Technological Fascination and Data Capture of the Work Process in Alternative Communication Arrangements

• Grant number: 25/10313-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Journalism and Publishing
• Principal Investigator: Roseli Aparecida Figaro Paulino
• Grantee: Talitha de Lima Paratela
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/05714-0 - Datafication of communication and work activities in communicators' arrangements: the struggles with the determinations of platform companies, AP.TEM

Abstract

The project investigates the transformations in the communication sector and the impact of digital platforms on the work of communicators operating within alternative economic arrangements (FÍGARO, 2018). This qualitative research is based on a documentary and bibliographic methodological approach, as well as on the analysis of interviews with communicators from 18 alternative media outlets in São Paulo, categorized into six clusters, and on the observation of their work either in person or online, within their virtual newsrooms (SILVA, 2019). The general objective is to analyze the discourse of these communicators regarding digital security and data collection by platforms, aiming to understand their workflow within these arrangements. The specific objectives include the analysis of: representations of the platforms; discourses on privacy and security; the operation of devices and interfaces in data collection; and the data collection processes carried out by Data Management Platforms (DMPs). The analysis is grounded in the theoretical premise of verbal thought as a unit of meaning (VYGOTSKY, 1934) and in Leontiev's activity theory (2004). The working hypothesis is that communicators tend to normalize data collection due to technological fascination (VIEIRA PINTO, 2005). The research guiding questions explore: representations of platforms; discourses on security and data capture; their relationship with alternative economic arrangements and platform monetization; and communication processes as labor processes. (AU)