Launched by USP’s School of Communications and Arts, free e-book shows the various forms of aggression against press professionals in the country
Freedom of the press is one of the vital pillars of democracy. THE e-book “Press Security and Freedom – Threats to Journalists in Brazil”free and bilingual (Portuguese and English), uses cases from different regions of Brazil to demonstrate how this pillar is threatened daily. Written based on the final works of the postgraduate course taught by professors Elizabeth Saad and Daniela Osvald, from ECA (School of Communications and Arts) at USP (University of São Paulo), the book highlights that the threat to journalism manifests itself beyond physical violence – it encompasses psychological and digital harassment.
Based on the analysis of reports from Fenaj (National Federation of Journalists), it is known that, in the State of São Paulo alone, there were almost 300 attacks against journalists between 1982 and 2024. However, Brazilian press professionals are rarely trained to deal with the dangers of their role. Most undergraduate curricula do not provide any material on professional security. It was with this in mind that professors and journalists Elizabeth Saad and Daniela Osvald developed the postgraduate course New Paradigms and Dimensions of Violence in the Field of Communication: Harassment and Threats to Journalists and Communicators.
The subject was developed with Oslomet (Oslo Metropolitan University) and two other universities, based on a 5-year agreement financed by the Norwegian Research Institute, which ended this year – but the teachers intend to continue teaching the same subject, open to listeners. The book was released free of charge by the research groups Com+ and Obcom (Observatory of Communication, Freedom of Expression and Censorship), both from ECA.
The result of the academic work of postgraduate students, each of the book’s 5 chapters relates concrete cases from the contemporary Brazilian context with theoretical references discussed throughout the semester. “Specific cases give materiality to the subjective. Because every hour a new case appears. We wanted to show the multiple possibilities of a violent occurrence or harassment, which often go unnoticed. For example, that report by Marcelo Rubens Paiva at Carnival”conta Saad.
This story is told in the 4th chapter of the e-booktitled “What about Cultural Editorial? The (Lack of) Safety of Journalists at Carnival 2025”. On Carnival Sunday this year, journalist and writer Marcelo Rubens Paiva was honored by the Bloco Acadêmicos do Baixo Augusta, in São Paulo. The reason was the film’s Oscar nomination. “I’m Still Here” (2024), based on Paiva’s book about the history of his family, repressed by the military dictatorship (1964-1985). During the celebration, the journalist was hit by a backpack, a beer can and a t-shirt.
At the same event, the photographer from Folha de S. Paulo Bruno Santos was kicked by a group of security guards when he tried to record a disagreement between them and some revelers. These were not the only cases of violence against the press at this year’s Carnival. “When it was reported by the media, by the journalists themselves, it was not described as violence. Sometimes they even reported how they ‘attacked Marcelo Rubens Paiva’, but the attack was not described as social pressure. The journalistic narrative does not account for this”affirm You can.
In the book, the authors of the chapter, Aianne Amado and Mario Sergio Assumpção de Andrada e Silva, highlight the focus of studies in the area on analyzing situations in which the journalist’s life and full freedom are at risk. This happens, according to the authors, because society only considers physical aggression as violence. Murder, kidnapping, disappearance and beatings are considered forms of silencing, but psychological violence is disregarded. Bullying, harassment, hate speech and data surveillance are considered irrelevant.
This is also demonstrated in chapter 2, “Silenced Voices: Racism, Transphobia and Gender-Based Violence in Brazilian Journalism”. In it, Riza Lemos and Rafael Pereira tell cases like that of reporter Joyce Ribeiro. In 2014, Ribeiro was working for SBT (Brazilian Television System) when he began to be the target of racist attacks on social media. On platforms X and Instagram, users made derogatory comments about her race, appearance and professional abilities.
Another topic covered in the e-book is the coverage of drug trafficking in Brazil, by telling stories like that of journalist Guilherme Portanova. In August 2006, Portanova, at the time a reporter for TV Globowas kidnapped by members of the PCC (First Command of the Capital). The objective was for the channel to issue a video manifesto recorded by the group – in it, they demanded more dignified treatment for prisoners, especially changes to the RDD (Differentiated Disciplinary Regime). The reporter spent more than 40 hours in captivity until the TV Globo fulfilled the requirement. “The message was simple and worrying: whoever has control over communication has power”appears in the book.
Press freedom in Brazil
“The situation of press freedom in Brazil has never been ideal, and is far from being”says Daniela Osvald. The teacher says that the military dictatorship educated the journalistic class to self-censor or “autointerditar”that is, not pursuing an agenda for fear of reprisal and punishment. “We operate in this mode, already internalized, and this harms the quality of journalism in the country”, adds.
Even without institutionalized censorship after the end of the dictatorship, the class continues to be silenced by the government on several occasions, continues the teacher. Osvald points out that, in 20 years of Fenaj reports, it appears that 55% of those responsible for attacks on journalists are government agents, political actors or security actors.
The professor highlights that, by attacking press professionals, the government and the country’s security institutions communicate to the population that the media is not trustworthy. “It’s as if they said to attack journalists too. That’s what Bolsonaro did very well, for example. He taught his followers that it’s okay to curse journalists, attack them and break their equipment. Because they will question and ask uncomfortable questions”comments Osvald. She recalls that the violent trend against press professionals in the political sphere has increased due to polarization, but this is nothing new. According to the professor’s own research, since 1988 there has never been an election year in Brazil without at least one journalist murdered for his professional activities.
“There’s a meme that says: first they came and caught the journalists, then no one knew what happened. If there isn’t someone covering it, we don’t know the truth”says the teacher. Osvald, Saad and the postdocs who participated in the creation of the e-book point out: freedom of the press is essential for democracy, but if the journalist is a victim and is not safe as a worker, there is no freedom.
O e-book “Press Security and Freedom – Threats to Journalists in Brazil” is available free of charge at and .
With information from Jornal da USP.
