Skilled, Loyal, and Disciplined

Abstract

From the 1950s to the 1970s, during the peak of the cold war, communist journalists had a significant presence in Brazilian conservative papers. They even held high-ranking positions. Newspaper owners were aware of their political orientations, but they did not seem concerned. In fact, some of those communist journalists enjoyed high professional prestige. An unusual symbiotic relationship has developed between conservative publishers and their communist employees. This article discusses such relationship in light of the modernization of Brazilian newspapers that started in the 1950s. To modernize their newspapers, publishers needed to rely on journalists' ability to deal with the news as a technical, industrial product. Journalists with communist sympathies provided skilled work and were willing to be loyal and disciplined in the newsrooms. They had their own reasons for working in the “big press.” The American rhetoric of professional journalism provided a common language for communist journalists and conservative publishers to work together. The Brazilian case has important lessons for analyzing the adaptation of the American model of professional journalism in different national settings.

The Roots of Conflict between Private Media and Left-Wing Governments in Latin America: The Brazilian Case

“…The Brazilian case enjoys some exceptionality considering the left-wing governments in the region because of the higher "professionalization" in its journalism, especially in the Rio de Janeiro-Sa ˜o Paulo axis, and because of the greater autonomy of the media system from political power. Authors like Waisbord (2013), Porto (2012) and Albuquerque and Roxo da Silva (2009) have noted the features of this process of gradual professionalization starting in the 1950s with the creation of factual-based journalism, leaving behind its traditional literary orientation. As journalist Neumanne Pinto stated, in this process of modernization, the newspaper U ´ltima Hora (Last Hour), run by journalist Samuel Wainer, was a pioneer.…”