Newspapers and elections : an empirical study on the relationship between electoral interest and newspapers in Brazil (2004-2014)

Abstract

It assesses whether in Brazil there is some correlation between the electoral interest and the interest in newspapers. It developes two frequencies of the Beta type on Google Trends, one for the topic newspaper and another for the topic election for a period of 10 years, from 2004 to 2014. The results show that there is a strong positive correlation between these two tracks of interest (r=0,213, p <0,001), indicating that the voter during election campaigns, searches the newspapers to be informed and make their decision.

Afere se no Brasil há alguma relação entre o interesse eleitoral e o interesse por jornais. Desenvolveram-se no Google Trends duas frequências do tipo Beta, sendo uma para o tópico newspaper e outra na o tópico election no período de 10 anos (2004 á 2014). Os resultados mostram que existe uma correlação positiva entre estas duas faixas de interesse (r= 0.213, p = < 0.001), o que indica que o eleitor, durante campanhas eleitorais, busca os jornais para se informar e balizar sua decisão.