Abstract

Journalism is a discourse genre that narrates the experiences of subjects, notable events and the experience of generations in certain temporal contexts. Journalistic narrative is often associated with the present because journalism is in tune with current events. However, in order to understand and explain the world, journalists are often required to look at the past. This return to reminiscence has prompted some Brazilian researchers to study the relationship between memory and journalism; most of the articles addressing the history of media published in Brazil are based on this approach. On the other hand, our aim in this paper is to reflect upon the way journalism uses and negotiates memory in its narrative. To reach that objective, we summon the phenomenology of memory, which helps us reflect on evoking the past in the present, and Paul Ricoeur’s concept of the capable man (or capable human being), according to which the subject is understood through his actions and ethics. We assess the qualities of Ricoeur’s capable man against the desirable skills of journalists and propose a definition for the capable man of journalism.