Grupo Estado was born on January 4, 1875, when the first edition of
A Provincia de Sao Paulo ran, with a circulation of 2,000. Brazil was
then a colonial empire divided in provinces, under the Portuguese crown. Sao
Paulo, today a megalopolis of 18 million people, was then just a small semi-rural village of 25,000 souls. The entire staff was just 30 people. In 1889, when
Brazil broke its ties with Portugal and became a republic, the newspaper
changed its name to O Estado de S. Paulo.
In 1966, the evening paper Jornal da Tarde was founded. While O
Estado de S. Paulo was earnest and gray, JT was aimed at a
younger readership. Its daring and sometimes shocking layout and a fresh
approach to the news were in sharp contrast to the period's standards.
In 1970, the group's news agency was created. Agencia Estado was for two decades a standard news agency, selling Grupo Estado's editorial content and photographs to dozens of newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations all over Brazil.
In 1988, Agencia Estado started focusing on segmented information markets, becoming the leading provider of news and price quotations to the financial market world and other productive sectors.
In 1985, Grupo Estado built a large printing plant, also creating a publishing division of phone books and directories. OESP Midia Direta currently publishes the major telephone directories in the country, as well as several customized publications.
In 1988, the group created a third-party publishing division to serve the growing market of small, regional, and professional publications. OESP Vendas Graficas has been growing explosively since then, and has fulfilled the initial requirements to get itself a ISO-9000 certificate.
The idea of an truly independent newspaper in Brazil was the brainchild of a small group of pro-republic and anti-slavery activists (called abolicionistas). A Provincia de Sao Paulo fulfilled the promise to be a truly free and respected news medium. As abolicionistas, the original publishers were the first to employ freed slaves as paid employees in the printing shop.
Francisco Rangel Pestana and Americo de Campos were the first publishers. In 1891, Julio Mesquita, one of the most distinguished editorialists of that time, became publisher, and he gave the newspaper its modern style, perfecting his oeuvre until his death, in 1927. He was succeeded by Julio de Mesquita Filho and Francisco Mesquita.
During its 120 years of existence, O Estado de S. Paulo's independence was threatened by all kinds of arbitrariness, censorship, and even a government ordered intervention, during Getulio Vargas' dictatorship (1930- 1954). For a shameful five-year period, the newspaper was under government control rule, Julio de Mesquita Filho and Francisco Mesquita being sent into exile. Today's publishers do not recognize this period, which is why the group only admits 115 years of actual independent existence.
Back in the hands of its rightful owners, the newspaper was once again targeted by a non-democratic government, in the 1960's. The military dictatorship established rigid media censorship, even placing agents permanently in the newsrooms. Daringly, O Estado de S. Paulo chose to replace censored stories and articles by phony cake recipes and poems. Whoever called to complain about a cake that would not bake would be told the censored news over the phone.
Grupo Estado moved in 1976 to a 40,000 square meter facility, composed by three large buildings that home most of the group's business units. The group is run by the descendants of Julio de Mesquita Filho and Francisco Mesquita.
From the times of the small A Provincia de Sao Paulo, a solid media corporation has emerged and established itself as a serious and diversified company, keeping pace with relevant market changes, technological breakthroughs, and thereby positioning itself as a major media player on the eve of a new century -- while still faithful to its centennial principles of truth and independence.
