The media is an integral and a very important part of World Cup. Here you feel how journalist is appreciated. I always attend pre-match and post-match press conferences. Coaches and football players always listen to your question, even if it is not pleasant for them, and answer it. I have not seen anyone saying to journalist: “You have not played football and you do not know”.
World Cup shows how sports press is appreciated here. Print media has the most representatives and you see how journalists are respected. There a lot of journalists from radio and TV channels. Photographers are separate universe. Some has such big lens on cameras that they look like barrel cannons. On the match day they are divided into groups and are called up in the media center to get their seat number on the field.
Of course, TV channels have different agenda from the print press. The TV channels have arrived in Brazil with the whole brigade. On the day when the German national team was playing, journalist of one of the German TV channels was watching the match in the media center. He was supporting his team and reporting the score to his colleagues.
On the match day it is very noisy in the media center. Especially in “Maracana” where final will take place. “Maracana” has the biggest media center and media tribune. Some are writing, some taking interview from famous journalist, some making report at the stadium, some watching match on the screen.
Of course, the Brazilians are dominating and have high professionalism. For example, “Globo” has TV channel, radio, web site, newspaper and magazine. It has bureaus outside Brazil. I asked one of the Brazilian journalists and he could not say exact number of “Globo” employees.
By the way, women have also arrived in Brazil and not only TV presenters. There are also camerawomen and women photographers. In South America there are lots of sports journalists, especially writing about football. Football is number one sport here.


Lasha Tabagari, special correspondent of worldsport.ge from Rio de Janeiro