Criticism of TV Globo

Criticism of TV Globo (formerly Rede Globo) refers to the history of controversy concerning TV Globo, the television division of the media conglomerate Grupo Globo, owned by media proprietor Roberto Marinho.[1] TV Globo was founded on April 26, 1965, just over one year after the Brazilian coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, and operated under the new military dictatorship in Brazil until March 15, 1985.[2] TV Globo was criticized for censorship of pro-democracy broadcasting.[3] In 2013, TV Globo apologised for its support of the military junta in the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.

Time-Life

Although Marinho acquired a broadcast license in 1957, it was a contract with Time Life Television that allowed Rede Globo network to enter and expand in the Brazilian television market. Time-Life offered financial and technical support in return for a share of Rede Globo profits.[4] Marinho's competitors argued this was unjust because it broke Brazil's constitutional laws concerning foreign media ownership. An inquiry found the laws had been broken and Time Life Television was paid out.[5] Marinho was not convicted.[2]

Marinho's support for the military junta

In 2013, TV Globo news presenter, William Bonner read on-air during the national evening news, the Jornal Nacional, a formal public apology for Groupo Globo's support of the 1964 coup.

He read, "In the light of history, ... there is no reason not to acknowledge, today, explicitly, that the support for the 1964 coup was a mistake, as well as other wrong editorial decisions in the period elapsed since that original mistake. Democracy is an unconditional value. And, when in risk, it can only be saved by itself."[7]

In refuting the accusation that Groupo Globo was pro-military rule, the group cited the difficulty in obtaining television licenses in João Pessoa and Curitiba in 1978; government censoring of its programming; and the presence of communists amongst its employees.[8][9]

Government influence

Walter Clark, who was a general manager of Rede Globo, wrote in his autobiography that Rede Globo was heavily controlled by the government. For example, at the direction of Rio de Janeiro's chief of police, he had cancelled the programs of Carlos Heitor Cony, a journalist, and Roberto Campos, an economist.

An advisory committee was convened to scrutinize Rede Globo's material. The committee included Paiva Chave and Edgardo Manoel Erikson, both generals. The military president Emílio Garrastazu Médici visited Clark on Sundays to watch football with him. According to Clark, the so-called "Globo standard of quality ended up "going through the looking-glass" of a regime which the Rede Globo professionals never agreed with".[10]

In interviews made for the British documentary film Beyond Citizen Kane (1993), the minister for finance in the military junta, Armando Falcão said, "Roberto Marinho never gave me any problems. When I was the minister in charge of censorship and he was the director of the TV Globo network, Radio Globo, Radio Mundial and Radio Eldorado, he never gave me any trouble."[11]

Diretas Já protest

On 25 January 1984, the Rede Globo network broadcast the first large rally of the Diretas Já movement from the Praça da Sé public square of São Paulo. Rede Globo's Jornal Nacional program had planned a segment on the protests, lasting two minutes and seventeen seconds. However, there was a miscommunication during the transmission to the Jornal Nacional. 25 January was the foundation date of São Paulo and so the news reader assumed the vision to be broadcast was part of the city's 430th anniversary celebrations. Rede Globo was accused of manipulating the facts.[12]

José Bonifácio de Oliveira Sobrinho, known as Boni, the former vice president of Grupo Globo, commented on this during an interview with journalist Roberto D'Ávila in 2005. He confirmed that Roberto Marinho suppressed the coverage of the first large rally of the Diretas Já movement.[12] Sobrinho said, "Mr. Roberto did not want mention of Diretas Já" and the event in Praça da Sé would be reported, "without any participation of any of the dissenters".[12] This was in line with the demand of the government censors.[12] The veracity of these facts is rejected in the book, Jornal Nacional - A Notícia Faz História.

