THE INFLUENCE OF BROADCASTING RIGHTS ON SPORTS JOURNALISM: A STUDY WITH JOURNALISTS ON THE COVERAGE OF THE RIO/2016 PARALYMPIC GAMES

ABSTRACT: The objective of the investigation was to characterize influences of image and transmission rights in production of news about the Rio/2016 Paralympic Games. This study was qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and inspired by some characteristics of news making studies. We interviewed 15 journalists and editors from different Brazilian media groups and newspapers that covered that sports mega event. The definitions and delimitations of journalistic making guided by commercial issues - such as time and space limits to interview athletes and occasional difficulty to access regional sports idols for news coverage directed to specific locations - indicate that, when broadcasting rights are not available, the breadth and complexity of the information collected by journalists for the production of news is restricted.