1.Introduction and methodology

This paper analyzes Brazilian media coverage on other BRICS members（Russia，India，China and South Africa），using the Correio Braziliense as a reference to individually and collectively verify local and global media representations of the BRICS nations as a power block. For that，we produced a “composed month” corpus（ANDI，2007）with 2012 editions，applying the notion of the “imagined community”（Anderson，1991）and techniques concerning content and discourse（Rocha & Deusdará，2005）. The analysis took the thematic focus of the texts into account and was not based on the size of the reports or the comparison of each one of the published discourses（interviewees，analysts or journalists）.

The BRICS members are all newly industrialized countries or developing into them and are characterized by their large，significant influence on regional and global affairs and their fast-growing economies. In 2012，the BRICS countries represented almost 3 billion people，with a total nominal GDP of USMYM13.7 trillion.

The “Correio Braziliense”^[1] is the reference newspaper in Brasilia，the capital of Brazil. It has a large impact inside and outside the Federal District；a region of almost 2.5 million inhabitants. This newspaper was chosen for this paper because Brasilia is Brazil’s diplomatic headquarters and houses the BRICS country embassies. This reference newspaper sells close to 55000 editions and has a permanent section dedicated to international news.

The newspaper’s daily editorials are：“Politics”，“Economy”，and “Cities”. News related to day-to-day life in the Federal District is printed in the sections “Opinions”，“Health/Science/Technology”（edited together），“SuperSports”，and “Art and Entertainment”. There are also weekly inserts on “Vehicles”，“Tourism”，“The Correio Magazine”，“Super”（children’s insert），“I，Student”，“Employment and Education”，“Have Fun”，“Law and Justice”，“Know How to Live”，and “Technology”. Even though the number of readers is not comparable to those of a Western number（Reuters，2012），the Correio Braziliense influences other newspapers，radios and TV stations，as well as Internet websites.

The Brazilian media sector is known for its concentration（Bolaño，2007）and high level of political parallelism using similar practices and data as those of southern European countries（Hallin，2004）. Another important national characteristic is the reduced number of media accountability experiences，low level of printed media access，Internet growth，and the beginning stage of Public Broadcasting experiences（Paulino，2011）.

Historically，the Brazilian media has had less international news than the media from centered countries（Natali，2002）. However，step by step over the last few years through economic growth and inversions，the media，mainly the newspapers，have increased coverage dedicated to international coverage. Through the findings in this paper，it is possible to note this increase if we compare 2012 to previous years. There is more journalistic attention to BRICS countries focusing on political and economic events or tragedies；a result connected to previous conclusions presented in the MacBride Report（1980）.

The methodology used in preparing this article was the composed month methodology based on a study conducted by the News Agency for Children’s Rights（Andi，2007）. In order to accomplish this，a random sample of 31 editions was developed inside 366 newspapers in 2012. The months were taken into account as having the following number of days：29（February），30（April，June，September，and November）and 31（January，March，May，July，August，October and December）and the days of the week（Mondays，Tuesdays，Wednesdays，Thursdays，Fridays，Saturdays，and Sundays）.

2.BRIC or BRICS？

Out of the 31 analyzed editions，thirteen texts directly referenced BRICS or BRIC（no letter “S” representing South Africa）. Six were found in the Economy section，four in Politics，one in Opinions，one in World and one in Art and Entertainment.

Mostly，the materials compare Brazilian economic growth to that of other BRICS countries（Russia，India，China and South Africa）. This is explained in the interview by economist Jim O’Neil，creator of the BRIC concept，in the February 6 edition of the editorial “Economy”. He says “Brazil has grown and garnered the attention of other countries. It is seen as one of the highlights among BRICS and has many opportunities”. The same line of thought is present in the material about President Dilma Roussef’s visit to the USA：“The Giant’s Appetite”（Sep.04，page 7，the cover of “Economy”），an article which indicates the importance of Brazil on the contemporary international scene：“Brazil co