The historical trajectory and functioning of Mass Communication in Brazil share several characteristics with the landscape found in North America. Besides the predominance of private ownership in the case of the leading media organizations, Brazilian commercial journalism has adopted principles such as objectivity and neutrality – particularly from the 1950s. However, there are also striking differences between Brazil and the United States.
Albuquerque (2012) analyzes the Brazilian media system using the analytical framework proposed by Hallin and Mancini (2004).
Regarding the media market structure, unlike in the United States, newspaper circulation rates in Brazil are very low—even lower than those found in European countries characterized as Polarized Pluralist. Newspapers in Brazil are predominantly commercial (the state does not play a significant role as the owner of media organizations), yet their financial viability is dependent on public funding. Concerning state intervention in the media, censorship essentially ended after the military dictatorship; however, intimidation of journalists persists. In recent years (particularly during the administration of Jair Bolsonaro), the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) documented a significant rise in cases of violence against journalists[1]. Media regulation remains limited (less stringent than in the United States) except in the context of electoral communication.
On the topic of professionalism, Albuquerque (2012) revisits the influence of the North American model on Brazilian journalism. He emphasizes a disconnection in Brazil between the editorial orientations of newspapers and the ideological positions of journalists: while media owners tend to hold more conservative views, journalists are generally situated further to the left of the ideological spectrum. Nonetheless, professionalization has benefited both groups. “From the point of view of the owners, professionalism helped assure some discipline to their newsrooms; for the journalists, it helped assure some autonomy in the exercise of their work” (Albuquerque, 2012, p. 83).
Finally, regarding political parallelism, beginning in the 1950s, Brazilian newspapers began adopting a more fact-centered model inspired by U.S. journalism. Following the country’s redemocratization, media organizations sought to distance themselves from specific political groups—though this did not imply a passive stance toward politics. Pimentel and Marques (2021) identify a thematic parallelism in the Brazilian press. In other words, newspapers maintain a liberal economic orientation, aligning themselves with—or distancing themselves from—governments depending on their economic policies.
The two newspapers selected for analysis – Folha de S. Paulo (https://www.folha.uol.com.br/) and O Estado de S. Paulo (https://www.estadao.com.br/) – hold a prominent position due to their political influence and their role as reference points for local media outlets (Porto, 2010). Both claim a superior moral status based on adherence to the standards of professional journalism. As of December 2023, Folha de S. Paulo had reached 755,000 digital subscriptions, while O Estado de S. Paulo reported 193,000 online subscribers.
In addition, the two newspapers differ in their approach to political positioning—despite both fulfilling a watchdog role in relation to the state. On the one hand, Folha became known in the 1980s for its more combative stance against the military regime, as well as for its commitment to maintaining a pluralistic perspective and openness to dissenting views. Estadão, by contrast, is noted for its alignment with the country’s industrial business sector (Fontes, 2022).
Accordingly, we have chosen to classify Folha de S. Paulo under “Independent” and O Estado de S. Paulo under “Counter Parallelism.”
References
Albuquerque, A. (2012). On Models and Margins. In: Hallin, D., P. Mancini. (Org.). Comparing Media Systems Beyond Western World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 72-95.
Fontes, G. (2022). Populismo e autoridade jornalística: uma análise de editoriais e notícias publicados durante a primeira metade do governo Bolsonaro. [Tese de Doutoramento, Universidade Federal do Paraná].
Hallin, D., Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing Media Systems: three models of media and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Porto, M. P. (2010). The changing landscape of Brazil’s news media. In: Levy, D. A. & Nielsen, R. K. (Eds.) The changing business of Journalism and its implications for democracy. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Pimentel, P., Marques, F. P. J. (2021) De-westernizing media parallelism: How editorial interests unfold during impeachment crises. Journalism Studies, 22(3): 282-304.
[1] https://abraji.org.br/noticias/violencia-grave-contra-jornalistas-aumentou-69-2-em-2022.