andré trigueiro is a brazilian journalist, author, professor, and social media figure with over 800,000 followers.

this massive following didn’t happen overnight. trigueiro started his career back in 1988 when brazil was emerging from a military dictatorship. he was a reporter for a state-run radio station before going to grupo globo in 1993. to this day, globo is the largest media conglomerate in brazil, both on television and in print. 

his rise to success is notable, not just for its sheer scale, but also for the fact that trigueiro’s work is explicitly environmental, pushing sustainability solutions into brazil’s public consciousness. as a professor at pontifícia universidade católica do rio de janeiro, he also inspires journalism and communications students to contend with sustainability issues and to prioritize environmental reporting. 

as an exchange student taking trigueiro’s class this semester, i had the opportunity to sit with him for an interview about his career, environmental reporting, and the necessity for collective awareness regarding the damage we’re doing to the space we live in. 

the contents below have been translated from portuguese and edited for length and clarity.

alexia massoud: your show,  “cidades e soluções,” started in 2006 and covers environmental solutions, natural resources, and energy in brazil, which has really helped bring sustainability into your audience’s lives. can you tell me a bit more about the show and how it came together? 

andré trigueiro: it’s a program that’s almost 20 years old, and its purpose is to showcase what works in different settings: public sector, private sector, and non-governmental organizations. we talk about the problems of modernity and how to solve them.

it’s a very broad pitch, and we face the challenge of being the only program on the open network/cable tv with the word “solutions” in its title, which forces us to be very careful not to legitimize projects that don’t deserve to be on the “solutions” shelf. we make an effort to refrain from getting into a sinking boat. it’s complicated, but we try. therefore, we take great care to find a topic that deserves the visibility we’ll give it.

am: do you find it difficult to find these stories?

at: no, but it requires a lot of resources. if i just did that, i could do about three shows a week. so we have to take big steps, which is sometimes a bit of a sacrifice. a 25-minute edited show each week is something that requires a team, but we’ve managed to get the job done. it’s a program that has inspired public policy. i’ve already received feedback from environmental ministers and businesspeople who saw the program and replicated it.

am: you have a large online following, and you’ve grown a lot as a journalist. do you think there’s a difference between your online persona and your work in the studio? how have you found a balance, and do you struggle with it?

at: at work, there are expectations set for my performance in relation to the product. on social media, i am who i am. basically, the difference is this: i am my own host, and i define the direction. there’s an intention not to trivialize social media, not to be relegated to cheap entertainment — i try to delve deeper, to use social media in an inspiring way, where i can point the way and open paths.

i’m still careful about the fact that i’m also on television. possibly, the day i’m no longer on television, i’ll have a freer, more light-hearted, and relaxed approach to some topics on social media. but most of the content i share is in the first person: it’s me. there’s no product i’m selling; just me.

am: when did you start to grow more online? do you remember when you started getting so much traction?

at: oh, i started on twitter, which was my favorite network until elon musk bought it. i didn’t want to monetize a business owned by someone i don’t respect and whose ideas and way of thinking i disagree with completely. so i left twitter with about 700,000 followers. but if i were really concerned about being popular on the network, if that were my goal, i wouldn’t do hour-long live streams. instagram itself says that if it’s longer than three minutes, it won’t be pushed out. but i don’t care.

am: how do you feel your impact on social media is, then?

at: i try to fill this space with content. there are a lot of people interested in content on social media, so i think it’s the meeting of hunger and the desire to eat. if i have any resonance in terms of followers, i think it’s because of this. i try to discipline myself regarding appealing content and try to follow a very honest line. i won’t sell myself short to get engagement. if they find my content interesting, great, if not, life goes on.

am: following this path of impact, as you have been teaching here at puc since 2004, tell me more about why you wanted to become a professor and bring this impact to your classes.

at: i’m the son of two educators. i enjoy teaching. it’s an exercise in communication. therefore, all my activities have communication in common. journalism, social media, teaching, writing… i’m communicating. this communication with kids is part of my utopia: i think it’s worth it because it will have some kind of impact.

i have former students who have risen in the profession, and i sometimes notice that they carry a journalistic vision that has some component of this righteous indignation against the unsustainable model of development, the need for us to point the way toward sustainability, etc. i come here to do what i believe is my obligation: to have this contact with young people and seek to foster this attitude.

