7th International Symposium on Online Journalism, 2006 The University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism

International Perspectives on Online Journalism Paula Jung Doctoral Candidate, Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio Grande do Sul and Associate Professor at Feevale, Brazil Online Journalism in Brazil

Behavior of Brazilians on the Internet  32 million Internet users (March, 2006);  13.2 million active users (February, 2006);  Brazilians spent on average of 18 hours on the internet (February,2006);  Web Portals, Search Engines and Communities have the biggest reach among domestic Brazilians users: 88.7%. IBOPE/NetRatings

Home: 54 % Work: 31% School, University: 14% Internet café:3% TGI 2005  21.2 million people have computers with internet access at home;  Despite being a new communication medium, the Internet has become very popular: 45% of users are daily users. Where Brazilians surf on the net: Behavior of Brazilians on the Internet

Type of connection  Dialup connection is still the most used in Brazil because of the low cost; TGI 2005 IBOPE//NetRatings  Active broadband users from home: 1.5 million million 2005.

Behavior of Brazilians on the Internet What Brazilians do on the Internet Send and receive s 71% Personal Research 61% Read news (national) 46% Read news (international) 39% Read online newspapers 36% TGI 2005

Behavior of Brazilians on the Internet  The number of Brazilian readers of online news increases every year:  The growth was 26% larger than the growth of Internet connections itself;  News sites correspond to 55.9% of the internet universe;  The news, including the portals, had an increase of 24.4% in twelve months million million Folha Online

Brazilian online journalism:a brief history  1995 – online journalism starts with the arrival of Jornal do Brasil;  users, creation of UOL,BOL, Zaz (Terra) - news web portals;  million Internet users;  million Internet users;  2000 – broadband emerges;  IG launches the first free supplier of access;  million Internet users,  wireless connections;

Internet Advertising  The advertising investment of the main portals has grown in the last years, but it is below of the period known as the "bubble" ( ), when thousands of dollars were spent to get the attention of Internet users;  2005 shows an increase;  That is equivalent to 1.7% of the total of the investment advertising market in the country. Brazilian online journalism IBOPE/NetRatings

Brazilian online journalism:access  In Brazil we pay for access (dial up or broadband) and we should choose the supplier of content;  The history of Brazilian Internet is associated with partnerships between phone companies and national groups of media;  $$$ = The concentration of Brazilian Internet is shared among the media groups, foreign phone companies and multinationals;

International web portals

International web portals:competition Unique Audience (000) Web Page views (000) Time per person hh:mm:ss Google :38:53 MSN :36:01 UOL ***** :15:11 Terra **** :40:28 Yahoo :33:35 IG *** :25:20 Globo ** :27:52 Ranking (January 2006) IBOPE/NetRatings

Universo Online  UOL is the biggest content portal and paid Internet service provider in Latin America;  More than 7 million visitors per month.  Folha Online Free access

Blogging  In 2005, it was the time of blogs;  Interactive media;  Tool for the online newspapers;

Ricardo Noblat’s Blog  This blog is considered an example, mainly in politics;  A recognized journalist for his work in print newspapers;  Estadão;  This blog was mentioned several times;  Interaction ;  Reputation;  Opinion leader

 In the Estadão (online newspaper), there is a section called PhotoReporter in which citizens can send photos to the newsroom through cellphones, digital cameras and other devices;  One of the first Brazilian relationships on the Internet between traditional media and participative journalism. Participative Journalism

Some considerations  Brazil’s online journalism is a work in progress;  Multimedia has a long way to go;  Media convergence;  Three national examples of Brazilian television that are produced specifically for internet broadcast;  Broadcast video news in real time, available 24 hours a day live and on-demand;  These three channels are creating their own content,  Gives the public more news options;  Regionalized and local coverage.

Internet and TV Paid access Free access

TV UOL  The portal UOL has TV UOL, specially created to produce and broadcast videos on the Internet;  UOL NEWS, is a journalism channel, interactive;  It is anchored by journalist Lillian Witte Fibe;  Brings daily news and analytical bulletins in real time;  It also broadcasts live and on demand the content of BandNews and BandSports (open TV).

Jornal do Terra  Free to audience;  Three daily bulletins;  8 hours live and also on demand;  Corporate audience;  Distributes 20 stories a day;  Agility with digital cameras;  Freelancers circulate material.

 “The first television especially for the Internet”  The language follows a different concept;  On air during 24 hours, live and on demand;  Interaction process through webcam;  Small video monitor;  Quality: video and sound;  Live bulletins by web reporters;  The purpose is to be global, not local.

Things to think about:  The web portals -main entrances - online media;  Headline - main page;  Breaking news;  “Balance when doing the headline: public interest and interest of the public are not the same”;  The news coverage is very similar in some cases in Brazilian online journalism.

Interactivity – blogs - online newspapers; Digital TV; Broadband; The online news depends on the facts - big coverages - elections, World Cup and wars; Digital Cup - sport news - presidential election; Convergence between cell phones and online journalism (online newspaper, TV and podcasting); In Brazil we have 80 million cell phones. Perspectives: Brazilian online journalism