Brazilian press
It is known that printing presses and movable type were sent from Holland, and the typographer Pieter Janszoon died on the way to Brazil or shortly after arriving in the country.
During the government of Francisco de Castro Morais, an unknown merchant set up a small press and printed some sermons and bills of exchange.
The printing machines, imported from England, had been brought amidst the escape of the royal family from Lisbon in 1807, by António de Araújo e Azevedo, the Count of Barca.
[5][6] The Gazeta do Rio de Janeiro, the first newspaper published in national territory,[7] began circulating on September 10, 1808,[8] printed on machines brought from England.
However, in the same year, a few months earlier, the exiled Hipólito José da Costa had launched the Correio Braziliense, the first Brazilian newspaper – albeit outside Brazil.
The first issue of the newspaper is from June 1, 1808,[10] but it only arrived in Rio de Janeiro in October, where it had a great impact on the more enlightened sectors of society, although it was banned and confiscated by the government.
Although (contrary to popular belief) it did not advocate for Brazilian independence and sometimes had a conservative political stance, the Correio Braziliense was created to criticize "the defects of the administration of Brazil," in the words of its creator, and acknowledged its "doctrinal character rather than informative."
[14] The personality of D. Pedro II, who was averse to persecutions, guaranteed an atmosphere of broad freedom of expression – a level not seen in any Latin American republic, thanks to the authoritarian caudillos who alternated power there.
Bernardo Joffily writes: "Each current has its spokesperson," but still, "there are apolitical organs: the Diário do Rio de Janeiro (the first daily newspaper in the country, 1821–1878) doesn't even report on the Cry of Ipiranga.
"[15] The Frenchman Max Leclerc, who went to Brazil as a correspondent to cover the beginning of the republican regime, described the journalistic landscape in 1889: The press in Brazil is a faithful reflection of the social state born out of the paternal and anarchic government of D. Pedro II: on the one hand, a few very prosperous newspapers, with powerful and sophisticated material organization, living primarily on advertising, organized primarily as a commercial enterprise, aiming to penetrate all segments and expand the circle of their readers to increase the value of their advertising and to exert their influence on shaping public opinion.
During the most fervent moments of the republican campaign (1870–1878 and 1886–1889), dozens of ephemeral newspapers (each consisting of no more than 4 pages) appeared but did not last more than a few months.
In 1831, the year of Dom Pedro I's abdication, 48 different newspapers emerged in Rio de Janeiro, most of which were amateur and had low circulation, created with the aim of propagating the ideals of small groups or even a single person.
Although slightly earlier, they belong to the same period: O Mosquito, O Besouro (both by Bordalo Pinheiro, a Portuguese immigrant and friend of Agostini), and O Mequetrefe.
[17] The research shows that websites, social media, and blogs have not yet established themselves as reliable sources of information, despite the increase in internet consumption in the country.
[17] The black press emerged in the 19th century when some newspapers were founded in Rio de Janeiro, all in 1833, specifically aimed at denouncing racism and social inequality.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an explosion of magazines, booklets, and newspapers produced by and directed to black people, seeking to regain their dignity, identity, history, and culture, highlighting the role of black personalities in Brazilian society, proposing the deconstruction of the ideology of racial democracy, and aiming to form a new collective consciousness and a new social paradigm.
