The success of Brasil 247
In just six months of operation, the website has already become a landmark for electronic media.
Lisbon – Journalist Leonardo Attuch and his Brasil 247, a pioneering news website for iPads and other tablets, reached 2,8 million unique visitors and 46 million page views in a record six months. It's booming, as the kids say. As a modest contributor to the initiative, I enthusiastically note the success, which confirms an infallible formula in journalism: quality content, firmness of purpose, and commitment to the reader result in success.
September 15th, 2011, is a landmark for Attuch and his readers, but also for Brazilian electronic media. It opens space for initiatives, increasingly common in the United States and Europe, by journalists who find in the Internet an outlet for talents often underestimated by traditional media.
It's very good as it is, and from what I hear, it will be even better with the addition of regional, local, and municipal content.
I was mayor of Manaus (1989-1992) and I know well the suffering of administrators in a context where decisions are federal, with strong state influence, but, when it comes to implementation, depend on performance and the arrival of resources to the municipality. This applies to journalism, where, as the pioneers used to say, a stumble on the corner is worth more than an earthquake in China. That's the direction Leonardo is taking in his plan to guarantee the expansion of the project throughout Brazilian regions.
Brazil is a country in the process of strengthening democracy and development. People like Attuch and initiatives like Brasil 247 function in national life in the same way as experienced, pioneering mountaineers who go ahead of the group and drive in the stakes capable of safely hoisting the others.
Congratulations! May you reach your first billion page views and launch the Android app soon. Brazil thanks you.
Arthur Virgílio Neto is a diplomat and former leader of the PSDB party in the Senate.