Joaquim Letria, regarded as one of the leading figures in Portuguese journalism, died this Friday at the age of 82.
Journalist and writer Joaquim Letria died this Friday, at the age of 82. The news was reported by the newspaper Observador, citing a close source.
The journalist had been in a weakened condition for some time, but was not ill, according to the same
Born in Lisbon in 1943, Joaquim Letria is regarded as one of the leading figures in Portuguese journalism. He founded the weekly newspapers O Jornal and Tal & Qual and also served as deputy news director for Non-Daily Programmes at RTP in the years following the 25 April revolution. He was also elected president of the Journalists’ Union.
He began his career as a journalist in 1963 at the newspaper Diário de Lisboa and went on to build an international career, first at the news agency The Associated Press and later as a correspondent for Deutsche-Presse Agentur, until 1970. Letria also worked for the BBC in London.
He was known for the many facets of his professional life, having been the author and presenter of several radio and television programmes. He received the Press Prize in the Television category in 1974.
An author, recognised for his many technical books on journalism and for the title “A Verdade Confiscada”, published in 1998, he also taught for more than 20 years at the Higher School of Journalism in Porto, at Universidade Independente and Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa, as well as at the Higher Institute for Information and Administration Sciences (ISCIA) in Aveiro.
He was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party until 1968 and later served as spokesperson for the then president of the republic, Ramalho Eanes, until 1986.
The Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, expressed her sorrow at the journalist’s death, describing him as “one of the most prominent figures in post-25 April journalism”.
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