Catholic church and power in communication

This paper aims to present the results of the Project 100 Years of Communication, related to the means of communication in the Italian Colonial Region in Rio Grande do Sul (South of Brazil). While collecting data it was observed the Catholic Church has had a great role in founding newspapers, radio stations and movie theaters. Such a fact has marked the region, because it was populated by European immigrants that mostly came from North Italy, and arrived in the region between 1872 and 1914. Church has founded newspapers, opened and closed movie theaters and organized communication nets in radio sector. To accomplish this research, which has followed the classical methodology of historiography, it was necessary an exhaustive survey from written and oral sources. We have carried out more than 100 interviews, created six databases, and collected iconographic material. This work is divided in three parts: the first years, the consolidation, and the Church action in means of communication in the region.