Brazilian Media System

Brazilian media system

Intrinsic power balance in a hybrid society

Country overview

Complexity as keyword● Territory / Biomes● History: colonization/ migration flows

/ power disputes

Diffused boundaries: duality as constant● Public/Private sphere

(individual and collective society)

● Fiction/Non fiction (soap operas, infotainment programmes)

● Triple ethnic identities(foreign ancestry, regional culture and ‘Brazilianness’)

PracticesProfessional accountability● Autonomy/Freelance

(micro business model)

● Specialized analysis channels(Observatório da Imprensa; media and market segment as beat)

Power balance

Crossing data: political, technological and market timelines

1940s ...and expansion State controlled. Radio undergoes radical changes in programming.

1800sInfancy of a truly Brazilian Media System

After a slow beginning, Brazilians make media in Brazil for Brazilians (instead of Europeans making media in Europe about Europeans in Brazil)

1920s Commercialization The end of the First World War (1914-1918) takes the technology from under control of the armed forces, allowing it for commercial use.

1930s Radio's 'Golden Era'... Amidst revolutions and coup attempts, radio was used as government propaganda. News radios are founded. Seen as national integration tool.

1950sJournalism as industry + TV

Modernization of technical processes and professionalization of journalism. Continued political factionalism. TV as luxury for elites (teletheatre) or as public event.

1960s Journalism at gunpoint Several media outlets did not survive the confrontation with the military.Government adopts 'panis et circenses' policy. Populist TV with live audience shows and MPB festivals.

1970s Rise of alternative media Tabloids force the discussion of political, economic, social and cultural rights in a country stifled by censorship. Focus on quality standards for TV (realism).

1980s Redemocratization Focus on the obstacles faced by Brazilian society in the political opening. Start of informatization. Automation allows music 24/7. Popularization of TV and youthful narratives.

1990sOnline journalism and transmedia content

Investigation of corruption as a challenge. Internet: hypertext, personalization, instantaneity, multimedia, data bank, interaction. Marked by coverage of big events and tragedies.

2000sConvergence and rise of UGC. Precarization of the profession.

Reality shows and transmedia (second screen): association between TV and cinema, private and public, broadcast and online.

Purposes and competences● Integration

(cultural, religious, commercial, political)

● Education(functionally illiterate population + absence of public services)

● Accountability

PoliciesProfessional accountability

● Law(ethics code, professional regulamentation)

● Organizations(agencies, boards, unions)

Actors and stakeholders

● Freedom of the Press 2014 (Freedom House): 90th - Partly Free

● Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders): 111th

Rankings

● Impunity Index (Committee to Protect Journalists): 11th 29 deaths in 22 years

Tendencies

Media use

Adversity: fertile ground for innovation

● Storytelling techniques(HQs, newsgames, satire...)

● Organized Civil Society(specialized wires, collective media groups, intervention in mainstream media)

Key players in today’s media system

Thank you!