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!