INTRODUCTION

The importance of television in the Brazilian context justifies a study of the medium because, since 1964, Brazilian television has been used by the military government to promote national development and national integration and has been used by many of Brazil's people as the only source of reference for their social interaction. Since its introduction in 1950 as a luxury consumer commodity, it has undergone several changes, which have contributed to the transformation of the medium into a complex social device. In Brazil, "even the very poor families think that television is a must." (1)

There is, however, a shortage of scholarly literature about Brazilian television. In fact, few original studies exist and those that do, deal with program content, soap operas, the audience, or a chronological history of the country's broadcast media. Too, most of the existing studies have resulted from research carried out in other countries and adapted to a Brazilian context, which includes approximately 20 million households with a television set, and a potential audience of 80 million. Because the fast growth of Brazilian television occurred after the coup d'état in 1964, from which a new political and socioeconomic order was established in Brazil and from which television benefited, I assumed that I could not examine the development of Brazilian television since 1964 without studying the military regime's objectives and its influence on all sectors of Brazilian society. This study tries to identify some of the effects of the military regime on the growth of Brazilian television during the period of time between 1964 and 1979. This study does not consider the recent promoted changes by President João Batista Figueiredo’s administration. It will examine the regime's influence on the regulatory process and on political and socioeconomic development in order to outline a broad view of the development of Brazilian television within its present environment, as well as to serve as a framework for future research on the topic.

In 1964 the current authoritarian regime overthrew President João Goulart (1961-1964) and established its own development model. An investigation of Brazil's communications laws, of the regulatory agencies charged with enforcement, and political and socioeconomic influences on television, is, in reality, an investigation of the direct results of the military regime¹s actions in the political and socioeconomic spheres. It should be noted that, since 1964, the military has exerted direct or indirect influence on all sectors of Brazilian society. As Wayne A. Selcher says,

Military, not civilian, groups are the president's principal constituency and have exercised considerable influence in recruitment of civilians to high administrative posts such as the cabinet. Military officers assume managerial and executive duties in a wide variety of government ministries, agencies, and corporations, either for security reasons (civil aviation, nuclear energy, oil, telecommunications steel, etc.) or because those agencies require technical competence in which the military excels. (2)

It is important to note that some of the military, political, economic, and social connections with television that this study finds can only be inferred or assumed from the available data. Because of this, I omitted much detail necessary to clarify certain evidence not only because this study is not a complete one, but also because many sources, such as broadcast enterprises and some official institutions did not provide answers to the questionnaires, which were sent to them. Despite these problems, this study points out some of the principal factors which have contributed to the technical improvement of Brazilian television and to how the government has influenced the content of television programming.

Research for this study was based on four main sources: presidential and ministerial speeches concerning television; laws and institutions, principally those related to telecommunications; studies dealing with Brazilian military structure and history, Brazilian socioeconomic history (principally the Brazilian "economic miracle"), the Brazilian process of urbanization and industrialization, and mass media communication, and network news publications, promotional booklets, and Brazilian newspapers and newsmagazines.

Chapter 1 provides a brief history of Brazilian television since its introduction in 1950. Chapter 2 explains the basic framework of the military structure and the doctrine on which the authoritarian regime has based its development model since 1964. Chapter 3 outlines communication policies and the principal regulatory agencies created after 1964 and how they have affected the growth of Brazilian television. Chapter 4 provides a view of how television has been affected by political actions. Chapter 5 points out socioeconomic influences on the development of Brazilian television since 1950. It stresses the period after 1964, when the so-called Brazilian economic miracle, which contributed directly to the development of television, occurred. Chapter 6 provides a summary of the findings of this study and presents the future perspectives of Brazilian television.

PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRAZILIAN TELEVISION / 2. THE IMPACT OF THE MILITARY REGIME ON TELEVISION / 3. THE INFLUENCE OF COMMUNICATION LAWS AND REGULATORY AGENCIES ON THE GROWTH OF TELEVISION / 4. POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION / 5. SOCIOECONOMIC INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION / 6.SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS / 7. NOTES / 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY / 9. ABOUT THE AUTHOR