Expressions of grief at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazilian newspapers

Abstract

This is a retrospective descriptive documentary research with a quantitative approach, considering the months of March to June 2020. It aimed to demonstrate expressions of grief in communication vehicles about COVID-19. Articles from the 12 main newspapers in circulation in Brazil were collected and analyzed, namely: Zero Hora; A Tarde; UOL; O Povo; Estado de São Paulo; Correio Brasiliense; R7; O Globo; Super Notícia; G1; Terra; Folha de São Paulo. 67 articles were selected, of which 11.9% were from R7 and 10.4% were from UOL. In relation to month of publication by newspapers: 1.5% were from March; 25.4% were from April; 43.3% were from May and 29.9% were from June. As for the types of clipping, 56.7% of the writings were news report, 28.4% were news stories and 14.9% were interviews. The most common types of grief were due to death (85.1%), loss of an object of esteem (13.4%) and loss of routine (1.5%). Of the types of expressions, religious was the most common (23.9%), followed by emotional (20.9%), political and others (17.9% each). It was evident that grief is still a taboo in the media, as it is given little attention and appears as a relevant topic only in situations of tragedies (when lives are lost). The expressions ‘deaths’ and ‘losses’ were always connected to the end of life, although during the pandemic there are also death of dreams, jobs, quality of life, and countless other things that may not be remade or replaced.