Brazil's public television, TV Brasil, started broadcasting this Sunday, November 2. The government-sponsored television channel was established after a merger between TV Nacional, TV Educativa of Rio de Janeiro and Educativa of Maranhão. It is managed by the recently established Brazil Communications Company (EBC).
EBC president, veteran journalist Tereza Cruvinel, sees public television as the compliancy with a constitutional forecast, through which the Brazilian broadcast system should be complementary, including private, state-owned and public channels.
"The commercial networks fulfill the important part of Brazilian integration and state-owned stations are used legitimately for governments and other authorities to account for their activities.
"But we don't yet have a public television channel, a generalist one, with programs for all age groups, from children's programs to television news, being controlled by a mechanism with direct participation from the society, as is the case with our curator council," said Cruvinel.
According to the journalism manager at EBC, Eduardo Castro, it will be through suggestions and interactive participation of viewers that the program grid will be built and adapted progressively: one of the mechanisms to be launched will also allow for viewers to send material in video format, for possible broadcasting during programs.
The main engagement of TV Brasil, according to Tereza, will be pluralism: "We are neither going to fight nor to dispute the audience with other television channels.
"The channel is coming to add. If you do not want to see football on commercial television and prefer a documentary on public TV, you will have this alternative."
ABr
