Cannabis Coverage and the Distribution of Voices in the Portuguese Media Ecosystem
Débora Paulino
Abstract
Media representations help define public issues, but their significance lies not only in how a subject is framed but also in whose perspectives receive visibility and authority. Cannabis offers a useful case for examining these dynamics in Portugal, where medical, industrial and recreational uses occupy different legal and social positions. This case study analyses 48 articles published by Público, Expresso and Observador between January 2019 and April 2020. Articles primarily focused on criminality were excluded to examine coverage beyond crime-centred narratives. The content analysis considered journalistic genres, information sources, main and secondary themes, principal protagonists, tone and framing. Medicinal cannabis was the main theme in 64.6% of articles, followed by recreational use (29.2%). Coverage was predominantly neutral in tone (60.4%) and informative in framing (81.3%). Public institutions were the principal protagonists in 31.3% of articles, while private institutions and corporations each accounted for 20.8%. Consumers and health professionals were principal protagonists in only one article each. The findings reveal a distinction between the tone of coverage and the distribution of speaking roles: predominantly neutral and informative reporting did not translate into a broad representation of perspectives. Situated within the Portuguese media ecosystem, the study highlights the value of examining institutional visibility alongside thematic framing and discusses the implications for pluralism in reporting on a socially stigmatised issue.