Colunismo político e transição negociada: a coluna do Castello e o pacto de elites no Brasil

Abstract

The objective of this research was to discuss the relationship between the State and Press in Brazil through an specific agent, the journalist Carlos Castello Branco, and the analysis of his political column at the Jornal do Brasil (JB, daily newspaper published by JB Editora, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), called Coluna do Castello. We chose to study a part of the transitional period of the Brazilian autocratic regime (1974-1979), because we presuppose that the referred columnist was a relevant agent in the mediation process between the State and the political elites committed to the agenda of the transition to the democratic regime. We argue that Coluna do Castello was a fundamental interlocution space for the conciliation of the Brazilian society towards the conservative modernization. In order to sustain our proposal, we go over an overview of journalism and elites in Brazil, as well as some principles that directed the idea of political columnism as a relevant space. Ultimately, we study the trajectory of Carlos Castello Branco to understand how the journalist acquired authority as an expert in political affairs, establishing himself as a privileged interpreter - which contributed to the growth of political columnism itself