The notion of freedom of the press is infl uenced by typical
Modernity values and views of the world. Due to that origin one
may identify as deprivers of freedom of the press the interests
of news companies, censorship – explicit or concealed - and the
existence of authoritarian States, which centralize or monopolize
information. This article analyzes the online coverage of a massive
event in the Brazilian news, the crash of fl ight 1907, which occurred
on September 29, 2006. Medium Theory makes crystal clear the
limitations imposed on freedom of the press regarding journalism
that takes place on the Web, mainly due to three traits: the need for
speed – despite this velocity clouding investigation of the facts; the
shortness of news items, limiting the room for interpretation; and
information fragmentation, enabling the reader to only acquire an
isolated perception of the happenings. There is a clear diff erence
between desirable information and possible news.
