Mídia, tradição, identidade : televisão e negociação de pertenciamento em Timor-Leste

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the relations between the mass media, tradition and identity in East Timor. The specific objectives are to understand how mass media, especially television, work in the process of construction and negotiation of identity and the sense of belonging of the population. The discussion of the socio-historical context of East Timor and its process of nation building was made with the objective in understanding the nation s social context. The theoretical part was supported by the British Cultural Studies which counts with authors such as Hall and Kellner, and with the collaboration of Latin American Theory of Communication supported by Latin American thinkers such as Canclíni and Martín-Barbero. The ethnographic methods in Communication Studies adopted from the anthropological method of research, with the Participant Observation were used as the main research technique. The panorama of the local mass media of the country is a fundamental discussion in understanding the current map of the mass media and its role in the construction of the identity and the sense of belongingness.