INTERVIEW WITH JOSÉ ARBEX JÚNIOR – A COMMUNICATION AND REAL DEMOCRACY

Abstract

Jose Arbex Junior is journalist and writer. PhD in Social History from the University of Sao Paulo (USP), is also a professor of journalism at the Catholic University Pontífica (PUCSP), and special editor of the magazine publisher Dear Friends of Casa Amarela. Among its major bibliographic contributions in the field of communication, we can cite the work Showrnalismo - The news as spectacle (2001), where he examines how the media, in the contemporary world, turns everything into show: the elections, to natural

disasters; of scandals and stories of the daily heinous crimes. Also, the book The Canalha Journalism (2003), in which Arbex Jr shows some concrete examples of doubtful relations between media and power, such as the journalistic coverage of the invasion of Iraq by the United States. This interview has been granted during the Camp I Binational of the World Social Forum (ABFSM), an event held from 24 to January 29, 2006, in the extreme south of Brazil (in the bar of Chuí, with the motto Uruguay). In the event, Arbex Jr coordinated the discussion of thematic axis Cultures and Communication. After swimming in the rio Chuí, which divides the two countries, seated in the square for a food tasting Milapanes (Uruguayan sandwich), Arbex has presented its arguments about issues such as: the relationship between communication and power, the democratization of the media and education policy. This contribution remained unknown until now, but the issues involving communication, especially those related to the exercise of democracy real, have not lost their actuality, we share this pertinent and humorous dialogue.