Newspapers and Print Media of Setúbal

O Setubalense, founded on 1 July 1855, is the oldest newspaper title in Portugal still being published (though not continuously). In 2025, on its 170th anniversary, the municipality declared the paper a matter of public interest — recognising its place in the collective memory of the city.

O Setubalense: 170 years

Timeline

• 1 July 1855 — first issue. Almeida Carvalho purchased a printing press and installed it on Rua Tenente Valadim
• 27 December 1857 — closure after 131 issues
• 10 August 1916 — revival as an independent publication. Other Setúbal papers at the time: O Elmano, O República, O Trabalho, A Mocidade
• 5 February 1927 — shut down by the dictatorship for publishing without censor approval. The director was imprisoned for 5 months without charges (7 February 1927 uprising)
• August 1927 — resumed with the subtitle “Diário Republicano da Noite”
• 1938 — subtitle dropped (likely under pressure from the Estado Novo) [DISPUTED]
• 25 April 1974 — under Carlos Bordalo-Pinheiro, the paper supported the Carnation Revolution
• 1976 — renamed “Nova Vida” under Joaquim Casimiro Madeira. A documentary was made: “Um Jornal Regional em Autogestão: o Setubalense”
• 16 February 1981 — return of the name O Setubalense
• 10 May 2013 — ceased publication due to the bankruptcy of Plurijornal
• 22 February 2014 — revived under director João Abreu
• 27 August 2018 — merged with Diário da Região → “O Setubalense — Diário da Região”, daily publication
• 2020 — crowdfunding on PPL: raised EUR 25,239 (goal EUR 30,000) to survive the pandemic. Monthly costs: ~EUR 40,000
• 2025 — declared a matter of municipal public interest (deliberação No 032/2025/GAP): “one of the oldest newspapers with regular publication in the entire world”

The book

“Setúbal no centro do mundo: 165 anos do jornal O Setubalense” (coord. Albérico Afonso Costa), Primeira Hora, July 2020. Over 400 pages, 150+ articles, biographies of 52 Setúbal residents.

The founder: João Carlos de Almeida Carvalho

• 5 March 1817 – 29 March 1897
• Politician, lawyer, local historian
• Supporter of Fontes Pereira de Melo, member of the Regenerador party
• Co-founder of the Sociedade Arqueológica Lusitana (1849)
• Held in the collections of the U.S. Library of Congress (issue of 19 May 1943)

O Distrito de Setúbal

A weekly newspaper, published from 3 September 1951 to approximately 2002.

Rogério Peres Claro served as a deputy in the National Assembly for Setúbal (1965–1973) and was a historian and founder of Tipografia Rápida.

Censorship under the Estado Novo

The censorship apparatus (Direção Geral dos Serviços de Censura, from 1933) was applied with varying severity: more strictly to large-circulation papers. Regional press had limited influence but still suffered repression:

• 1927 — O Setubalense shut down, director imprisoned for 5 months
• 1938 — Republican subtitle removed (regime pressure)

The revolution and the press

After 25 April 1974, Setúbal became one of the key centres of the revolutionary movement. O Setubalense supported the process but was criticised for its social-democratic line (as opposed to the more radical left). In 1976, an experiment in self-management: the paper was published as “Nova Vida”.

Present-day media in the district

Print and online

Radio

Printing

Tipografia Rápida de Setúbal was founded in the 1950s by Rogério Peres Claro on Rua João Eloy to print “O Distrito de Setúbal”. Over 60 years of operation in the historic centre. Part of the Grupo Bordalo Pinheiro.

See also

• The Carnation Revolution
• Bocage — the Poet
• Social Housing and the SAAL Programme