Proconsult scheme

The Proconsult scheme was an alleged attempt to interfere with the Rio de Janeiro gubernatorial election of 1982 to prevent the election of Leonel Brizola, candidate for the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). On the eve of the election, O Globo published an editorial favourable to Brizola's opponent, Moreira Franco.[13] The Proconsult company was engaged by the Brazilian Election Commission to use their computer system to tally the votes. It was alleged that the company awarded all blank, invalid, null, and hanging chad votes to Franco.[14] Furthermore, the Proconsult result did not match an independent exit poll conducted by the newspaper Jornal do Brasil.[14] O Globo did not challenge the count.[14]

Journalist at the Tribuna da Imprensa newspaper Hélio Fernandes reported that Maoel Vidal of the Rio de Janeiro Police, as an independent scrutineer, noticed irregularities in the count.[14]

Purchase of NEC stock

Prior to the 1964 coup, the Nippon Electric Company (NEC) was a major supplier of telecommunications equipment to Brazil.[16] Afterwards, when NEC needed to nationalise the stock of its subsidiary NEC Brazil, it ceded shareholder control of the company to Mário Garnero's private equity firm, Brasilinvest.

On 18 March 1985, the Central Bank of Brazil initiated the liquidation of Brasilinvest. Garnero was accused of insufficient liquidity and embezzlement.[17] Garnero was unsuccessful in securing a preventive concordat to avoid insolvency.[18] On 29 April 1986, Minister of Communications Antônio Carlos Magalhães suspended government contracts with Garnero's companies.[19]

TV Aratu

On 10 November 1986, Rede Globo cancelled its long-standing contract with TV Aratu, a station in Bahia. TV Aratu ceased broadcasting Rede Globo content on 20 January 1987.[26] TV Bahia, an entity owned by the family of Minister for Communications Antônio Carlos Magalhães, replaced TV Aratu. On 13 January 1987, Congressman Luís Viana Neto, a shareholder in TV Aratu, went to president José Sarney to complain about Magalhãe's apparent conflict of interest.[27]

On 15 January 1987, Judge Luiz Fux provided TV Aratu an injunction on TV Bahia's retransmission of the Rede Globo programming, however, it was dismissed 6 days later.[28][29] Legal proceedings continued until 6 July 1987 with no success for TV Aratu.[30]

1989 election debate

Journalist Ricardo Noblat suggested Rede Globo had been biased in its reporting of the 1989 election by favouring the presidential candidate, Fernando Collor de Mello. Collor owned TV Gazeta, a Rede Globo affiliate broadcasting in Alagoas.[32] Allegedly, Rede Globo manipulated segments of the pre-recorded final debate before the runoffs between Collor de Mello and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party.[33][34] Before the debate, polling suggested the two candidates were equal in the presidential race. When Lula lost, the Worker's Party concluded the televised debate was a confounding factor.[34]

Initially, Rede Globo sought to recuse itself from the mandatory full coverage of the election. However, it went ahead when the tie between candidates became evident.[34] On 15 December 1989, on the eve of the runoff voting, Rede Globo broadcast TV news reports on Jornal Hoje (News Today) and on Jornal Nacional (National News).

Defamation of Leonel Brizola

In 1992, Leonel Brizola was the governor of Rio de Janeiro. Brizola had given the broadcasting rights for the 1992 Brazilian Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro to Rede Globo's competitor, Rede Manchete. On 6 February 1992, O Globo published an editorial piece entitled "Understanding Brizola's Rage" which implied he was suffering from "declining mental health" and "management ineptitude".[40]

In March 1994, under judicial order, Jornal Nacional aired Brizola's right of reply.[41] Brizola made a written response which was read on-air by the news reader, Cid Moreira. Brizola said he did not recognize Grupo Globo as an "authority in matters of freedom of the press" and that the media empire had a "long and friendly relationship with the authoritarian regime and with the 20-year dictatorship that had ruled our country". He said, "Now, I am 70 years-old, 16 less than my slanderer, Roberto Marinho, who is 86 years old. If this is your notion of men of a certain age, then apply it to yourself".[42]

2006 election

Rede Globo provided coverage of the 2006 Brazil election. The broadcaster was accused of reporting in a way that was biased against the re-election campaign of the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.[45] Rede Globo reporter Luiz Carlos Azenha gave the examples of economic reports favouring Lula being omitted from broadcasts and his negative report about José Serra being censored by Rede Globo.[46][47]

Gol Flight 1907

On the eve of the first round of voting, 29 September 2006, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 crashed after a mid-air collision killing all 154 souls on board.[48] Rede Globo did not focus on the tragic event. Instead, Jornal Nacional spent the program reporting about the "Dossiêgate" scandal. This scandal involved members of the Working Party were discovered paying cash for information that was critical to the candidates José Serra and Geraldo Alkmin.

