Explore Portugal
Foreign-language newspapers (including the European editions of British papers, plus the International Herald Tribune, Le Monde and the like) can be bought in the major towns, cities and resorts, usually the same day in Lisbon and much of the Algarve or a day late elsewhere. For an English-language view of what’s happening in Portugal, the weekly Portugal News (wwww.the-news.net) is widely available, while The Resident (wwww.portugalresident.com) – aimed at expats – has both an Algarve and a Lisbon edition.
Newspapers and magazines
The most respected Portuguese daily newspapers are the Lisbon-based Diário de Notícias (wwww.dn.pt) and Público (wwww.publico.pt) and Porto’s Jornal de Notícias (wwww.jnoticias.pt). While the traditional Diário de Notícias is associated by many with the former Salazar regime, Jornal de Notícias is more liberal in outlook, and stylish Público has the youngest, most sophisticated feel, good for politics and the arts. All have useful daily listings information (with good Friday supplements). The best-selling tabloid is the right-wing Correio da Manhã (wwww.correiomanha.pt), business dailies Diário Económico (wwww.diarioeconomico.com) and Jornal de Negócios (wwww.negocios.pt) keep you up to date with economic issues, while the weekly Expresso has lots of meaty articles on politics, economics and culture. For fans of Portuguese sport (basically football), A Bola (wwww.abola.pt), O Jogo (wwww.ojogo.pt) and Record (wwww.record.pt) cover the daily ins and outs of teams and players. Popular current-affairs magazines include the long-standing Visão, while for coverage of the C-list celeb and reality TV scene you need a copy of Caras (ie, Faces), a bit like a Portuguese Hello!
Television and radio
There are four domestic channels – the state-run RTP1 and 2:, and the private channels SIC and TVI. The best is 2:, which is a mix of films from all over the world, National Geographic-style documentaries and daily coverage of the arts. The other three channels are heavy on gameshows, variety shows, reality TV, and imported or adapted American and British series. Films are nearly always shown in their original language (ie, subtitled rather than dubbed), while you also get a full diet of telenovelas (soaps). Some of the most popular soaps are actually Brazilian (saucy historical romps a speciality), though the showwith far and away the highest ratings is the home-produced teen-soap Morangos com Açúcar (Strawberries with Sugar). The best news programming is on RTP1 (1pm and 8pm); for comprehensive weather forecasting, turn to TVI.
Most Portuguese households and businesses get their TV via cable or satellite subscription. Even in small two- and three-star hotels you’ll often get a couple of foreign-language channels (BBC World, CNN, Eurosport, MTV), while four- and five-star places usually offer a wider range plus pay-for movie channels.
Portugal has a plethora of national and local radio stations. Antena 1 mixes golden oldies and Portuguese music with news on the hour. Antena 2 has classical music, while Antena 3 has the best contemporary sounds and newPortuguese music. Rádio Comercial is the best of the independent stations, playing Bryan Adams and the like during the day but better at night. Radio Renascença is a mainstream station of a religious persuasion; the associated RFM has a younger target audience but its playlist hasn’t changed in twenty years. With a short-wave radio you’ll be able to tune into the BBC World Service (wwww.bbc.co.uk/worldservice).
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