Viajando através do Jornal Hoje: os destinos turísticos do “Tô de folga”

Traveling has become a valued pastime nowadays. The fact that since 2008 there has been a segment dedicated exclusively to tourism on one of the main Brazilian television news program is testimony to this trend. And it was in order to unpack the newsworthiness criteria adopted by Jornal Hoje (JH) for the choice of tourist destinations, also for identifying the regions and states of the country most represented on the news, that the present article was developed. This critical analysis was done from a sampling involving 44 reports in the period between January 1 and December 31, 2010 and participant observation, including within the JH newsroom in Sao Paulo. The data was submitted to a protocol of Content Analysis, and in addition, pattern-matching was utilized. It was found that the Northeast was the preferred itinerary of the special series of reporting, with the greatest participation coming from the state of Bahia. In general, both well-known and picturesque locals were detected. All, however, were identified as possessing newsworthiness related to one or more of the following news values: curiosity, novelty, fame/importance of the tourist destination, factuality, personalities, opportunity and imagery appeal. Thus, these criteria confirm an underlying effort to enchant the viewer rather than espousing an editorial policy aimed at selling something. Keywords: tourism, journalism, newsmaking, Rede Globo.