Global Media News

Brazil Mayor Bans LGBTQ Comic Book Content

According to BBC country profiles, Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing countries in terms of media growth and its everyday consumption. Recently however, the country has been on a mission to silence LGBTQ story tellers and censor certain content from the public. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been instrumental in this new movement of censoring LGBTQ content in his country with him canceling state funding for television content that featured LGBT themes or characters. This decision suspended over 70 million dollars from the government grant with its effect putting a hold or completely canceling tv series and movies in development.

However this is not where the discrimination in the country stops, the latest controversy came when the mayor of the capital of Brazil, Marcelo Crivella ordered a complete ban of an Avenger's comic book from a Rio book festival according to CNN because it had featured a homosexual relationship between two heroes and had them sharing a kiss in one scene. The Marvel comic book 'Avengers: The Children's Crusade' tells the story of a group of young heroes trying to find their place in a world (that ironically), is scared of them. The comic book features a relationship between two heroes Wiccan and Hulkling. The two characters had been on an in comic couple since their creation in 2005 by comic book writer Allan Heinberg but the kiss was symbolic within the pages of the comic book because it had been their first on screen kiss in over a decade. The kiss is so remarkable because even though the two fictional characters must embrace each other daily in their world, it was the first time it was ever shown to the reader in 14 years since their first publication. However, this is not the first time Marvel Comic has shown a page kiss between two men and is far from the last time it ever will, so it's interesting that this specific panel of new heroes Wiccan and Hulkling kissing got the comic book banned in Rio.

The Book Billenial in Rio De Janeiro happens every year since 1988 and is billed as the largest literary event in the country. After the ban of the comic book during the 31st annual book fair, the mayor had all of the copies of the issue seized by officers at the event. Mayor Crivella who has been quoted in the past calling homosexuality "a terrible evil" had this to say when asked to comment on the issue. "Guys, we need to protect our children, As a result, we have determined that the Biennial organizers collect books with content that is unsuitable for minors." quoted in an article in The Washington Post. This issue sparked fire when the biggest newspaper in the country Folha De S.Paulo printed out an article detailing what happened along with the image of the two comic book characters kissing on the front page. 

Credit to telsur hd. 

In response, a handful of artists took measures into their own hands. Reuters reports that the author of the Avenger's Comic Book Nana Quieroz took to the streets away from the fair to sell copies of her comic book there where she would not be silenced or censored. The Rio Times reported that Brazilian YouTuber Felipe Neto bought over 10,000 LGBT themed books at the fair and distributed them there. In the end, Brazil’s highest court ruled that banning books over LGBT+ content was illegal, claiming that it was a violation of rights and Queiroz was able to sell her book without it being confiscated by officials from the mayor’s office in Rio de Janeiro.

The Embrace of Social Media in Brazil

Social media around the world has been welcomed with open arms. Being able to communicate with family, friends, as well as work associates has made the use of social media fun, and effective. However, a country that is a heavy user of social media, and is not well known as such, is Brazil.

To put this in laymen's terms, Brazil loves social media, and their use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, among others. The most popular site by far is Facebook. According to an emarketer.com article from June of this year, Facebook was found to be the most popular. With that, from a report on Brazilian social media from sprinklr.com, 10% of the world's total time spent on social media comes from Brazil, which puts them in second, only behind the United States. After seeing that, one could say that Brazil is one of the world's social media powerhouses. 

What this means is that social media has made it's way down to South America, and the world will be able to be easily connected. With more nations continuing to use and embrace social media, nations around the world will be able to communicate much easier. 

Inside Brazil's Largest Television Network

    Many people all over the world have been watching the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this past August. But Brazil would rather have their eyes glued to watching telenovelas.

    Around 91 million people in Brazil sit, relax, and tune into TV Globo each day, which was addressed in The Economist. That number is almost half of Brazil's population, and the numbers the United States hope to get once a year. Their popular soap operas called telenovelas, get the largest viewers, ratings, and word of mouth around Brazil.

    According to a 2011 study conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, featured in this New York Times article by Vanessa Barbara, it shows that the percentage of people who have a television set, 96.9%, is higher than people who own a refrigerator, which is 95.8%, and 64% just have one television in their household. This shows that many people in the country really do love their telenovelas!

    In this additional New York Times article by David Segal, he mentions the schedule for weeknight shows on TV Globo, which is: five one-hour telenovelas, with two newscasts and one sitcom in between. The most viewed time slot is 9:15, when about 50 million people sit to watch TV Globo, which is approximately one fourth of the country's population.

    In the same article, Monica Albuquerque, the head of Globo's artistic development said that "the country would stop" if soaps went on hiatus, especially during the Olympic Games. Alburquerque also added that "it's culture and a part of life".