2010 election

Anniversary promotion

On 18 April 2010, Rede Globo launched a marketing campaign celebrating the 45th anniversary of its news magazine television program Fantástico. The date of Rede Globo's 45th anniversary was 26 April 2010. In the commercials, the network's logo appeared next to the number 45. Soap opera actors recited the line, "we all want more" and "we all want more education, health, and, of course, love and peace. Brazil? Much more". As it happened, 45 was the registration number of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party at the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil.

André Luís Vargas Ilário, congressman from Paraná state and the press secretary for the Workers' Party at the time, said the advertisement was a jibe at the Workers' Party, whose campaign slogan was "Brazil can be more".[50] Rede Globo ceased broadcasting the advertisement on the first day of the 45th company anniversary campaign. The network said the advertisement was created in November 2009, when "candidate's campaigns did not exist, let alone slogans, but Rede Globo will not give excuses for accusations of bias and it is suspending the ad".[50][51]

2012 municipal elections

Fernando Haddad was the 2012 São Paulo mayoral election Worker's Party candidate. Each evening, Rede Globo broadcast the propaganda eleitoral gratuita (free electoral program). Haddad's campaign spot was at the end of the program. The program was followed each evening by Jornal Nacional, which was reporting events in the Mensalão scandal, a corruption trial involving the Workers' Party.[58]

2013 protests

In 2013, a number of political demonstrations occurred in towns across Brazil. They concerned many different concerns including increasing cost of living, political corruption and deficiencies in public services. Some of the demonstrations occurred in front of the stations of Rede Globo. Manure was thrown at the network's headquarters in São Paulo and its walls were defaced.[59][60] At the Rede Globo headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, protestors clashed with police.[61] Protests against Rede Globo were organised via online social networks and community organizations.[62]

On 19 June 2013, the Rede Globo editorial response to the protests was read on Jornal Nacional by Patrícia Poeta.[63] The following day, Rede Globo changed its programming schedule to cover the demonstrations.

2014 elections

On 8 August 2014, two months before the 2014 elections, an article was published in O Globo that a device connected to the internet through the wireless network of the Palácio do Planalto, the official office of the President of Brazil, had changed information in the Portuguese Wikipedia pages of the Rede Globo journalists Miriam Leitão and Carlos Alberto Sardenberg with the intention of defamation.[67]

The edits, made in May 2013, targeted Leitão because on Grupo Globo's Rádio CBN she defended Daniel Dantas, a businessman who had been arrested for white-collar crime. Dantas was later acquitted.[68][69][70] Sardenberg was targeted for a presumed conflict of interest in his reporting on federal interest rate policy. His brother was working for the Brazilian Federation of Banks, a business association of private banks.[68]

Vaza jato

Lava jato (operation car wash) was an anti-corruption operation which began in 2014 with an investigation into money laundering in a car washing business. It uncovered widespread corruption in major entities, both public and corporate, in Brazil and abroad and in politics. Sergio Moro was the judge leading prosecutions.[72]

Vaza jato (car wash leaks) was a play on words suggesting a leaking car wash and referring to leaking of information from Moro's office to the press. The origin of the leak was conversations taking place on the Telegram application software for text and audio messaging, which was launched in 2013.[73]

Glenn Greenwald, an American lawyer, journalist and blogger, reported this in The Intercept, an American not for profit internet news outlet. A hacker had intercepted the Telegram conversations and gave the information to Greenwald.[74] Greenwald reported that Rede Globo broadcast what Moro and the operation task force wanted.[75]

Sports controversies

Pre-recorded UFC fight

On 27 May 2012, an Ultimate Fighting Championship match was aired by Rede Globo, billed as a "live broadcast". However, the Globosat (Grupo Globo's pay-per-view service) channel, Combate, broadcast the match 30 minutes earlier than Rede Globo.[78][79]

