The stories of Bom Dia Brasil which turns 40 today

The stories of “Bom Dia Brasil”, which turns 40 today

40 years ago the first edition of the newspaper “Bom dia Brasil” was broadcast on Rede Globo. Led by journalist Carlos Monforte, presenter and editorinchief, the television news program was born with the aim of presenting political and economic facts that had their origin or impact in Brasília, where they were presented until then the first newspaper in the capital of the country installed.

Back then, after 20 years of military dictatorship, Brazil was flirting with redemocratization. A year before the newspaper appeared, the first general election was held to elect state governors, and a few years later, in 1989, the populace regained the right to vote to elect the president of the republic for the first time in 25 years.

This scenario was the trigger for the network to plan “BDBR,” a news program that focuses on political and economic issues. The attraction was shown at 7am Monday through Friday and lasted approximately 30 minutes. The highlight of the newspaper was the “Café da Manhã” section, which contained interviews with political authorities of the time as well as with prominent businessmen from Brazil in the 1980s.

On its debut, the newspaper ran an interview between the then President of the Republic, General João Baptista Figueiredo, and reporter Carlos Henrique. It is estimated that in one year more than 700 authorities were involved in the attraction, including politicians Delfim Netto, Tancredo Neves and Ulysses Guimarães, actress Dina Sfat and filmmaker Neville de Almeida.

From 1990 to 2000: More space for the States and focus on female audiences

In the 1990s, after 10 years on the air, “BDBR” was reformulated. In 1991 Carlos Monforte was replaced by Antônio Augusto. Luís Carlos Braga presented and edited the newspaper between 1994 and 1995.

In 1996, Renato Machado took over as editorinchief alongside journalist Rosa Magalhães. Renato even became a news anchor presenting it with Leilane Neubarth.

Although the backbone of the newspaper was still the interviews, the new format gained the feel of an electronic magazine with a more informal tone. The idea was to propose a program for the female audience and therefore, in addition to weather conditions and how the financial market works, everyday topics such as culture and behavior were also included.

The show also gained a new slot, 7:30 a.m. and an additional 30 minutes in length. The production returned to Rio de Janeiro and the conversation between outofstate hosts, columnists and guests added dynamism to the attraction.

During this period, Carlos Monforte returned to the newspaper and took part in Brasília, and Chico Pinheiro from São Paulo made his first appearance in the attraction where he would continue to make history. The two became television commentators and collaborated with interviews.

Between 1998 and 1999, Carlos Nascimento ran the newspaper, and in 1999 it was Cláudia Bomtempo’s turn to host BDBR in Brasília. The journalist stayed in the role for 10 years, until 2009.

Evolution, big names in journalism and the last bank of Chico Pinheiro

To the extent that the 1990s brought new topics to the newspaper, the decade that followed was no different. In 2004, the newspaper added sports to its editorial section in addition to the topics already mentioned.

With more than 30 years on the air, BDBR took international themes in 2011, with live reports from correspondents direct from Globo studios in New York, London and Tokyo.

Over the years, with the idea of ​​having anchors in different states, “BDBR” has been presented by big names in current television journalism such as Mariana Godoy, Carla Vilhena, Rodrigo Bocardi, Renata Vasconcellos, Zileide Silva, Giuliana Morrone , Mariana Gross, Heraldo Pereira, Renato Machado, Chico Pinheiro and Ana Paula Araújo.

Ana Paula Araújo and Chico Pinheiro backstage "Good morning Brazil"  Reproduction/Instagram  Reproduction/Instagram

Ana Paula Araújo and Chico Pinheiro backstage at Bom Dia Brasil

Image: Playback/Instagram

The last two, inclusive, have shared the newspaper’s bench for the last 9 years. On this bench, in April 2022, the journalist Chico Pinheiro, known for his good humor, his catchphrases and for encouraging viewers to be “courageous” on Mondays, said goodbye after 32 years with the Rede Globo channel. Since then, Ana Paula Araújo has been running the attraction alone.