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Skilled, Loyal, and Disciplined

Communist Journalists and the Adaptation of the Model of the American Model of "Independent Journalism" in Brazil

Fluminense Federal University

Marco Antonio Roxo da Silva

Rio de Janeiro Federal University

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.

Key Words: journalism • communism • Brazil • Americanization

This version was published on July 1, 2009

The International Journal of Press/Politics, Vol. 14, No. 3, 376-395 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1940161209336114


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