Press pundits and Portuguese society

Abstract

Since the end of the 1980s, the relevance and visibility of media pundits have increased considerably in Portuguese society, due to the institutionalization of the Portuguese democracy, the increased relevance given to public debate and the development of the media sector. This article presents an empirical study regarding the space given over to pundits in mainstream Portuguese print media between 1980 and 2005, a period of significant change in Portugal. It is argued that, seen as a public space, punditry can be conceived as an indicator of the democratization process in Portugal. This study aims to analyze how the changes that took place in Portuguese media and society affected the pundits’ world, their profile and the presence of women in their midst. This study aims to answer several questions: Who are the Portuguese media pundits? Where do they come from? Is this a balanced gender space? What was the impact of structural changes in the media sector and Portuguese society throughout the past 26 years, with regards to the space occupied by pundits? In spite of so many major structural changes in Portuguese society and in the media sector, why is the pundits’ profile perpetuating itself through the years?