am: very cool. are you disappointed with the current state of the world compared to what it was 30-or-so years ago in your career?

at: i think tension is rising due to the clash of ideas, which is exacerbated in communication by denialism, fake news, and the industrial-scale production of disinformation. on the one hand, while we’ve improved several aspects — the public and private sectors, legislation, and awareness — on the other, we’re faced with repressed ignorance and stupidity.

of course no one knows everything, but proudly asserting ignorance causes problems and leads to exalted stupidity. this has worsened; it’s not good. the writer ariano suassuna once said, “the optimist is a fool, the pessimist is a bore; i prefer to be a hopeful realist.” that’s who i am; i’ll do my part. whether it will work or not, i don’t know, but it’s up to me to do what i believe is possible to turn this around.

am: do you think the environmental issue has become partisan?

at: we won’t change the game without public policy. formal policy must enter the fray. if there are no rules, laws, ordinances, or resolutions that come from above and organize routines from the perspective of regulating the private and public sectors, it’s pointless. we need political leaders who aren’t disconnected from reality. the real world is one where the planet cries out, and we won’t get far if we don’t heed the cry of the earth. the environmental issue is embedded in the following paradigm: it’s not save the whales, save the forests, or save the amazon. it’s save yourself.

when we talk about the environment, we’re saying we want clean drinking water, breathable air, fertile soil for planting — the basics. there shouldn’t be, at this point in the game, any doubt about what it means to not combat illegal deforestation, not accelerate the energy transition, etc. this debate shouldn’t be taking place, but it is. we can’t cry over spilled milk; we have to do our part.

am: so you would call yourself an activist?

at: no, and i don’t like that term, because anyone who calls me an activist tries to discredit my journalistic side. journalism is not activism; it’s based on facts, it seeks to be well-founded with good sources, and it tells stories that are investigated with journalistic rigor. you’ll listen to those who produce knowledge, who have relevant information. you’ll report what you’re seeing, the places you go, whether reporting crimes, problems, violations, or pointing out paths, solutions, and perspectives. 

so, i’m a journalist. i’m a citizen in tune with my times. now, you can’t live in the realm of ideas, so you have to roll up your sleeves and do things. an american thinker named ross perot said something interesting: an activist isn’t someone who says the river needs to be cleaned — an activist is someone who rolls up their sleeves and goes and cleans the river.

i find this definition very inspiring; in that sense, perhaps i am an activist, because i’m not just a journalist who reports or shows what they think is appropriate. in my private life, in the choices i make every day, i strive to be consistent with what seems to me to be the expression of truth. i am a planetary ecological citizen.

am: do you have any plans for the future, perhaps for a master’s or doctoral degree related to sustainability?

at: academia isn’t my thing. but i’ve never made many plans in my life, and it just happened. an important message for the youth: keep going. listen to your heart, do what makes your eyes shine, what gives you pleasure. and from there, the paths will invite you. you think you’re choosing things, but actually, things are choosing you. i don’t think i chose the environmental field. i entered something that was waiting for me.

am: how do you handle everything you have to do?

at: strength, courage, and faith. every day we seek energy in utopia, in the things we believe in, in the realization that life isn’t a matter of chance and that we’re here for a reason. when we try to discover that reason, paths open up.

am: how do you get your audience to really care about environmental issues?

at: journalism reports facts. we need to tell stories that resonate with people, so they understand the sense of urgency and the need for individual and collective action. we need to make people feel like they’re participating in a reform, a revolution, a change in habits, behaviors, lifestyles, and consumption patterns.

we must professionally act ethically and correctly in reporting the facts while demonstrating a sense of urgency. we can’t keep postponing a new way of existing; the planet can’t take it anymore. we’re leaving a horrific ecological footprint that’s already threatening essentials: clean freshwater, fertile soil, breathable air, and the climate crisis. we have to be efficient in our communication work, which generates a desire to do something different.

am: do you have any advice for anyone looking to get into journalism?

at: be well-informed, access information from good sources, always seek to refresh your knowledge, and enroll in courses so you can tell stories with greater depth, skill, and quality information. if it’s in the environmental and climate field, take courses, seek out educational content, read, and listen to podcasts. i’ve been teaching at puc for 21 years, and i don’t teach the same classes today as i did last year. it’s a never-ending process, and that’s a good thing because the world is in flux, and so is knowledge and the magnitude of this crisis.

am: well-said. thank you so much!