 

 

 

A New Popular Sport Comes To Brazilian Television

     Since 1950, Television in Brazil is becoming one of the largest and most productive commercial television systems in this world. Brazil is also very popular in sports. Soccer is still one of the most popular sport in Brazil. Last year, Brazil hosted the biggest soccer tournament in history. The FIFA World Cup was held in Rio, Brazil. This popular event featured all star soccer athletes that represented for their country. Brazil and The United States were one of the 36 countries that participated in this event. Esporte Interactivo is an Interactive Sports Channel that gave the Brazilians updates on how their soccer team was doing in the tournament. And now another is also going to be very popular in Brazil during this year of 2015. 

    Since January of 2007, Brazilian Television got an Interactive Sports Channel. This Interactive Sports Channel is called Esporte Interativo. Esporte Interactivo has been broadcasting live soccer matches from the Premier League, and the UEFA Champions League since 2011. In 2013, the Turner Broadcasting Network became a business partner to this Interactive Sports Channel. Now in 2015, Turner is now controlling the whole entire Channel. In March of 2015, TNA Impact Wrestling have struck a deal to aired their channel on the Esporte Interactivo Channel in Brazil.

    For those of you that are not familiar with TNA Wrestling. TNA stands for Total Nonstop Action. This Nonstop Action is where these professional wrestlers take no for an answer.  This type of Wrestling was founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett. TNA Wrestling has been in The United States for over 13 years now. This type of Wrestling is an American Private Professional Wrestling Company. 

    TNA's president Dixie Charter was very excited after saying this statement " "To partner with Esporte Interactivo, a major Brazilian network with a reach of more than 100 million people, is another significant chapter in the incredible TNA international story and an important milestone as we look to expand across South America,"" to TNA News. 

    After saying this statement, many Brazilians are very excited that they will now watch a Wrestling Channel in their country. "TNA Superstars including Kurt Angle, Lashley, Bobby Roode, Jeff Hardy, MVP, EC3,". Said by Impact Wrestling.com.  These big Superstars are going to lead popularity and a fan club to the Brazilians. The Brazilians are now able to watch and enjoy their favorite TNA Superstars on their popular Interactive Sports Channel.  

        Also TNA will join with global brands including the NFL. 105 million people in Brazil are going to be able to watch this Wrestling Channel on their Interactive Sports Channel. Since MMA Fighting will be aired on this channel, "Brazilian fans are very passionate about wrestling/MMA," A quote from Wrestling Forum.com. 

    TNA Wrestling had already became a huge impact to the Brazilians. Many Brazilians can't stop watching this wrestling on their Interactive Sports Channel. Esporte Interactivo is now the channel that the Brazilians will be paying close attention to during this year. 

TV In Brazil Has A New Plan For The Future

    By the year of 2018 Analog Television will be turned off in Brazil. Genildo Lins, The Electronic Communications Secretary of Minicom is making a huge transition in Television for the country of Brazil. This transition will change from Analog Television to Digital Television.  

    "In 2016, when the country will host the Summer Olympic Games, the main state and regional capitals will make the switch, including in Brasilia (on April 3rd), Sao Paulo (May 15th), Belo Horizonte (June 26th), Goiania (August 28th) and Rio de Janeiro (November 27th)." Said by Michael Grotticelli from TV Technology.com

    When the transition begins in 2016, many consumers in Brazil are going to feel left out during the Summer Olympics. These consumers will feel left out due to not be able to afford a DTV set. A DTV set is a new monitor that is part of Digital Television. These DTV sets that are heading to the country of Brazil, will give these viewers a great opportunity to watch some great Television. 

    "The campaign forces FTA TV broadcasters to include a warning in their analog signal throughout the day which consists of the letter “A”, which will then open up to form the word Analógico (Analogue in Portuguese)," Said by Hernan Amaya from Next TV Latam.com.

    The Summer Olympics will start this huge transition from Analog to Digital. Many Brazilians may not be aware on the importance of having a DTV Set in their homes. "Digital TV makes viewer interactivity possible with applications and with other viewers.  This makes it possible to share information through a network of a program’s viewers," Said by Ed Porto from Knight Center.edu. 

    This statement by Ed gives The Brazilians an explanation on why Digital Television is coming to their country. Digital Television will provide one of the best quality for The Brazilians.  For example, since The 2016 Summer Olympics is going to be held in Brazil, many Brazilians will now watch a better equality of every event. 

    

   

Brazil: The Social Media Capital

        It was recently revealed by the Wall Street Journal, that the social media capital of the world is Brazil.  Brazil has surpassed the United States and Europe, even though Brazil is on top, it still has potential for growth to become even bigger.

        The reason Brazil is able to be on top and continue to grow versus a country like China is because; according to Polly Becker a blogger on the wall "the [Chinese] state imposes many restrictions on what can and can't go on, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are currently blocked." Brazil is able to surpass countries such as china because they do not have restrictions like this.

        There are 65 million Facebook users, this puts Brazil right behind the United States in the number of Facebook users. However, the reason Brazil is ahead of the United States in social media as a whole is because Brazilians use many other social media websites along with Facebook where as in the United States, many Americans primarily use Facebook.

