Participação de crianças e adolescentes na produção de conteúdo do Jornal Joca

Abstract

This dissertation aims to make an exploratory analysis about the participation of children and teenagers in professional journalistic contexts through the case study of Joca — a brand linked to the Magia de Ler publishing house that produces multiplatform products for this age group. We understand reader participation as any action by the audience that helps in the production of content for an institutionalized media. To map the functioning of this process, we carried out a documentary analysis of five periodical Joca products published between February 2020 and January 2021; we conducted interviews with the vehicle's founder and journalism team; we conducted interviews and applied questionnaires with the other actors involved in the participation process, namely: children and adolescents, their parents/guardians and educators who use the material in the classroom. Our findings shed light on reader participation from a cross-platform perspective, showing that reader participation is structural in Joca, being institutionally encouraged and practiced at all stages of content production, incorporating old and new forms of participation. Through the detailed description of how this process occurs at Joca, we point out continuities in relation to other initiatives of the genre, particularities of children's participation and open avenues of investigation for future studies.