The best newspapers are the slightly left-of-centre Folha de Sao Paulo and the Rio-based right-of-centre Jornal do Brasil, usually available, a day late, in large cities throughout the country. Both are independent and have extensive international news, cultural coverage and entertainment listings. Stodgier but reasonable is the right-wing Estado de Sao Paulo, while the Gazeta Mercantil is a high-quality equivalent of the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal. Also widely available is O Globo, the mouthpiece of Roberto Marinho's Globo empire, right of centre, but with the advantage of Caruso, the best of Brazil's political cartoonists. In Brazil, as in Argentina and Chile, the political cartoon is a widely respected art form and often screamingly funny. The most enjoyable of the yellow press is Ultima Hora, especially good for beginners in Portuguese: limited vocabulary and lots of pictures.

There are also two very good weekly current affairs magazines , Veja and Isto E. For most Brazilians, however, they are expensive, around $3, since their readership is exclusively middle class. You will find Brazilian editions of most major fashion and women's magazines. The weekly Placar is essential for anyone wanting to get to serious grips with Brazilian football. Vogue Brasil, edited in Sao Paulo and published by Conde Nast, is a quality magazine offering great insight into the style of the Brazilian elite.

Apart from in airports, five-star hotels, Rio and Sao Paulo, where you can find the International Herald Tribune, the Economist and the Brazil Times, an English-language Brazilian paper aimed largely at the business community, English-language newspapers and magazines are very difficult to find in Brazil.