NEW POLITICAL STRATEGIES IN BRAZILIAN TELEVISION? GLOBO'S "JORNAL NACIONAL " IN A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE1

years presenting Globo TV’s prime time newscast, Jornal Nacional, Cid Moreira was not on the screen as the main newsreader that evening. He did appear for one minute, but this time only to read the editorial. From that day on, this would be the only role for the man who, for decades, had presented the most important and popular newscast in Brazil. Cid Moreira had been a constant presence in Brazilian living rooms during a period of deep changes in Brazilian society and politics. As a consequence, his image was deeply associated with that of Globo. Why did Globo replace Moreira and his main partner, Sergio Chapelin, as the presenters of Jornal Nacional? What is the relationship between this change and Globo's political strategy? Did this change have any consequences for the form in which Globo covers political and social issues? These are some of the questions this paper will deal with. I will try to show that the change was an important one and that it did have an impact on the form in which Globo represents the political life in Brazil. Moreover, I will argue that this change is better understood if placed as part of the network's new political strategy. The text is organized in the following way: first, I present a brief account of Jorn l Nacional's history and political role, including the replacement of its main newsreader. After considering the possible explantations for the change, I introduce the hypothesis of the study and its methodology. Finally, I discuss the results of a comparative content analysis of Jornal Nacional. The aim of the analysis is to investigate how the change of newsreaders influenced the ways Globo covers political, economic and social issues in Brazil