A promo of RTP1’s 3-hour long early morning news program Bom Dia Portugal from the year of its debut: 2002. Alberta Marques Fernandes (seen in the promo) was its first anchor.
Bom Dia Portugal (launched on Monday 28 January) brought news, weather, traffic (delivered from the studio, from the air (with a chopper), and from the road (with a motorbike!), sports and business to a timeslot dominated by cartoons and infomercials. Here’s a segment from 29 April 2002.
Over the last 2 decades, rival networks SIC and TVI tried to emulate the public broadcaster’s early morning show with similarly-themed programs, but they couldn’t match it.
In other parts of the day (midday and evening), the competition was tougher. SIC’s newscasts performed quite well and TVI’s viewing figures rose during Manuela Moura Guedes’ tenure as chief anchor of the populist Jornal Nacional (2000-05). RTP, under Director-General Emidio Rangel (that lasted 1 year on the job: 2001-02), began to imitate its competitors by expanding its main newscast (Telejornal) to 90 minutes and introduced a slightly fast-paced, but elegant presentation.
