The oldest newspaper in circulation in the country, Diario de , based in , celebrated 200 years of foundation this Friday (7).
This Friday, in a ceremony honoring the newspaper, the Pernambucano Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Institute (IAHGP) opened a can sealed by historian and journalist Narsson Figueiredo in 1925, when the newspaper turned 100 years old.
In the so-called time capsule, objects that symbolize the period were found: a letter opener, a pen and original copies of the Diario de Pernambuco.
Also this Friday, the newspaper, which began as an advertising vehicle, highlighted its first edition. The copy had four pages and was shot in the home of its founder, typographer Antonino José de Miranda Falcão, in the center of Recife.
“With this very populous city lacking a Diary of advertisements, through which transactions could be facilitated, and communicate to the public news that may be of interest to each person in particular, the administrator of Typographia de Miranda proposed to publish only this Diary every day of the week, except Sundays”, stated the first printed text.
The newspaper passed through other hands and came to belong for decades to Diários Associados, owned by Assis Chateaubriand, consolidating itself as a reference in the Northeast. It is currently run by businessman Carlos Frederico Vital.
Another memory rescued by the vehicle this Friday was that of the “hairy leg”, an urban legend explored in a scene from the film “”, by Kleber Mendonça Filho from Pernambuco, which made the pages of Diario in 1975.
That year, reporter Raimundo Carrero was tasked with speaking to a resident of São Lourenço da Mata who said he had been attacked by a hairy leg. The story made the pages of the newspaper, under the title “Ghost leg appears in house in Tiúma”, and similar reports multiplied throughout the Recife Metropolitan Region.
In 2022, the newspaper’s physical collection began to undergo a restoration and digitization process at the Liber Laboratory at UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco).
“The work continues, we are very close to ending the 19th century. We have now received new scanners that will advance the work. The restoration is slower. It is delicate work and the books are deteriorated”, said professor Marcos Galindo to Sheetthis Friday.
In January of this year, a municipal law was published that gives the newspaper the title of Intangible Historical and Cultural Heritage of Recife.
The vehicle’s collection is recognized as Brazil’s material cultural heritage by law sanctioned by the president (PT) last year.
To mark its 200th anniversary, the newspaper also held a party last Monday (3), at the Santa Isabel Theater, with the presence of politicians and authorities. Outside, a group of former newspaper employees protested against delays in severance pay.
In a statement, Sinjope (Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Pernambuco) and Fenaj (National Federation of Journalists) stated that “the vast majority of journalists fired in recent years” by the newspaper did not receive the severance pay due.
The report attempted to contact the newspaper’s management by telephone this Friday, but received no response.
