Brazilian Media
Fiction in the newsor
The facts are just a detail
March 9th, 2010Jimes Milanez
Citizen Kane was an amateur
Something you should know about the brazilian mass media
And some suggestions on how to avoid its traps
Presentation Headlines
All but news Not so fun facts about the brazilian media Appetizers – just some random examples Case study – Satiagraha Operation Conclusion Diversifying your readings
Questions in the end, please!
All but news
Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst: a bloody battle for market share in 19th Century NYC
Citizen Kane – the pursuit of power The Fourth Power: from sensationalism to
systematic political bias War propaganda and Joseph Goebbels
“A lie, repeated enough times, becomes true” Wild capitalism and media concentration widely
on private hands Will the Yellow Press survive as long as
journalism itself?
Brazil: some not so fun facts
Huge concentration on the hands of just a few families, like Marinho, Civita, Mesquita, Frias
Many mainstream vehicles have grown by supporting the military regime with a dual role
Strong political influence – many politicians have their own TVs, radios and newspapers
A veiled manipulation, hidden under the supposed self-claimed “neutrality”
The Waves on the Lake theoryThe brazilian media: a political party?
Appetizer #1 – April 2009
Folha publishes a false DOPS card of Dilma Rousseff on its frontpage
Appetizer #2 – February 2009
Folha states in editorial that in Brazil we had just a “ditabranda” rather than a true dictatorship
Appetizer #3 – March 2007
Globo and Folha give totally different
headlines for the same stuff – the ministerial
reform
Appetizer #4 – September 2008
In the beginning of the crisis Veja affirms
that it has been “avoided” by the
american government(rather than being
guilty for it)
Brazil is just “lucky”
Appetizer #5 – May 2006
Veja publishes a false list of bank accounts
of brazilian authorities located in tax havens
The list was given to the magazine by Daniel
Dantas
Appetizer #6 – July 2009
Veja publishes a very laudatory interview with Arruda, the governor of
Brasília
Some weeks earlier, Arruda had subscribed
Abril magazines for schools in DF
Appetizer #7 – May 2009
Based in false accusations of O Globo and Veja, the
“CPI” of Petrobras takes place in the
Congress
Later, Petrobras starts its own blog to withstand distortions and faces rough resistance and criticism in the media
Appetizer #8 – March 2007
Besides his contacts at Veja and other vehicles, Daniel Dantas purchases the magazine IstoÉ
Case Study – Satiagraha Operation
The darkest of all recent manipulations With rare exceptions, Dantas was considered by
the media a brilliant entrepreneur – the flaws in his businesses were widely ignored
After the capture of the “bankster” Dantas, the media deviated the focus to secondary points: handcuffs, interceptions, “spectacularization”
Gilmar Mendes, president of the Supreme Court, who gave Dantas two Habeas Corpus in 48h, received wide access for his statements in the press and TVs – mainly to undermine Satiagraha
Case Study – Satiagraha Operation
The media tried to hide the past of Dantas, back to the privatization of Telebrás and all his political and business connections
Desperate attempts to invalidate the operation: the supposed ABIN-PF illegal cooperation, the “interception” of calls at the Supreme Court
The crimes themselves aren’t in the focus anymore Constant attacks against the Federal Police, Public
Ministry and 1st Instance Justice Persecution against the delegate and the judge Dantas is free... His peers too
Two repugnant Veja covers
Conclusion
Diversify your readings by different viewpoints – don´t be afraid of changing your opinion
The internet enables quick and easy comparison of versions. Use it! Join discussions
Don’t promptly trust what you read, listen or watch. Check it! Mainly if you don’t follow the news everyday
The Media tries more and more to use emotion rather than rationality. Be careful! Avoid passionate discussions, it’s not a win-lose game
We definitely need a wide discussion in the society about the role of the communication means. Confecom, boycotted by the mass media, was just a timid kick-off.
Conclusion
And the main one...
We need more media, more information, more opinions, not less.
Concentration is the core of the problem.
Diversifying your readings
Do you know / follow these vehicles?
Carta Capital BBC Brazil Valor Econômico Terra Magazine Blog of the journalist Luis Nassif Observatório da Imprensa
“Sometimes, the only thing that is true in a newspaper is its date”
Luis Fernando Veríssimo
Questions?
Thank you!
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