         According to The Wall, "a recent study found at Latin America's on line population grew faster than any other global region.." This creates interest for the social media companies to want to promote their social media site in a country like Brazil.

         From a promotional standpoint, these social media companies have a major opportunity to get many more Latin American users and expand their social media site even more so. This is a great place for smaller social media sites to start, it can create a domino effect if promoted properly.

 

Global Media News Webcast #12: May 2, 2103

Media News from Brazil and South America!

Global Media News for Thursday, May 2, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media News from Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela"

• Argentine Media Show Down:  Kirchner vs. Clarin
• Google in Argentina
• Social Media in Brazil:  Is Brazil the Social Media Capitol of the World?
• Youth Marketing in Brazil:  Beer Flavored Ice Cream?
• Colombia or Columbia:  A Campaign to Tell the Difference.
• President Maduro vs. Globo TV: Venezuelan Media Smackdown!
• Racism on Peruvian TV:  Is 'Negro Mama' Still on the Air?

This is our last webcast of the season!   See you in September!

Subscribe Now!

The Social Media War: Brazilian Newspapers vs Google

Back in October of 2012 Brazil's Newspapers decided to ban their information from google. The reason behind this decision was simply  because Brazil newspapers felt that they were getting the wrong end of the deal. Brazil's newspapers feels as if the Google is not doing their job to benefit both sides. 

 The BBC News reports: 

"Brazil's National Association of Newspapers says all 154 members had followed its recommendation to ban the search engine aggregator from using their content.

The papers say Google News refused to pay for content and was driving traffic away from their websites."

To hear Google that are not doing the simplest of tasks which they are know for is very unheard of. Google is known for providing information over the world to any who uses the search engine. Lately there seems to be a lot of countries pulling out of Google's search engine. 

The Guardian: quoted: National Association of Newspapers for Brazil, Carlos Fernando Lindenberg Neto

"Staying with Google News was not helping us grow our digital audiences, By providing the first few lines of our stories to internet users, the service reduces the chances that they will look at the entire story in our websites."

Brazil newspapers seems to be very upset and dissatisfied with the job Google has done and feels that a split is the best thing for all newspapers in the country. Google has been going though some problems with Brazil first the arrest of a Google senior executive for refusing to take down a video from YouTube and another similar event when a french newspaper company decided to pull its stories form Google. 

 

Brazil: The Social Media Capital of the Universe

        Brazil was named "the social media capital of the universe" by the Wall Street Journal. Brazil is a country that has a lot of potential for social media. According the the Wall Street Journal, "Twitter Inc. says Brazil has become one of the micro blogging company's top-five active user groups...People in Brazil are spending increasing amounts of time connected to social-media sites. Globally, the average time spent on Facebook dropped 2% to 361 average minutes per user per month by September 2012, compared with a year earlier, according to comScore research." Brazilians are very into keeping up with social media, even more so than the United States.

        Part of the reason Brazil thrives more than the United States in the social media world is because Brazilians are much friendlier than Americans. According to Alexandre Hohagen, vice president of Facebook's Latin America division, "In Brazil it's common for someone to start talking to you in the elevator or in a restaurant just to start a conversation." This is something that is not as common in the United States, Americans keep much more to themselves. This helps the social media sites thrive in Brazil.

        According to Social Media Today, "In many ways, Brazil is the ideal target for social media marketers – with a young, socially-connected population who are happy to engage with brands. While Facebook use reaches saturation point in North America and Europe, it’s still growing fast in Brazil." This means that social media sites are targeting the Brazilian culture more than any other country since this is where they have the room to expand and grow.

Violence Against Brazilian Press Increasing

On Friday March 8th, Rodrigo Neto was killed by two gunman while walking to his car.  Mr. Neto hosted a radio show and wrote a column for a Brazilian paper, Ipatinga daily ale do Aco.

 

As reported in The Rio Times  "The crime against journalist .Rodrigo Neto had the characteristic of an execution.  It was an attack on life, human rights and freedom of expression."   RodrigoNeto was a reporter of crime and local corruption. 

  According to Carlos Muller, a spokesman for the NAN  (National Assoication of Newspapers) the majority of recent cases in Brazil are related to local issues usually involving organized crime.  Sometime in connection with corrupt police and local politicians. 

 Neto was the fourth journalist killed so far this year.  But it appears that this killing spree has not been investigated.   The murders that have been investigated did not end in convictions either.  This has created a culture of impunity that means corrupt individuals see little risk in paying a hired gunman to silence a reporter asking inconvenient questions. What all these cases have in common is a lack of investigation. 

In a report from RJI, Brazil was listed as one of the most dangerous place's to work.   While many reporters are losing their lives while investigating corruption.  Is the corruption being with  local police? The same police who, once the reporter has been shot , are responsible for investigating the murder. 

How could anyone expect  a fair investigation by someone you may have been reporting on for ther corrupt practices? Is their a link between organized crime and the police?  Is the media at risk in this conspiracy?