Legal-moral discourse and health in the news on the program Crack, it’s Possible to Win

Abstract

The study has the objective of investigating the news frames on the program “Crack, it is possible to overcome” published in the main printed communication means in Bahia between December 2011 and December 2014. The aim is to analyze the disputes between the different projects in the drug policies in Brazil, understanding that such power disputes are crossed by the media coverage.  Considering the fact that the media frames are means of socially shared interpretation, the analyses of the news identified Legal-Moral, Political-Economic, Health Policy and Biomedical frames, that define crack as a legal and safety issue, expressed by blaming the users for the social ills. Despite being a minority, the Health Policy frame emerges as an important counterpoint evidencing the tensions that shape the area. The expectations of the research are to support investigations dedicated to the analysis of the means of appropriation of discourses of the media on crack by professionals responsible for healthcare.