Electoral studies in Brazil deal very little with the importance of television as a determinant of voting. In general, explanations are sought in background variables or the individual position in the social structure. Without abandoning this orientation, the present article afirms that 1989 presidential election was full of lessons for the future. It is argued that particularly in state or nation wide elections, the center of the electoral campaign shifts to television. Many things, therefore, change: the use of polls during the campaign, the specialized personnel for the production of political programs to the radio and television, the candidate midia performance.
polls; elections; television; political socialization; censurship and media; mass media; mass politics