On October 24, 1984, Bauru (SP) once again became a pioneer in Brazilian television. The debut of Rede Globo Oeste Paulista marked the creation of TV Globo's first internalization project, which gave rise to the affiliate system used by the broadcaster to this day throughout the country.
This Friday (18th) National Television Day is celebrated, in reference to the first TV broadcast in Brazil, made by TV Tupi on September 18, 1950. Today TV Globo is the largest broadcaster in the country, and on this date g1 tells how Bauru played a decisive role in the network's history.
The project, designed by José Bonifácio de Oliveira Sobrinho, known as Boni, was born with the mission of bringing journalism closer to the interior of São Paulo and ended up becoming the structural matrix of Globo's affiliate system.
The new feature occupied the historic concession of Channel 2, which went on air for the first time on August 1, 1960 as TV Bauru, the result of businessman João Simonetti's dream of creating the first channel outside a capital in Latin America.
Due to high maintenance costs, the station was sold early on to the Victor Costa Organization (OVC). In 1965, when OVC was incorporated into Grupo Globo, it began to operate as a retransmitter with a local block.
At the end of 1973, local programming was interrupted for a seven-year hiatus, during which a single team covered the entire interior and sent recorded tapes to São Paulo.
Until, in 1984, with the debut of Rede Globo Oeste Paulista, the broadcaster officially became part of the Central Globo de Jornalismo (CGJ) and consolidated itself as a producer of regional journalistic content. The idea was to bring Globo's journalism closer to inland cities, a pioneering concept that shaped the affiliate model throughout Brazil.
With an editing center in Bauru and branches in Marília, Presidente Prudente, Araçatuba and São José do Rio Preto, the implementation was led by journalist Neusa Rocha and required the import of professionals from other states due to the lack of local editors.
"We started setting up all the editing in Bauru. It was very complicated, because there was no editor in the city, so we had to import people from Paraná, São Paulo, Mato Grosso...", recalls Neusa.
It was in this environment of community innovation that names such as Amauri Soares, current Director of Estúdios Globo, emerged from Bauru, who highlights the learning from this phase to this day:
"You make television for the people you meet every day. In line at the bank, in the supermarket. This close, responsible television, which sees itself as part of the community, is the television that I learned to do and still do today", says Amauri.
Gilberto Barros, who joined the station in the 1980s, was the first fixed presenter of the local newspaper after years without regional production. He participated in the debut of SPTV's regional blocks and followed the birth of the project's new headquarters.
"The teleprompter was a crank. We invented it with a Telex coil", says Gilberto.
Furthermore, he reported outside the studio, and the cameras used outside were often the same as those used inside.
"I wrote the report, ran to Bauru, we edited the story, I guided Veraneio, cutting Bauru. I ran in, threw the tape into the supervisor's hand and sat in the studio: 'Good evening'", he recalls.
On August 1, 1960, when TV Bauru, created by businessman João Simonetti, went on air for the first time, the challenge was not just to broadcast, but to invent television. Without videotape, which allows the reproduction of recorded content, and without a model to follow, what was seen on air was done live, improvised, with creativity and courage.
"It was a live program. If you make a mistake, it's wrong. The program started at 2 pm and went until midnight", recalled Paulo Simonetti, grandson of João Simonetti, creator of TV Bauru.
It was precisely the 100% live broadcasts that attracted the curiosity of the population of Bauru. Abel Fernando, one of the station's first presenters and also its artistic director, was one of the most striking figures of this phase.
The concession came with the condition that the city had at least a thousand televisions sold and installed. The family entered into a partnership with the company Rebratel, which manufactured the devices. Abel remembers one of the broadcaster's first actions to sell televisions, which stopped one of the city's main shopping centers:
"Traffic blocked! Why? Because there was going to be a demonstration for people who didn't know about television. All those people who frequented Batista de Carvalho's windows gathered there to see what television was about. 'Oh, you're going to appear there on that device, you see? It's not scary...' He ran away, scared, to the laughter of the people."
The first formats mixed journalism, entertainment and culture. Teletheater, musical programs and even live band performances were part of the daily schedule.
The improvised studio emerged in the same space where Rádio Bauru Clube (PRG-8) operated, in the Bela Vista neighborhood. The old auditorium was transformed into a studio, with limited cameras and creative solutions for lighting and scenery.
"There in Bela Vista, where the radio was, there was the auditorium. So, we did away with the auditorium and it became the TV right there", remembers Paulo Simonetti.
Big names in Brazilian music remember the TV Bauru studios. Alongside local bands, these artists had a strong presence in the program. Singer and composer Moacyr Franco was one of them and performed on the station in the 1970s.
"The studio was very rudimentary, very 'simple', with those big panels of light. So, the studio was an oven, it was hot, barbaric. We were sweating, we were soaked, but that television was very emblematic. There was no recording, it was 'by force', right?", recalled the composer in an interview with TV TEM.
In 1998, the broadcaster underwent a new restructuring, becoming TV Modelo and adjusting its coverage area. Four years earlier, in 1994, Presidente Prudente left Rede Globo Oeste Paulista. Years before, São José do Rio Preto and Araçatuba had already left Bauru's coverage and transformed into Globo Noroeste Paulista.
With the transition to TV Modelo, the broadcaster underwent a philosophical change to become closer to the community. The television in the interior spoke with familiar names and faces, with the stories of the neighborhood and the city.
"It was a big project. TV became more community-based. We spoke with Dona Maria, with Seu José. The agendas became more local", explains Tânia Guerra, who joined in 1996 and lived through the phases of Globo Oeste Paulista, TV Modelo and TV TEM.
It was during this phase that community-oriented programs emerged, such as "A Cidade Reclama", which remained on the air until 2005, and "Reage Bauru", shown in 2002 on the station's news programs.
The most recent phase began in 2003. The family of sports journalist J. Hawilla bought TV Modelo and other Globo affiliated stations in Sorocaba, São José do Rio Preto and Itapetininga, forming the group that today is TV TEM.
With the new management, the technological revolution also came. TEM TV led the transition to digital signal in 2012, offering high definition image and sound long before it became mandatory.
"The idea is to always be looking ahead. Digital has changed the level of television", says Stefano Hawilla, current president of TV TEM.
"We always seek to identify with our audience. What they experience, what they want to see, what they consume in the cities where they live. Our role is to show the interior the way it is, with an accent, culture, real stories and characters that make a difference", reinforces Francine Ramagnoli, programming director at TV TEM.