Sports coverage monopoly

Rede Globo, with Rede Bandeirantes, holds a near monopoly on sports broadcasts in Brazil, especially the broadcasting of the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol. The factors that contributed to this monopoly include the instigation of cable and satellite subscription television services in Brazil and the withdrawal of other networks from this type of broadcasting.[80]

Other controversies

Tax irregularities and spending of charity funds

In November 2013, CartaCapital, a news magazine founded in 1994 and Groupo Globo's competitor, published a story that, in 2005, Rede Globo had negotiated debt relief with JPMorgan Chase, the multinational bank, to a value of BRL158 million. CartaCapital cited the documents of the revenue service.[84]

The revenue service, in 2006, investigated the finances of Rede Globo. Several of the resulting charges were dismissed except for one, which resulted in a fine of R$730 million in 2013.[84] In its purchase of the broadcasting rights to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a further fine of R$615 million was imposed due to tax avoidance.[84] However, a few weeks later, civil service employee Cristina Maris Meinick Ribeiro lost the docket.

Bibliography

JÁCOME, Phellipy. A constituição moderna do jornalismo no Brasil. Curitiba: Appris, 2020. 302 p. (Coleção ciências da comunicação). ISBN 9788547342814.

External links

Opinião: Rede Globo, a "TV irrealidade" que ilude o Brasil The New York Times

References

Who owns the media? Global trends and local resistances. Southbound, 2004^
Alex Bellos. Roberto Marinho The Guardian, 2003-08-08, retrieved 2025-03-27^
Edward S. Herman. Global media - the new missionaries of corporate capitalism. Continuum, 1997^

Upfront 2026

During the Upfront 2026 event, which brings together the advertising market to present the attractions for the coming year, held on October 13, 2025, the broadcaster was accused of ridiculing and attacking its main competitors with mocking comments, targeting Band and HBO Max. In the case of the former, journalist William Bonner had made a kind of joke regarding the Formula 1 broadcasts between 2021 and 2025 on the São Paulo-based channel.[113] Em outro momento, a chef Renata Vanzetto chegou a comparar os índices de audiência do Chef de Alto Nível com o MasterChef Brasil, alegando que o primeiro teve mais IBOPE e repercussão que o segundo.[114] Regarding the second point, comedian Fábio Porchat and presenter Sabrina Sato compared the number of views of "Beleza Fatal" with those of "Vale Tudo (2025)", in addition to calling the character Lola, from the aforementioned soap opera, "Bebel from Shopee," a clear reference to some products of dubious origin on the e-commerce site and also to the character played by Camila Pitanga in the 2007 soap opera "Paraíso Tropical," even though Pitanga also played the main villain in the Warner Bros. Discovery soap opera.[115]

Following the controversy, several websites and some journalists highlighted that Globo had "shrunken" in relation to its competitors and that the comments had a negative impact behind the scenes at Band. During the program "Os Donos da Bola" on the 14th, the presenter and former footballer Neto, who is known for directly attacking the Rio de Janeiro-based broadcaster on his Band programs, commented on the event in a long, ten-minute rant, making serious accusations against Globo, journalist William Bonner, calling him an "idiot," "jerk," and "scumbag" live on air, and even commentator Denílson, while defending the Morumbi channel.[116] Antes disso, o apresentador do Bora Brasil, Felipeh Campos, debochou dos comentários da Globo no telejornal matinal, assim como Érick Jacquin em suas redes sociais.[117][115] O narrador esportivo Téo José acusou a Globo de ser antiética.[115] A emissora paulista postou uma foto em todas as suas redes sociais ironizando as zoações vindo da Globo. A HBO Max também respondeu as críticas da Globo com um meme de Beleza Fatal.[118]

Due to the strong repercussions of the case, Globo issued an official statement emphasizing that the Upfront is an event for presenting new products and that it had not disparaged its competitors with its comments on the show.[119]

However, the controversies surrounding the event had a negative impact internally behind the scenes at the network, with claims that it could have sent a terrible message to the advertising market.[120] O CEO da Globo, Paulo Marinho, telefonou ao CEO da Band, Cláudio Giordans, para pedir desculpas em nome do canal, uma vez que os Marinhos possuíam uma boa relação com os Saad.[121]