Diccionario Jornalistico Portuguez
Adriano Moreira
The University Professor and President of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon (ACL), Adriano Moreira, highlights the importance of this work, whose original is part of ACL's heritage.
The author of the Dictionary of Portuguese Journalism, Augusto Xavier da Silva Pereira, published in 1895 a "Chronological review of all Portuguese periodicals printed and published in the kingdom and abroad, from the middle of the seventeenth century to the death of the late King D. Luiz I, as well as the foreign-language journals published in Portugal during the same time ".
The purpose and lamentation were related to the fact that the manuscript was sent to the Royal Academy of Sciences on April 27, 1892, without recognition of the process of evaluating the merit and the expected decision to have it published, thus rewarding the hard and devoted work of the Author.
Finally, on 4 December 2008, the Lisbon Academy of Sciences announces that the precious work, in which part of the original work belongs in their collection, is available to anyone interested in the evolution of the route that Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) characterized by saying - the mean is the message, which is in the famous book entitled The Media as Extension of Man (1964). This was possible due to the interest, professionalism, and patronage of Francisco Pinto Balsemão, who added this valuable contribution to the outstanding curriculum of master of the communication sciences.
The President of the Academy of Sciences
Prof. Dr. Adriano Moreira
Francisco Pinto Balsemão
"A unique work on all the periodical publications edited in the space of the Portuguese language, between 1625 and 1889". This is what Francisco Pinto Balsemão, founder and President of the Impresa Group, describes as the Portuguese Journalistic Dictionary.
The Portuguese Journalistic Dictionary, the handwritten work of Augusto Xavier da Silva Pereira, which is now at disposal and it can be consulted with the facilities provided by the new technologies. The work rested in the library of the Academy of Sciences since 1914, when it was acquired of the author's family.
During almost 100 years, few social media professionals knew of its existence and only some scholars and researchers had contact with it, with the purpose to deepen their work. However, it has never been fulfilled the will of the author to published his work despite the various attempts made.
Being a unique work on all the periodical publications published in the space of the Portuguese language, between 1625 and 1889, it was not possible to ignore the appeal that was sent by the President of the Academy of Sciences, Professor Adriano Moreira, to save of the risk of deterioration and loss of a very important heritage of Portuguese journalism.
The most effective way to preserve such extensive work (5865 pages distributed in 13 volumes) was to digitize it and carry out an exhaustive work of indexing the contents, which allows several possibilities of immediate access to the topics, for investigation purposes.
It has been fulfilled the will of the author and the content of his work has, from now on, the disclosure it deserves.
The President of the Impresa Group
Dr. Francisco Pinto Balsemão
José Manuel Subtil
The university Professor José Manuel Subtil stresses the importance of the dissemination of what was the work of the life of Augusto Xavier da Silva Pereira, author of the Dictionary of Portuguese Journalism.
Augusto Xavier da Silva Pereira lived for 63 years. Born on May, 18th, 1838, in Lisbon, where he died on January 22nd, 1902, Augusto began his professional activity as an amanuensis in the Statistics Office of the Ministry of Public Works (1859), being promoted to second secretary official (1886) and in the same year he was appointed Head of the 2nd Trade Bureau and the 3rd Section of the Central Statistical Office. Shortly before his death he was the first officer of the Archivist Section of the Higher Council of Commerce and Higher Education (1899) where he remained until the end of his life. Augusto collaborated with several magazines and newspapers. He was an editor, correspondent and literary director, and was also the founder of the Association of Portuguese Journalists and Writers (1880).
Referring to the manuscript of his Dictionary of Portuguese Journalism, he said that “The history of Lusitanian journalism is written, good or bad, until the unfortunate day of the death of King D. Luiz I. Is it not complete? Is not it perfect? Does it have gaps? Although, it is surely the most that I could produce in an incessant struggle of twenty-odd years”.
The fruit of his life's work, now 106 years after his death, will finally be released, not on paper but on a DVD, using new technologies.
It was a great honor for me, as for the Universidade Autónoma of Lisbon, through the IIPUAL (Institute for Multidisciplinary Research) to cooperate with Impresa and the Lisbon Academy of Sciences in the concretization of this project.
I thank all the team that I guided, formed by postgraduates in documentary sciences Helena Gil, Sérgio Fernandes Lourenço, Fátima Santos, Susana Patrício Marques and Odete Pereira, on their work accessing the information.
The Director of the Department of Information Science UAL
Prof. Dr. José Manuel Subtil