The Lou Case:

The journalistic genesis of the first Brazilian roman-reportage

Abstract

This article aims to establish the rise of the journalistic-literary genre known in Brazil as romanreportage (romance-reportagem) with the publication cycle embarked on by the publishing house Civilização Brasileira in 1975. Through samples and analysis of literary material never before used in research, it will show that O Caso Lou, the first roman-reportage, is closely related to journalistic coverage from Manchete, one of the most important Brazilian magazines at the time. This association,
moreover, is closer than you might think, as the reports published by Carlos Heitor Cony were "transposed", with minor modifications, for publication in the book that triggered of roman-reportage. However, such close connection does not imply semantic equivalence as said media; magazine and book, have different publishing features, which deeply impact the meaning of the text. The analysis was guided by the concepts of editorial mediation and the textual materiality by Roger Chartier, who
motivated as a methodological procedure for comparing the journalistic material and the romanreportage.