Internet Group do Brasil (iG) is a Brazilian Internet service provider that owns and operates web portals and provides a variety of services, including news, shopping and financial information.[1] iG offered free e-mail accounts until 2016.[2]
At the time it was bought in March 2012, iG was the fifth-largest portal in Brazil, with 23.5 million unique monthly visitors.[3]
History
iG was founded on January 9, 2000, by GP Investments and Banco Opportunity. It gained popularity by offering free dial-up access.
In May 2004, Brasil Telecom (then a subsidiary of Oi since 2009) acquired iG for approximately $100 million.[4] In April 2012, Oi sold iG to Portuguese investment company Ongoing Strategy Investments SGPS SA for an undisclosed sum.[5][3]
Good News Day
In 2001, the Brazilian news portal iG was at the center of a case that has since become a subject of journalism courses. At the height of its popularity, when it was one of the most visited portals in Brazil, iG designated September 11, 2001, as a day exclusively dedicated to positive news, diverging from the hard news approach that remains a hallmark of the platform today.[6] At the time, iG was the largest news portal in Brazil.[7]
The idea for "Good News Day" was conceived as a marketing strategy amid an increasing wave of negative news, particularly regarding public safety. Shortly before September 11, Patrícia Abravanel, daughter of TV host Silvio Santos, had been kidnapped. After her release, the mastermind behind the crime, Fernando Dutra Pinto, made a dramatic escape by invading Silvio Santos' mansion.[8]
With the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the initiative—chosen on an arbitrary date—had to be abandoned in favor of journalistic newsworthiness.[9] The then-director of journalism at iG, Leão Serva, acknowledging the breach of commitment to readers, wrote an editorial on the same day titled "iG tried, but history did not allow it."[8]
The event was depicted in the short film O Dia da Boa Notícia, which was a semifinalist at the São Paulo Film Festival, directed by Lucas Zacarias and João Paulo Vicente.[10]
See also
References
- Company Overview of Internet Group do Brasil S.A. Bloomberg Businessweek, retrieved 21 June 2014^
- Giovanni Santa Rosa Rosa. Globo.com anuncia fim do serviço de e-mail e provedor de internet Tecnoblog, 2021-08-09, retrieved 2022-08-24^
- Harry Maurer. Portugal's Ongoing Closes Deal to Buy IG in Brazil, Folha Says Bloomberg Businessweek, 15 April 2012^
- Brasil Telecom Compra o iG por US$ 100,7 Milhões O Estado de S. Paulo, 19 May 2004^
- Julio Wiziak. Ongoing assume iG na próxima semana Folha de S. Paulo, 26 April 2012^
- TV Cultura shows the short film ‘O Dia da Boa Notícia’ on this 9/11 IstoÉ Dinheiro, 2021-09-11, retrieved 2024-06-16^
- Juliana Jaeger. Os onzes Rádio Novelo, 2023-09-07, retrieved 2024-06-17^
- Leandro Colon. On September 11, attacks brought down the Twin Towers and 'Good News Day' Folha de S.Paulo, 2021-09-09, retrieved 2023-12-15^
- How the attempt to create a ‘Good News Day’ failed Nexo Jornal, retrieved 2024-06-17^
- Cine Enem project premieres the film ‘O Dia da Boa Notícia’ and contextualizes it with humanities 2023-09-21, retrieved 2024-06-17^