Professor Porto is a political communication scholar who studies the linkages between media and democratization with a focus on Brazil. His research has examined the political dimensions of communication practices and genres, including journalism, telenovelas, political advertising, presidential debates, and social media. He is working on a book project about the role of media representations in the rise of the far-right in Brazil, emphasizing the intersections between inequalities, whiteness, and middle-class resentment.
Media Power and Democratization in Brazil: TV Globo and the Dilemmas of Political Accountability. Routledge, 2012.
With João Brant: “Social media and the 2013 protests in Brazil: The contradictory nature of political mobilization in the digital era”. In Lina Dencik; Oliver Leistert (eds.). Critical perspectives on social media and protest. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015, pp. 181-199.
With Fabio Vaconcellos: “Televised presidential debates in Brazil”. In: Julio Juárez-Gámiz, Christina Holtz-Bacha, Alan Schroeder (eds.), Routledge international handbook on electoral debates. New York: Routledge, 2020, pp. 103-113.