Globo anchor in Goiás resigns in letter detailing abuse and low salary.

247 - Journalist Matheus Ribeiro, anchor of TV Anhanguera, a Globo affiliate in Goiás, resigned this Wednesday (8). He became nationally known last year for being the first openly gay person to occupy the Jornal Nacional news desk.

The journalist pointed out abuses by the broadcaster, such as persecution by his boss, the way he used social media, low pay (lower than that of professionals with fewer responsibilities), and even unjustifiable cuts in the payroll.

Check out the letter published on Catraca Livre website:

Brenda,

In light of all the events of the last few weeks, I will be requesting the indirect termination of my employment contract with the broadcaster.

The way I've been treated here, the restrictions that have been imposed, the illegalities that have been committed, and the treatment incompatible with my role as anchor of the network's main news program, force me to make this decision.

You already know this, but it doesn't hurt to remind you:

1) A month ago, you instructed the editor-in-chief to issue me a warning because of a photo with the woman who gives me massages, arguing that it constituted "advertising." Besides the stupidity of the interpretation (since I have dozens of photos with Dona Elna, our makeup artist, and this has never been seen as any kind of promotion), the network seems unaware of the value of its professionals. I wouldn't advertise a massage that costs 100 reais. I posted the photo because it's someone I like, and social media is for sharing our daily lives.

2) You cut my salary without warning, after pressuring me to fulfill a work schedule that, in practice, never existed. If there were contractual overtime hours in my salary, that was a trick the company itself arranged to compensate for the meager salary I was always paid. Neither I nor my other colleagues in Journalism are required to clock in and out, due to the daily changes made to our schedules. This is documented. Even so, illegally, they used the turnstile access control as an argument. If I myself said that the way forward was to cut these overtime hours, I expected a sensible stance from management, in respect for my dedication and history at the company. With colleagues who perform inferior functions to mine and don't deliver the same results as I do earning salaries above R$15, the TV station paying me a salary of R$3.900,00 is outrageous.

3) The pressure for me to stop engaging in activities at my company that don't even have an ethical conflict with my journalistic work. For over a year, you and the other directors have been fully aware that my company bought media for some clients within the group. I even considered this to be well-regarded, since I informed you that there were no other media outlets in the media plans developed by my agency: I always brought my clients' budgets to this company, for which I have always had gratitude and appreciation. Ronaldo's request that I choose between the newspaper and my media contracts was disrespectful, since there has always been full knowledge of the activities I carry out, something that is documented with contracts, emails, accreditation letters, invoices, and even gifts I received for being an agency owner.

4) Finally, but no less regrettable, this ridiculous leash that management wants to impose on my activity on social media, something that has been and is quite exploited by the network to benefit its products. I have the largest number of followers among our colleagues, my networks surpass those of the network itself, I have a good relationship with my audience, I convert that into results for the news program… Prohibiting me from doing a live stream to talk to my friends and chat with my followers borders on unjustified censorship, for the simple pleasure of exercising power.

Add to all of this older problems that were never "remembered" in our conversations, such as the fact that I've been presenting the news program for years and my contract stipulates that I'm a reporter.

I arrived here as a young boy, raw and needing to learn. I am very grateful for the opportunities I have been given and I believe I have demonstrated this for quite some time. I am sure I have already repaid everything the company has done for me. However, for some time now this relationship has been unequal and toxic. I am unhappy with this work environment; I feel disrespected, belittled, and underutilized.

I would simply like to understand the motivation behind such a belligerent, arbitrary, and exaggerated stance towards me. I am curious and intrigued to understand the reason for the persecution, this need to rein me in… Did some action of mine generate this need? Is something bothering them enough to cause all this?

Personal preferences aside, I am a professional who fulfills my duties and delivers results beyond expectations. It's worth remembering that, thanks to the work of an extremely competent team that I am proud to be a part of, JA2 recently achieved one of its highest audience ratings in history. A record that, in case you don't remember, we have broken several other times since I started presenting.

Hearing, as I did from Ronaldo, in front of you, that I have "a great future ahead of me in the company" is incompatible with reality. I have been presenting the most-watched news program in Goiás for five years. My future is today. For me, television is in the past. Sincerely,
Matheus Ribeiro.

With information Free Turnstile