Umberto Eco, Number Zero and journalism in the 21st century

• Grant number: 18/04748-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2018
• End date: September 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Journalism and Publishing
• Principal Investigator: Osvando José de Morais
• Grantee: Tatiany Cristina Oliveira Garcia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura, Artes e Comunicação (FAAC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

It is proposed to rethink journalism based on the criticism made by the philosopher and linguist Umberto Eco in his work, published in 2015, Number Zero. The author, in his trajectory, was a critical scholar of the media and among other specialties, a dedicated bibliophile in all its dimensions. Echo has made a strong picture of current journalism, based on traditional journalism, with an attempt to seek or get as close to the concept of truth as possible, and to counter current journalistic practices, such as Fake News and Agenda Setting. However, patterns of manipulation of the press, as Perseus Abramo recalls, such as concealment, fragmentation, inversion and induction have always been present in journalism. Our purpose to discuss current journalism from the work of Umberto Eco is justified, for although the novel was published in 1992, the author anticipates many of these journalistic phenomena today. Thus, the main objective of this work is to analyze the critical contributions of Umberto Eco, not only as a critic and as thinker of the media, but also as a Philosopher and Semioticist, who contributed much to the study of communication. One cannot fail to analyze this project without the concept of ideology, which, as an instrument of study, makes it possible to relate the work of the Italian author to current journalism. The methodological tools will have as basic reference, mainly, the novel of fiction, Number Zero and other essential texts of the author that base the discussions on the new journalistic practices and the new concepts. It is intended to include the theoretical currents of communication that can dialogue with some ideas of Umberto Eco. One last question, no less important that we included in the project: Would it be possible to make an analysis of the novel Number Zero, considering it as cultural journalism?