This dissertation investigates the relationship between the WhatsApp application and
journalism, with the guiding question being: how has WhatsApp been used in the regional
coverage developed by news outlets in Palmas? To answer this question, TV Anhanguera
Tocantins, a TV station affiliated with Rede Globo, and CBN Tocantins, a radio station focused
solely on journalism, were selected as the objects of analysis. The general objective is to
investigate how these two broadcasters use the application to develop regional journalism in
their production routine. The specific objectives are: a) to map the signal range and news
coverage of the stations investigated; b) to observe how WhatsApp is inserted into the
environment of the two newsrooms studied; and c) to learn about the characteristics of regional
practice from the journalists' perceptions. The theoretical framework includes considerations
about the relationship between technology and journalism, the Newsmaking hypothesis, and
the characteristics of regional and local journalism. To achieve the proposed objectives, three
methodological stages were adopted: 1) an exploratory survey of Palmas news outlets and
information on institutional WhatsApp; 2) systematic observation in the newsrooms of TV
Anhanguera and CBN Tocantins; and 3) semi-structured interviews with journalists working in
the two newsrooms selected for the study. An important and unprecedented finding in the local
context was the mapping of the institutional WhatsApp of news outlets in Palmas. It identified
26 outlets that use a number exclusively for news production. In addition to this, it was possible
to discover information known only orally by the professionals and without academic records.
This is the case with the news coverage map of the broadcasters investigated. From the point of
view of regional production, it was found that WhatsApp contributes significantly to reducing
the need to travel to cover stories outside the media outlets' headquarters, while at the same
time strengthening access and contact with remote communities in the interior of the states. It
was also found that the app is present at all stages of news production for both outlets. There is
a clear dependence of newsrooms on WhatsApp, as it facilitates the production processes in the
news architecture, brings sources closer together and makes the work of investigating faster.
On the other hand, the app overloads journalists, who find themselves immersed in a sea of
information and misinformation, as well as showing that the workday doesn't end when they
leave the newsroom, but is extended by the connectivity provided by the internet and digital
media.
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