Paulo Portas - Press Career

Press Career

Paulo Portas first became known at 15 years of age when he wrote an article for a daily evening newspaper ("Jornal Novo") under the heading "Três Traições" ("Three Betrayals") directly accusing then president Ramalho Eanes, prime-minister Mário Soares and Foreign Affairs Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral of "selling out" Portugal's African colonies in 1974-75. The article earned him a libel lawsuit from president Eanes and the public exposure necessary to get his own opinion column in the conservative weekly newspaper "O Tempo" and, some years later, in "Semanário."

In 1987, he co-founded, with Miguel Esteves Cardoso, the weekly newspaper O Independente, which became known for its innovative editorial concepts as well as for denouncing political scandals, often on the basis of little more than hearsay. In reporting such scandals, Paulo Portas personally targeted several ministers of the governments of Aníbal Cavaco Silva (1985–1995) thus making several enemies in the PSD party. Although it reached very respectable circulation levels in the 1990s, "O Independente" never quite reached Paulo Portas' stated objective of outselling the leading Portuguese weekly Expresso and eventually folded in 2006.

In the 1990s Portas participated as panel member in a popular weekly night TV talk show and in 2006, after his first stint as government Minister, Portas returned to TV with "O estado da Arte" (The state of the Art) where he participated as commentator on current issues.