"In spite of being one of the poorest places in Brazil, Pernambuco has historically had a combative and awarded local media. Until recently, local reporters had been winning the most important national journalism prizes with inspiring local stories and initiatives. This context has been changing dramatically, influenced both by the digital disruption in the media industry and by a “draining” process of the newsrooms. Based on exclusive data collected from media outlets and on interviews, this research shows that the local reporters have been abandoning journalism (a lot of them prematurely) in one of the most impoverished areas of Brazil, where the public surveillance is paramount. These shifts have resulted in serious failings of local newspapers in addressing community information needs. Throughout five chapters, this research describes why, how and under what circumstances many journalists have been swapping newsrooms desks for political cabinets in Pernambuco. The direct effects of this movement are also shown through a comparison of the local media coverage of two remarkable episodes in the Pernambuco political life." (Publisher description)