stories and 53 editorials) published by Folha de S. Paulo, O Estado de S. Paulo, and O Globo in 2019 and 2020. The time frame is relevant since it covers the first half of Jair Bolsonaro’s Presidency, a period marked by hostility toward the press that may have triggered more straightforward defenses of journalistic authority by news outlets. The results indicate that the three newspapers defend journalistic authority with narratives that emphasize normative characteristics of the activity, with frequent references to principles such as independence, objectivity, and impartiality. Editorials and news stories also associate Journalism with preserving democracy. Furthermore, the study reveals that attributes of professional journalists are used to reinforce journalistic authority. The article contributes to the literature by mapping metajournalistic discourses in a Global South scenario, and by discussing how stressing the institutional characteristics of Journalism and reinforcing its boundaries constitute a marketing asset for journalistic companies in the context of business challenges and political attacks.