This study presents a qualitative analysis of information produced by the press on riots and escapes by juvenile offenders under correctional custody in Rio de Janeiro. The objective was to identify how the printed media portrays these social subjects to society. The method used to unveil the messages was discourse analysis, which includes various theoretical and technical approaches but was used here as proposed by Norman Fairclough. The study on three newspapers covering inmate riots was justified by the frequency and way by which the media approached the theme. The conclusions point to the media's role in bolstering a negative and incriminatory view of adolescents under correctional custody which has the potential to spawn further violent measures against this group. Very rarely does the coverage reveal the social or institutional issues or pedagogical insufficiencies permeating such events.
Discourse analysis; Printed media and violence; Juvenile law offenders; Growth and development; Risk factors
