The said subject, with the title “Taxi drivers concerned about the Government's silence 22 days before the end of the grant - 'Blue and whites' fear a new rise in gasoline and warn that prices will rise by default if the Executive continues to ignore them”, published on a Monday, received a reaction from the Government the following day, through the National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT).

The institution was immediately open to dialogue with taxi drivers' associations, as published by Novo Jornal itself in another article published on April 10, with the title “Taxi drivers guarantee that the price of a taxi will not exceed the price of a liter of gasoline - Executive says that fuel will not increase after April 30th”. According to the note, at the meeting held on Tuesday, the 9th, “those responsible for the National Land Transportation Agency, of the Ministry of Transportation, told the taxi drivers' associations that they are not silent and that they are only working to find the best solutions to find the new fare for transport prices”.
‍
In a context of affirming the news Average social, in which various challenges are posed to the press, radio and television, the Government's encounter with the taxi class in reaction to a news published by a newspaper in its online edition, raises the question about the impact that traditional media still have on the construction and discussion of public policies.

In the book “Public Policies, State and Media” by Paulo Faustino and Francisco Rui Cádima, Portuguese authors state that the generalization of Internet use has revolutionized the way in which we consume and access information, in a small and global world. They highlight the progressive loss of influence of traditional media, and the emergence of a new generation of information producers that transform the passive consumer into an active participant.

This active participation of the recipient makes the message sent by the media more direct. Direct because of the most comprehensive and targeted choice that the recipients have and the possibility of evaluating the information that comes to them.

In our country, the weak access to the internet and to quality information by the population, as well as the lack of digital literacy, still privilege the large space of traditional media in the media space, despite their migration to the digital space, so as not to fall into oblivion themselves.

In this sense, each traditional media still has its importance. Radio is essential because it is flexible and is “consumed” when carrying out other actions; traditionally, specialized newspapers or magazines, for example, have great credibility and reach a more critical and qualified audience; television has a high degree of influence.

With the exponential increase of alternatives, with the focus of the public on the internet, mostly on social networks, maintaining this importance is the challenge. However, to answer the question, several factors must be taken into account.

In the last study released by the Angolan Institute of Public Opinion and Marktest Angola, the “2023 Media and Advertising Yearbook”, the television audience was around 49%, the radio audience was around 15 to 18% and the press audience was no more than 2%. In the case of the Novo Jornal article, these data are even more relevant considering that a large part of the population that does not read a newspaper may be impacted by quality journalism.

On the other hand, a report from Exempt Communication About the Internet Results in Angola presented the data on digital usage in Angola at the beginning of this year:

- 14.63 million Internet users in Angola and an Internet penetration rate of 39.3%;

- 5 million social network users, equivalent to 13.4% of the total population;

- 29.2 million active mobile cellular connections in Angola, equivalent to 78.4% of the total population.

For perspective purposes, these user numbers reveal that 22.61 million people in Angola were not using the Internet at the beginning of 2024, suggesting that 60.7% of the population remained offline at the beginning of the year.

However, these data from the Isenta report may “underrepresent reality”. “Real adoption and growth may be higher than the numbers presented here suggest,” the report says.

As can be found in the article on the website “Conexão Gestión Pública”, about the role of the press in shaping the public policy agenda, there are several factors that interfere with the formation of the public policy agenda, including the press, which reports the political, economic, cultural and social context.

“The press influences the definition and perception of priorities and, as a consequence, alters the public agenda”
Based on this assumption, according to the same article, the press uses different strategies for effective direct communication and, currently, with the use of various channels, public policies are being changed, constructed, removed and introduced into the agenda. The press is a major intermediary between the public authorities and civil society, and the freedoms at its disposal, press and expression, promote the creation of values within the democratic rule of law.

In this regard, we cannot fail to mention the Agenda Setting Theory, essential in journalism textbooks since the 1970s. In it, Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw position the press as responsible for guiding what will be part of the public debate, with direct interference with public opinion, given its capacity to formulate collective thoughts.

Public opinion is one of the most important agents in the formulation of the political agenda, which often occurs through the mobilization power of the media, given the dissemination of information. In this way, problems are recognized by representatives and the public administration for the first time. Furthermore, the media appropriates this “free access to public opinion” with objectives that go beyond producing new demands, such as bringing up political issues that had been left behind and reporting abuses and crimes that have profound impacts on society.

The press is not the only influencer on the agenda, but its dominance and power of influence in society and politics are evident, and can contribute significantly to the development of public policies that better dialogue with the needs and problems of a society.

To maintain relevance, credibility is still the main differentiating factor in the role of the media in the media space. Traditional media have a capital of credibility and rigor, different from digital media.

In the “online context” of social networks, any news or information is first “screened” of doubt, either by format or content, despite the fact that it still has its impact and produces “effects” among Internet users. Due to a faster and more immediate consumption in this medium, questioning, analyzing, comparing and investigating with objectivity and depth is left in the background and there is not always an adequate treatment of information. This, of course, is when these “new media” do not rely on the main (traditional) means for searching for information.

In the current Angolan media scenario, credibility is also a factor challenging reality, given the reduced number of news services with the expected impartiality. The lack of impartiality in journalism generates mistrust, misrepresented information, and affects the credibility of journalists or agencies.

In the current digital transformation, a credible media, however traditional, manages to have a replication effect in the same way as an “influencer”. It follows that the ability of traditional media to adapt to the digital space is also crucial in maintaining relevance. When digitized, they can spread rapidly on social networks at the same speed as a Post of the internet, with a rapid effect on society itself.

It should be noted that Novo Jornal is a special case of the Angolan press. It is one of the few bodies with the capital of credibility and rigor whose information reaches people who have power over public opinion - who have purchasing power and access to circles of power - thus having a potentially more impactful effect. This ability to remain so, with rigor, is the key to continuing to have influence (or not).

The credibility, rigor, and impartiality that govern or should govern traditional bodies is a power and form of affirmation and survival of these organs and media. It is concluded, therefore, that journalism based on these main elements, carried out with transparency and quality, is proof of the echo it makes, the relevance it has and the impact it creates around the main public issues.

‍

Some sources used

The role of the press in shaping the public policy agenda

Importance of traditional media in times of social networks

The future of media: Will the digital revolution kill traditional media?

Is traditional media dead?

‍

‍